Right readers i need your help as i cant read the web address on the side of this truck. The excellent roving reporter sent me this photo. Taken on the A46 near Bath this afternoon, obviously he wasn’t driving when he took it!! Amazingly he managed to take the pic with a gap in the oncoming traffic and got a totally clear picture. The little MAN looks fairly new, its in good condition, clean and has the new grill. Can you work out the web address? do you recognise the logo?? Do you drive this truck??? If you know anything, please please email me; ben@truckblog.co.uk . I want to find out who owns and runs said truck…. with your help of course.
A few weeks back Steve Marsh Express was called upon to transport some train parts from Leeds to South West Wroclaw, Poland. A nice little trip of of 1,016 miles before delivering to a back end train depot in old industailised Polska. Now if there is one man who could teach you a thing or 3 about taking a picture in a good location it’s our man Marshy. Can my Photographer type friends please leave you feed back for Mr Marsh to encourage him to make more pictures!! I don’t know why but trucks and industrial building / venues do seem to compliment each other. Look at these pictures and see for youself……….
After arriving at the listed delivery point to the North East of Wroclaw at Olesnica, Mr Marsh and the little MAN were told to re-direct to unload at this old, still used, railway yard. At some point i think Marshy must have wondered if this place was one of those old places in films you see the bad guys hiding in. Queue tense music and dim lights to create an earrye atmosphere. Perhaps the 1750 kgs of train motors were just a cover for some thing much more sinister! (sorry getting carried away with the movie location thing!).
Look a strange object in the bottom picture it must be a movie set………. oh no its Marshy’s finger! After seeing the Marsh at the weekend he did say that he did quite like some of these Polish pics. I think one of the best is this one inside the shed.
I said to Steve that i liked the way he had put the truck to the back of photo and got the trains in the foreground, quite a bit of Photographic talent in that pic, although Marshy’s reply was that he hadn’t meant to do it as he had tried to get the truck in the centre of the photo and missed!! Typical.
After uloading it was time to head West out of Poland all the way back to Aachen, Germany to reload for the UK. Taking in the gorgeous roadside views of lovely Poland on the way!! Just wanted to include the pic, no idea what i’m talking about now!! (Note to Admin: Put
How did those stickers get there?! Sorry it’s another TGL post i know!
If this is your first time reading the blog you will not know that i seem to favour an MAN TGL. No real idea why other than i ran my own 7.5 tonners for 8 years. I have often wondered about the mini artics you see foreigners running about with, such as Activ Cars from Germany. This company run mini Mercedes Atego artics on Airbus parts work all over Europe.
Now i haven’t been able to find out much about them in various Internet searches, so i gave up looking. At the weekend i did another search for the first time since last year, when i went to the Hanover IAA Show. This time with a tiny bit of success. The main part being it seems the mini MAN tractor unit is called an MAN TGL BLS, BLS being the key words (Big Lorry Secret? Bloomin Little Sod?? Bens Lorry Soon???). The one thing i am keen to find out is how much you can carry with one of those and what the Gross Vehicle Weight is likely to be. Both the Mercedes Atego version and the MAN version are badged as normal 7.5 or 12 tonners. But i’m sure the gross weight must be more other wise it makes it a little pointless and will leave a tiny payload. Any input on this would be much appreciated, any MAN/Mercedes employee’s reading?? email me; ben@truckblog.co.uk
On a Dutch website called bedrijfsauto.com , it says that a 12 ton MAN TGL 12.250 BLS can have a gross vehicle weight of 32,000 kg. This equates to a max towing capacity for the tractor of 20,000 kg (i.e. Trailer + Load). On another MAN dealership website, there is an MAN TGL 8.250, This states the truck “has a GCW of 18,750 kg.”
This says to me, the tractor unit can pull a trailer up to 20 Tons. This makes more sense and must relate to the train weight of the unit, not the 7.5 or 12 ton specified in the model name. Come on more help/info please……
He is a boy i tell you, living the life of Riley as my Gran would probably say! Gadding about Europe like an international Playboy. A trip a few weeks back landed him on the road to Mallorca, terrible! The call came in for a load of gym equipment to go to a English owned residence some where near Palma, so Mr Marsh packed his favourite speedo’s, bucket and spade and headed off for Barcelona and a ferry to Mallorca.
