Martens and Van Oord chooses Scania 660S as showpiece

Driver Robin van den Berg is a happy man. Recently he did his first runs with the new Scania 660S 10×4*6 180-ton transport tractor from his employer Martens en Van Oord of Oosterhout. A special feature of the truck is that it was delivered completely ex-factory, up to and including the special body. The enormous V8 torque of 3,300 Nm from 925 rpm makes the use of an additional torque converter unnecessary. 

"Martens and Van Oord is a contracting company that has been a leader in ground, road and hydraulic engineering for more than 36 years." says manager of management and maintenance André Haak of Martens and Van Oord (MvO) who is partly responsible for the purchase of the equipment. "We are a service provider in the field of infrastructure. That ranges from groundwork for highways and making large projects ready for construction to dike reinforcement and the creation of nature and recreational areas. And then we have an (international) wet branch that specializes in dredging."

"We had already purchased eight Scania R500 tractors this year, which are mainly for tipper trailers with us. With its S-cab, V8 package and aluminum rims and LED lighting all around, the new vehicle is also immediately the company's showpiece. That we went for 660 hp and not the strongest 770 hp is because we did like to have the new powertrain with the new gearbox. That would be up to about six percent more economical. Moreover, that powertrain combined with the new heavier 4700 Nm retarder is even better suited to our work."

MvO has the bulk of the equipment for that in-house. "We transport that ourselves. This new vehicle is going to run on a four-axle flatbed trailer. And if things get really heavy, we can add a two-axle dolly. The car is approved up to 180 tons but we won't go that heavy. But what is not, can still come. Currently we are at 140 tons total weight with our largest crane, so we still have some technical reserve."

What particularly appeals to Haak is the fact that the new Scania could be delivered completely ex-factory except for the stickers. "That was one of our wishes because that way one phone number is all you need. What also helps is that the Scania dealer is only a few hundred meters away. So we also have short lines for maintenance and service. We have a contract for that."

Scania delivered the truck ex-factory with the heaviest chassis with innerliner. The complete axle configuration has two 10-ton steering front axles, a driven tandem axle with hub reduction and a nine-ton steering and liftable trailing axle. The truck has air suspension all around, is equipped with a PTO driven hydraulic pump and a fixed weighted fifth wheel suitable for a heavy-duty 3.5-inch kingpin. 

Because of the five axle lines, there is very limited space on the chassis. For that, Scania supplied a rack behind the cab on which both the 1,000-liter fuel tank, the AdBlue tank and the hydraulic tank with 250 liters of oil are mounted. The rack itself is nicely concealed from the factory with extra-wide sidefenders. "And then there's also room for the air tanks of which we had a few extra mounted," Haak says. "We do that to prevent the driver from going through his air supply too quickly when braking and maneuvering frequently because we often drive with 11 axle lines."

Martens and Van Oord's new showpiece has a permanent driver with Robin van den Berg. "We find that important because not everyone is suited for this kind of work. You have to want it, be able to do it and enjoy it because you get to all sorts of complicated places," says Haak. Robin certainly has that fun. "It takes some getting used to but it is very nice with the red stitching in the leather upholstery," he reports after his first two trips with the new car. "The seating position is very different from what I'm used to. Call it 'Scania 2.0 mode' because the all-round visibility is very good and the Scania mirrors give much less blind spot than in my previous car. In addition, I now have a Cornereye blind spot camera that works better than the previous one because the screen is above the right door. This is calmer because with the little screen on the A-pillar you could always see something moving in the far corner of your eye while driving and that is unsettling. But what I find most positive is that this car steers shorter and wriggles less even though the tractor chassis is 40 centimeters longer than the previous one. And then that power of that V8. You really have to accelerate carefully."