Even an older iron can be attractive. At least when the Scania logo and the Scania V8 emblem, together with stainless steel and chrome, aluminum, wood and leather, define its character. When the man at the wheel listens to the sound of the four-stroke diesel and prefers to wash the car by hand rather than in the system, it becomes fully clear what the state of mind of driver and vehicle is like.
Goodnight story for the Scania V8
The fact that Eddie Wolters, whose real first name is Martin, always tells his five-year-old Scania R 560 LA 4×2 MNA a bedtime story after work is just a tease from his wife Claudia, which the 52-year-old puts up with with humor. What is true, however, is that the trained bricklayer has a relationship with his Scania V8 that no one will ever sever in this professional life. After all, Eddie Wolters is now the owner of the elegant eight-cylinder engine. His brother Stefan, Managing Director of Wolters GmbH in Saerbeck near Münster, handed over the truck to him in mid-March with his seal of approval. Behind this gesture is a big thank-you: Eddie Wolters has been a driver since he was 21 years old. He has been on the road for the family's building materials company, which was founded in 1960, since the age of 18. His brother therefore signed the vehicle over to him last year on the occasion of his 30th anniversary with effect from March 2016.
The Scania goes into the glass box as a memorial
"This Scania will never leave our plant again. At the very end, he goes into a glass box as a memorial," explains Eddie Wolters. The gift from his brother has spared him the task of taking the truck, which was purchased in 2011, out of service this year. His duties also include keeping the 15-unit fleet in good shape. Eddie Wolters knows every mileage and every tire on his fleet, two-thirds of which is made up of Scania tractor units and tippers. The trucks usually run for five years in the company, which specializes in building materials, earthworks and demolition. After that, it's time to take it out of service. Eddie Wolters' Scania V8 is now in a league of its own with its permanent lifetime appointment. But he has also opened the doors to the Wolters fleet for the Swedes.
The Scania V8 is perfectly equipped with Opticruise
"The Scania R 560 was our first vehicle from the manufacturer. But I also wanted to give my dream of a V8 a chance," says Eddie Wolters, describing the beginnings of the project. The great love, however, did not materialize right away. For three weeks, the switch to Scania Opticruise brought sweat to his brow. Today, around 580.000 kilometers later, Wolters can no longer imagine any other transmission. The Scania V8 has since rewarded him with power and economy. Above all, the truck has never let its driver down. The small leak resulting from a defective front cover gasket is definitely of no consequence to Wolters.
Defensive driving is a matter of course for Eddie
Conversely, Eddie Wolters also contributes his share to the relationship work. This includes good care of the vehicle as well as a defensive driving style. The man from Münsterland is therefore only gently giving his gem the spurs. That explains why the V8 is still on the road with the first set of brakes. The display currently shows 50 percent at the front and 60 percent at the rear. This performance is partly due to the hydraulic retarder, which acts directly on the drive axle as an auxiliary brake. On the other hand, Eddie Wolters himself is still fine-tuning his driving style. With driving trainer Dieter Kayser from Scania Münster, for example, he has learned a trick that improves the economy of his V8. "When Opticruise wants to go downhill in tenth gear, I manually shift up two gears instead to keep the truck running," says Eddie Wolters, describing his shifting technique for this case.
A typical transport job
A typical transport job takes him in the morning to one of the two sand pits that the family business operates in neighboring Ladbergen. Then it's off to Wickede in the Sauerland region with 28 tons of sand in the dump truck on the highway. There is a sand-lime brick factory waiting for the raw material. Afterwards, a load of gravel is on the duty roster at a quarry 20 kilometers away, before the return trip to Saerbeck begins. Two tours a day are a good cut for Eddie Wolters. When he parks his Scania V8 at the end of the day, the average mileage on the tachometer is around 500 kilometers. "This Scania will be my last truck," says Wolters, describing his prospects as a driver in the family business. Three years he wants to hang with the V8 still on it. Enough time, therefore, to further refine the interior of his gem. More leather for rear panel and headliner? Eddie Wolters has some ideas about this.