On arrival he had been told to head for a parking area where he would be met and taken to the house. While waiting at the parking area what should turn up? yep another MAN 12 tonner, this time a German one.
After being collected and taken to the new house it was then time to unload and as it was the weekend Steve decided to help unload and hang around to help as the boat back to Barcelona wasn’t until Monday, so what else are you supposed to do on a mediterranean island for the weekend??! What a place for the weekend…..
After a weekend of cycling around Palma and being taken out for dinner by the customer steve decided enough was enough and couldn’t wait to get back to Warrington! This one taken back at Palma waiting for the ferry. I do wonder why i had to give up driving some time’s, my desk just doesn’t get around as much!!
More Marsh to come, a trip to a dodgy Polish train yard is in the pipeline.
I think MAN are the only truck manufacturer that have realised that app’s are the way forward for all of us with the fruity type of phone, think about it. This is their 2nd App the first being the highly informative and info laden IAA Hanover Show App that i told you about last year. The best thing about these App’s is that MAN gives you a chance to see all truck manufacturers stuff not just their own. This new App is called MAN TopUsed and is available from the App Store. Man TopUsed is also available to the rest of you on the interweb at www.mantopused.com so dont feel too left out.
I had a little browse through myself just to make sure it’s safe and easy for you all to use, it is. As you may imagine i tried to find myself a nice 2nd hand MAN TGL LX. So i selected the options i wanted and searched Europe for my dream truck!! I found 28 LX cabbed trucks across europe, the best of which are residing in Spain. Not a problem as you can use the contact page on the ad to contact the dealer where you possible purchase is.
All very easy and as i said not only can you search for MAN’s you can search for all marques. You’ll also be pleased to know it opens in english!!!
Thanks to my old mate Andy Blagg, who has a loft in his stately home dedicated to storing the complete back catalogue of Truck & Driver magazine!! I got a message saying after trawling through his piles for a few hours, he stumbled across the October 2000 edition containing said article, full marks Blaggy!!
Having read through the article, i found out that ETS were based in Tottenham not Dagenham as i said, but they did have them serviced at the MAN dealer on the A13 at Dagenham. I was right on the truck ending up in Switzerland though! Any way i have scanned it for you all to read with your Sunday afternoon cuppa!!
Any more ETS info, please email me; ben@truckblog.co.uk
I’ve been meaning to write this one for months. I found a picture of one of these Unicat vehicles on an image search so i investigated. Unicat are a German company who special in building mobile home or specialised chassis’ for a specific job, such as a Disaster Response truck or an other road Laboratory truck (look them up!). It seems that if you want to buy you and the family a new holiday camper for travelling the Mongolian plains or the Sahara Desert, then Unicat can help you out.
You can totally spec your own truck from head to toe, including all furnishing’s and even a small lift on the truck for your quad bike!
