Farming is a family business for the Wolthuis clan, which recently welcomed a new Mercedes-Benz Actros truck to its operation in Victoria’s Wimmera region.
During the harvest, the whole family pitches in. Twenty one-year-old Joanne Wolthuis drives the combine harvester that captures wheat, barley, faba beans, canola and lentils, while her 19-year-old brother Tonnis drives a tractor with a chaser bin to collect it.
Their father Ceus drives the new Actros 2663 B-double tipper set, which is used to bring the harvested grain back to the silos at their main property and to other collection sites in the region. His wife Petra does the critical book-keeping and scheduling as well, as cooking meals and providing other support functions for the 2200 hectare operation.
The family was making do with a single truck, a European model with 460hp, but Ceus decided to add another truck to the operation in time for the most recent harvest in November.
Ceus wanted a truck with more horsepower and decided to go “over the top” and select a Mercedes-Benz Actros 2663, which has 16-litre engine that produces 630hp.
Ceus, who comes from a farming family and operated a farm in The Netherlands before coming to Australia in 2001, has never been dedicated to any particular brand. He says he runs a ‘rainbow’ farm, which means he has equipment from various brands in every colour imaginable, from Case red to Fendt and John Deere green.
When it came to buy a new truck, Ceus says he needed one that would be ready in time for the harvest, had a good amount of power and had advanced technology and safety.
The Actros ticked all the boxes and was also able to be provided by and supported by Wilson Bolton, a dealership in nearby Horsham, less than half an hour away from his farm.
Ceus didn’t just want a plain farm truck, so he had the fuel tanks painted black, optioned a black bull-bar and even went for black wheels. The end result is a mean-looking machine with plenty of presence.
“I like my European trucks and I really like the look of the Mercedes-Benz truck,” Ceus said.
He has been impressed by the way the 630hp engine and 12-speed automated manual transmission (AMT) perform and likes the array of technology in the truck.
“It’s like I’m sitting in a car with all these comfort features, the screens and the AMT,” he said.
“It makes it all a lot easier.”
The Actros has been set up for Mass Management and will operate with a Gross Combination Mass (GCM) of 68.5 tonnes when fully loaded.
A strong proponent of improving farm safety, Ceus is thrilled the Actros comes standard with a high degree of active and passive safety items, as well as features aimed at reducing fatigue.
“The idea of having a truck that could run into someone and injure and kill them when you can buy one with technology that can do stop that from happening, or reduce the impact, seem strange to me,” Ceus said.
“This Mercedes-Benz has got all the safety gear you can get and that is really assuring.”
Challenging weather meant that this harvest took longer than usual and only wound up in early January, but the Actros didn’t miss a bit.
“It has been really good and we are very pleased with the decision to go with the Actros,” Ceus said.
