A pair of NTM rear load packers give us a bit of a time warp. Very similarly equipped, mounted on very similar MAN chassis, and even painted the same color but with build dates some 20 years apart. The 1990s era machine in the beginning of the video has held up really well which of course bodes well for its brand new brother. The first truck was spotted in the village of Szczygłów outside of Kraków. Many of these villages burned their waste at home not all that long ago. Then came communal skips (big 10 cubic meter rear load dumpsters) and finally curbside collection, albeit monthly. Pay-as-you-throw cart sizing coupled with large hauler provided recycling bags make for a fantastic diversion rate and really heavy, dense waste. The KG packer copes well. This particular unit is semi-retired as a spare yet still a favorite in the company fleet. The second truck is collecting a much lighter recycling stream in a much busier environment along one of the congested main arteries leading into the central core of Kraków. One man brings carts out of apartment trash rooms to the curb while his partner threads the truck between passing trams and parked cars, loading the truck as he goes. The NTM packer bodies are fantastic. Nothing wacky about the design but on a continent of control panels littered with push buttons and sometimes nonsensical packer geometries the NTM product is a return to sanity. Right away you'll notice NTM's signature air over hydraulic levers for all packer and lifter functions. I'm a big fan, though the deadman packer controls you have to hold down throughout the cycle would get annoying fast. Split cycle levers would be a welcome change losing none of the safety or simplicity but substantially more efficient for the operator. In any case there are also electric buttons for a fully automatic pack cycle. Packer geometry ticks all the boxes: little fallback, little sweep blade swing out into the hopper, large swept volume, no crazy rear overhang. The lifter was a special treat. Ever since Mitch (MitchellM15) posted his first videos I've always liked what I think of as the "Australian style" full width comb lifter with rubber spill shield. Was just as cool in person as I've always imagined. What was surprising though was the hopper step, or lack of. Just a bit of grip strut on the lifter and a handle way in the sky. Using it is more like climbing a ladder than hopping on a step but strangely enough the setup looks original to the truck when new. Below the sky high handles are the pockets for trunnions for big winch hoisted dumpsters. The reeving winch or maybe just the cable is missing so I guess no longer needed. The thought of running a route with this thing seems really fun. Comb lifter for the heavy stuff, an easily accessible hopper for manual loading, and the occasional big winched dumpster. The newer truck on recycling is a bit less weird and has the solid steel spill shield and hopper canopy, no doubt a nice feature for easily spilled or windblown recycling. As far as the MAN chassis goes there isn't much to say. Competitively priced, not really flashy, perfectly capable as an 18 tonner. The newer TGM is badged as having the 250hp motor and the older probably isn't too far off from that number. Not the best sounding but being quiet has its merits. Thanks to both the crews, filmed August 11th & September 10th 2015. For more garbage trucks, follow georgewuzheer on: Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/georgewuzheer Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/georgewuzheer