So you can get excited and dream of spending your Lottery wins, here’s the extensive spec list for the EX63-HDM / MAN TGA 6×6. This is just an example of what you can do;
Chassis
MAN TGA 6×6
Extended cab with 2 seats + 2 jump seats / bed
Wheel base 4500 + 1400 mm (14´9´´ + 4´7´´)
Engine erformance 353 kW/480 hp Euro 3
ZF 12-speed tip matic transmission
All wheel drive with center differential lock
Differential locks for front and rear axles
Parabolic leaf suspension
Tires 14.00 R 20 Michelin XZL, tubeless
Tire pressure regulating system
2 chamber fuel tanks, capacity 800 liters (211 U.S. gallons)
Fuel prefilter with water seperator
Car alarm system
2 air suspended seats and 2 jump seats, convertible to bed
Satellite navigation system (GPS)
Back eye camera
Integrated airconditioner
Roof rack with branch guard
Crane for loading of spare wheel
Searchlights left and right
Truck horns
Xenon high beam lights
Body Unit
Frame assembly
3 point kinematic attachment with main and flex mounts for stress free
body coupling to the torsion elastic chassis frame
Body unit construction Self supporting UNICAT sandwich plate panels of fibre glass composite
Panel connections made by adhesive bond to custom extrusions eliminates metalic
heat conduction paths
Matched thermal coeficients of expansion prevent distortion with changes in temperature
Wall thickness 60 mm (2,36´´) with polyurethane foam insulation, 3 mm (0,12´´) FRP outer surface, 2 mm (0,08´´) FRP inner surface
Ins. rating 0,44 W/m2 K (0,078 btu/ft h degF)
Bottem panel with integrated welded steel frame and surfaces of FRP
Access to drivers cab Highly flexible waterproof bellows coupling
Sliding door to close passage way
Entrance door and storage compartment doors UNICAT – entrance door and storage doors constructed of fibreglass composite
plates and frames
Thickness of doors 60 mm (2,36´´)
Double sealed doors with heavy duty locks with seal compression
Stainless steel hinges throughout
Additional retractable bolts at top and bottom of entrance door
Safety cylinder locks all keyed alike
Windows and skylights Burglarproof, scratchproof top hinged sidelights
Double insulated thermal window glass
Shutters and moskito nets
Lifting roof Expedition proofen UNICAT – lifting roof with electric drive mechanism
Well insulated, expedition proven and maintenance free
Interior Lay Out
Inner dimensions of the cabin
length 6180 mm ( 20´3´´), width 2360 mm ( 7´9´´), height 2020 mm ( 6´7´´)
Seating Unit U-shaped seating unit with adjustable foldable table on pedastel in the rear of the cabin
Seating unit converts to additional double bed
Office
Desk for PC, monitor and printer
Chair for work place
Beds
Double bed with comfortable matresses in lifting roof area 180 x 200cm (5´11´´ x 6´7´´)
Sanitary room
Separate shower and toilet room with doors, to seperate from livingroom
VARICOR lavabo
Hanger cupboard with mirror
Also usable as drystorage due to it`s own radiators
Kitchen
VARICOR countertop with integrated sink
Single handle faucet for warm and cold water
Soap dispenser
3-flame stove with oven
Espresso maker
2 x 120 l (26 gallons) fridge with ***-freezer
Kitchen closet with drawers
Pull-out cutting board
Storage
Storage space in the seating benches with drawers
2 big wardrobes
Large outside storage compartments
Aluminium exterior storage boxes
Workmanship
All furniture is custom built to the highest cabinetmaking standard out of wood
core plywood using heavy duty locks and hinges
Materials and finishes may be specified by customer
Lay out
Design and color of floor, walls and ceiling may be chosen by the customer
Walls and ceiling are painted with multiple coats
Upholstery made of fabric, leather or ALCANTARA
Technical equipment
Electrical equipment
Custom control panel to control powermanagement and liquide storages
Battery main switch, savety cutout, fault current breaker
DC power supply by AGM battery bank, automatic I-U regulated alternator
and AC automatic I-U shore charger with cell temperature sensing
Battery capacity: 24 V 765 Ah
Alternator charge rate: 28 V 110 A
Shore charge rate: 28V 100 A
Inverter 24 V/230 V, max output 6 kW
International shore power connectors 90 -260 V AC (45 Hz-65 Hz)
Power plugs for 12 V DC, 24 V and 230 V AC
Solar system
Generator
Watercooled Fischer-Panda diesel generator with 1-cylinder diesel engine
Cooling-water circulation connected to the engine cooling system
Performance: 5 kW
Water cooled muffler
Musik system / TV / Video
Music installation with CD-changer
Sound system
DVD player
Lighting
Integrated low voltage XELOGEN lights over the table, kitchen, hall way,
shower, storage area and lifting roof
Lights for outside storage compartments
Reading lights in bed and seating area
Water supply
800 l (211 gallons) freeze proof drinking water tanks
40 l (8.8 gallons) hot water-heat exchanger
Freeze proof waste water tank, capacity 220 Liters (58 U.S. gallons)
Water faucets in both bath and kitchen have removable sprayers
All components are built due to highest household quality standards
All plumbing is insulated to prevent freezing
