German drivers often participate in Dutch trucks shows, certainly when the diesel parties take place somewhere nearby the Dutch-German border. On April 11, I visited the 2026 edition of the Holland Style Truck Meet, held east of the city of Arnhem. Indeed, nearby said border.
Some outstanding heavy-duty vehicles from our eastern neighbors were present, I also spotted a DAF tractor with Austrian vehicle registration plates. For a change, no yellow NL plates in today’s collection.
Mercedes-Benz Actros 1853 4×2 tractor, mostly black.
DAF XG+ FT 4×2 tractor with a Schmitz Cargobull tri-axle ‘speed curtain’ curtainsider.
In Germany, the gross weight limit for a combination vehicle with five or more axles is 40 tonnes (88,185 lbs), which is equal to the weight limit for transeuropean on-road transport. For intermodal freight transport, it’s 44 tonnes (97,000 lbs).
German trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull -with production facilities in multiple countries- is a monster in the industry, churning out around 50,000 units per year.
Usually there’s a small factory badge on the grille, stating the vehicle’s DIN-hp rating, but no such little thingy on this one. In Europe (and South America), truck maker DAF doesn’t go beyond 530 DIN-hp.
MAN TGX 18.510 4×2 tractor, featuring Cats & Dogs.
Volvo FH500 4×2 tractor with a Schmitz Cargobull semi-trailer.
The trailer comes with a temperature-controlled body, as you might have guessed.
Another cool(ed) set of wheels, this previous gen DAF XF Space Cab 4×2 tractor, also towing a Schmitz Cargobull.
The third and last of the reefers, the MAN TGX 18.580 4×2 tractor is in control of a Schmitz Cargobull Kögel semi-trailer.
The model designation on the doors says 580 DIN-hp, which means the tractor is powered by MAN’s current biggest truck diesel, the 15.2 liter D38 six-cylinder (available up to 640 DIN-hp).
A Scania 500S 4×2 tractor in a quintessentially German shade of beige, their Mercedes-Benz taxis in ‘Elfenbein’ immediately came to mind. But it looks perfectly fine to me!
A Scania 590S V8 6×2*4 truck with a counter-steering tag axle and a Meiller Tectrum RS21 hooklift hoist mounted on its frame. The number 21 refers to the tonnage the hoist can handle, which is equal to 46,300 lbs.
This Volvo FH540 Aero 6×2 truck is equipped with the same Meiller hooklift system as Ernst Steffens’ Scania.
And here’s the Austrian, a DAF XG+ 530 FT 4×2 tractor, owned by Vögel Transporte. The hauling company is headquartered in Austria, but also has divisions in Germany, Italy and Liechtenstein.
Vögel is German for birds, which explains the striking company livery and graphics. There’s a big diesel fuel tank on the tractor’s left side and a smaller one on the right side, a long-distance migratory bird it is.
I see many have cameras for mirrors. I don’t get out much lately, do we see this yet in the USA?
I don’t think camera mirrors are generally legal in the US. A real-time screen that the driver can see? I don’t know about displays, but your reverse camera shuts off in D and that would be very useful if left on. Old “no TV” laws left over?
An article about truck mirrors/cameras/displays in English here:
https://www.commercialmotor.com/knowledge-hub/article/truck-tech-mirror-cameras
Thank you, that was great. Mirrors are important to me.
I had already seen the writing on the wall, you made it hi-def big-screen. I see no problem other than 3-D and they’ll probably beat that. I’m going to dump my Mirror Company stock.
Physically, who cares? Nobody whacks their mirrors anywhere developed enough to have pavement. Those vertical displays are a direct replacement, any driver will be comfortable. They block vision in the same rectangle, it just moved forward a little. Cost? It will drop and HD trucks aren’t cheap anyway.
They will immediately get smart, brightness, contrast, magnification. MAN’s Optiview… Black letters on that white wall, and look at the resolution.
Thanks again.
Based on how low the front is to the ground I assume Europe has perfect roads.
That’s not the ride height (air suspension on all axles).
Ha! I figured that after commenting and closing out.
Summer hauler, winter snowplow 🙂
Great collection! My favorite, from a graphics standpoint, is the Ropomix MAN with the dogs and cats. Definitely some good brand identity.
The beige Scania is interesting because just this week I saw a landscape company pickup painted in a similar color. I didn’t think of Elfenbein taxis when I saw it, but I did think that was a remarkably distinctive, yet low-key color – a shade not often seen, around here, at least. And I didn’t notice at first, but it’s remarkably similar to Curbside Classic’s website background color.
I’ve never seen such a shade of beige on any Dutch heavy truck/tractor. Or commercial van, for that matter. That’s a creative and well-executed livery on the Ropomix MAN for sure.
They’re all beautiful, I think that burgundy DAF takes the cake.
Tractor and semi-trailer in an identical outfit, always good!
There are some stunners there. The brutalist MAN looks rather Panzerkreuzer Bismarck by contrast.
I remember a red/beige colourway from the 1970s/1980s, but I cannot swear it was a German one.
Elfenbein is ivory and it’s a whiter shade of beige. Zey did like ze pastel yellows (inter alia) in the 1980s, which looked curiously retro on a W123 or W124. Speaking of 124s, I had a Special T 1600 in old ivory which was more of a greyish white. I rather liked that colour.
The Weidler rig certainly looks cooler (and more relaxed) than the MAN-Kögel couple.
I’m no expert when it comes to trucks like this, so I wonder, do these trucks have some hydraulic levelling to rise them up when you drive them? I mean, at the front they all sit so very low to the ground, how would they ever take a bump in the road without getting scraped? I also wonder WHY these front bumpers are actually this low: is it just for looks, or is it also for practical reasons? load height? pedestrian protection rules?
It’s common these days that dedicated on-highway rigs come with air suspension on all axles, so the tractor’s steering axle included. At shows, almost all drivers let everything sink to ground level, it’s not the ride height. Apart from that, the lower they roll on the freeway, the better it is (for aerodynamic and thus for fuel efficiency reasons).
It also takes a lot of the effort out of lowering and raising the trailer landing legs – air up; air down!