Biglorryblog's 'Good Man in Africa' Jerry Burley has sent me this curiosity and says: "Snapped this on the way in this morning. Its a very unusual looking vehicle (for here anyway) as it has a huge tipper body---I calculate by eye 5x2.4x2m so well over 20m cubed---of relatively light construction and reinforcement. The tailgate is even covered with chequer plate aluminium? There are a number of bling-esque chrome embellishers on it, including the ladder covers, various aftermarket bits on the cab and it is fully colour-coded."
Jerry goes on to say: "Most of the pimps I socialise with prefer Hummers or Cadillac Escalators [well I couldn't possibly comment on that now could I Jerry? BLB] so what would have been the history of this unit? It's fresh out of the customs bond (note the transit sticker on the front, the impossible-to-remove chinagraph pencil scribbles on the screen thoughtfully put right where the driver looks and no plates, but it's rotten as a pear so I wonder if it worked dockside somewhere (a grain handler maybe?). What is most worrying is that the 'workshop' (read pavement) where this is parked is famed for its glamorous,coach-built extensions to truck bodies (note the small vehicle behind being thus operated upon) thus further increasing the earning potential of the lucky owner! God help us all that suffer the roads here that being the case,as already it can carry, I estimate, 35 tonnes-plus of sand or murram!! Our gross weight axle limits, admittedly open to debate and 'mutual interpretation' should Plod actually ever pay any attention, are 7.5 tonnes per axle. Only in Africa! Cheers Jerry."
Well Jerry and other BLB readers--if you want to know what I think it is click through here....
Well JB take a close look at those 'idiosyncratic' mirrors and the three green lights on the roof and what you have here (in my humble opinion) is an ex-Japanese spec Mercedes-Benz. A number of Actros tractors were shipped to Japan by the Germans for sale some years ago as part of their relationship with Mitsubishi. The green lights on the roof light up sequentially to show how fast the truck is travelling (they are a local Jap by-law on trucks) while those mirrors are to spot all the pedestrians milling around the front! And that's my take on it. How it came to be in Uganda is anyone's guess--but if BLB readers have an alternative take on what it is let's hear it!
The Japs sell heaps of cars and trucks on on-line auctions,then they just get shipped.It is unusual to see a european truck come out of Japan though,I would agree with you about the lights,the mirrors and the bling,the`re all straight out of Japan.