City water connector and outside shower
Water filtration system
LPG supply
2 x 11kg gas bottles
Remote controlled management with gas alarm system
Toilet
Porcelain-vacuum toilet with water flushing
Freeze proof sewage holding tank
Heating system
Diesel/electric powered warm water central heating (18 kW) with engine preheating system
and drivers cab preheating system
High radiant heat share due to radiators in living area and towel radiator
in bath and shower area
Antifrost system
Others
Integrated airconditioner, performance 5 kW (17,000 btu),
powered by the generator or shore power
Safe
Central vacuum cleaner
Hydraulicaly operated motorbike rack for 2 motorbikes
Weights and measures
GVWR
19.900 kg (43860 lbs)
Overall dimensions
length 8813 mm ( 28´11´´), width 2480 mm ( 8´1″), height 3990 mm ( 13´1´´)
Additional length of motorbike rack: 1400 mm (4´7´´)
Well thats that then all that it leaves me to do is put a few more pics of the interiour on here;
In all honesty i can’t really see any one other than Millionaires be able to afford one of these, although i guess you could become a new age traveller and sell up your house and beloved Ford Cortina and head off across the world, i think i’d happily give it ago, although i think i’d have to get at least as far as Clacton on Sea to experience the on-sand capabilities!! If you like the look of the new stuff but can’t afford one there is a fair list of Used vehicles for sale as a starter option! Click here for the posh EX70-HDQ / MAN TGA 6×6 photo’s, it the nuts or watch the video and dream away……
Right more of your expert knowledge required please dear readers. This little MAN was part of a small fleet based some where near Dagenham i think. They did a lot of clothing work and some of you have already told me they used to go to Romania quite regularly and also subbed for Prima. I am after more info and of course more pictures. I remember them also being in one of the truck magazines back in the 90’s, has anyone got a copy or can anyone tell me which month it was published in so i can get a back copy. I seem to remember it being a husband and wife team that ended up in Switzerland i think. This picture was provided by the transport photo library that is www.euro-wheels.com, thanks to Neil Jarrold. If you have any photo’s of ETS trucks email me at ben@truckblog.co.uk or leave a comment below. Come on you know more than i do……
As promised at the beginning of the year, here are a few pictures of Steve Marsh’s New Years trip to Sweden. While i was enjoying a few drinks in Port Solent gazing out across the marina and looking out to sea, Mr Marsh and the little MAN were busy crossing the high sea’s from Kiel, Germany to Gothenburg, Sweden. It might all be party poppers and champagne to some of us dull old office boys but for Marshy the work never stops, i forget how hard you have to work to keep the wheels rolling but as an Owner Driver work is work and best to make hay while the sun shines and all that. Any way it’s not a bad old life when your in Malta the week before Christmas and then in snowy Sweden for New Year. As you can see there is a fair temperature change from the week before to week after. Plenty of snow and ice in Gothenburg, although the Swedish port seems capable of coping with the snow they get, you can guarantee if that was a UK port it’d be shut with all that snow!!
After New Years Eve my sunrise on New Years day was not like this, in fact i don’t remember seeing sunrise on New Years Day! Although that ice might have cooled my head off a touch.
The little MAN easily made it through the snowy realms of Sweden up to Vasteras, where Marshy had to sit it out til Monday before he could tip. This left plenty of time for snow man building and picture taking, doesn’t she look great?? I think this one qualifies for the Steve Marsh Express Christmas card this year, it’d certainly make a better card than some of the one’s i sampled here on the blog.
As i write this Steve Marsh is on his way back from Malorca, so hopefully some more great pics to come, as long as he makes it passed those French pancake sellers!
No jokes please, we are all the same never mind where your from!! Last week i had the pleasure of loading 5 Polish tilts in the yard. I have to say that all 5 restored my faith in Polish drivers. They were all helpful, knew what they were doing and offered me beer! I have no idea what the standard of driving was like but at least the cargo was well lashed to the trailers before they left!! This truck in particular caught my eye. My Polish isn’t great I’ll be honest, but this looks to me like some sort of special edition. The paintwork, stickers and interior had all been jazzed up from your normal MAN and the stereo was some thing else, i had thought about taking it down to Southend seafront to show all the Corsa and Saxo drivers how to do it!! Does any one have any info about this possible special edition? any jokes?? email me at ben@truckblog.co.uk
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