Review - Aerosoft Truck and Bus Wheel System: Affordable all-in-one solution for aspiring bus drivers

As a fan of truck and bus simulators, there is something unintentionally funny about turning a racing steering wheel. You control the giants of the asphalt with a dwarf tool. Fortunately, more and more alternatives are appearing in authentic sizes designed specifically for this target group. These recently include the Truck and Bus Wheel System from Aerosoft. A complete set for which you only have to spend 380 euros. Is that something for the Christmas tree?

The large package contains three main components, namely the steering wheel, which serves as the central control element, a set of pedals and an astonishingly complex gearshift module with assignable buttons. There are also little things like a table clamp, a two-meter-long network cable for connecting the pedals to the steering wheel and the obligatory power supply. Everything is connected via a USB-C to USB-A connection.

A bunch of stuff for just 379 euros, and of course that has its price when it comes to workmanship. As soon as you unpack it, you notice how low the weight of the set is and how heavy it is on plastic. No trace of noble presentation.

But it doesn't have to be mandatory. You're not controlling luxury limousines with this thing, but rather virtual commercial vehicles and buses. Mobile work material, so to speak. To call the simple workmanship authentic would probably be a stretch, but we can certainly agree that very few city buses have luxurious amenities available for the driver.

After all: the set is compatible with many PC simulations and the three main elements can be placed anywhere. Two important criteria, especially for occasional truckers who don't want to leave the thing at their desk permanently.

Pedals logically belong on the floor or on the footplate of a rig, while the steering wheel and switch module each have their own clamp system. The steering wheel's clamping claws are rigid, but the switching module's screw clamp is freely adjustable so that you can comfortably bring it to arm height.

Ingenious gear stick

While we're at it: In our eyes, the switching module is the star of this set. In addition to the gear stick, which can switch between H-shift and sequential shift using a switch on the bottom, it has 12 buttons with higher-level red LEDs, 6 of which are predefined for functions such as hazard lights, trailer hitch, fog lights, parking brake and so on, as well as others six unlabeled. Nobody is forcing you to assign the buttons the way they were labeled beforehand. As a special treat, there are also 2 round, red-illuminated buttons for opening bus doors.

During our test rounds with the simulation “The Bus” we couldn't stop raving about it because these two red buttons in particular conveyed a very authentic feeling. There is probably not a child in Germany who hasn't wanted to press these buttons at some point, and now (several decades later) we can finally.

Without giving too much away: Aerosoft should definitely sell the switching module separately. Not just because of the buttons, but also because the gear stick allows up to 18 different switching positions. Six main positions in the typical H circuit scheme, which have a total of three alternating assignments for high gear, standard gear and low gear using a split thumb lever and a range switch at index finger height.

A dream for truck fans. Well, for our taste the stick would like to have a little more weight and be stiffer. Otherwise, we don't find any significant criticism of this module, except that it would be nice to be able to deactivate the LEDs if desired.

In general, we would like to highly praise the autonomous functionality of the switching module. Its signals do not go through the steering wheel, but directly on the PC via an external USB port. So you can also use it with other steering wheels.

Truck joy with little flaws

Unfortunately, the other two parts of the set don't fare quite as well. We had fun with both of them, and yet we kept coming across criticisms that were hard to ignore. Starting with the three-piece pedals for clutch, brake and accelerator, whose plastic is sturdy enough to withstand heavy feet. The suspension and the resistance of the gas and brake also felt good. At least good enough to be able to estimate how hard you are pressing on the tube after a few minutes of getting used to it.

However, the somewhat stiff wiring, which can get caught in the accelerator pedal if you are careless, as well as the low weight of the entire module were annoying in the long run. Whenever we hit the brakes harder, we shifted the pedal set, even though the pedals are authentically flat-angled and pushed downward rather than forward. Four rubber patches on the bottom are supposed to prevent slipping, but they only do this in “normal” traffic situations. Maybe we're too clumsy when it comes to emergency braking (which you're supposed to avoid in buses and trucks anyway), but we would still have liked to see an aluminum floor that would give the whole thing a little more stability.

It sounds worse written than it actually is, but it still shows that savings had to be made to achieve the set's target price.

You notice this even more when it comes to the heart of the car – the steering wheel. The thickly ringed but seemingly hollow steering element measures 40 centimeters in diameter and has a slightly oversized, flat control pad on the left and an analog stick and four face buttons with typical Xbox lettering on the right. It is important to mention that there is no compatibility with Xbox. It's purely PC equipment.

With a maximum angle of 1080 degrees, it can only be turned half as far as many real trucks allow. But this only bothers picky purists who absolutely insist on cranking up a wolf when maneuvering. We strongly assume that Aerowsoft is not even targeting this target group.

Also included: a button to start the engine and a knob on the rim. The latter is not permitted on real trucks and buses in Germany, or if it is, then only as an aid to people with disabilities. It's not that bad, you don't have to use it. On the other hand, no one complains about levers for indicators and lights that authentically return to the starting position when the steering position is centered, even if - like the gear stick - they seem a little too easy to move.

The engine is the weak point

So far so good. What is massively annoying, however, is the built-in force feedback motor in the steering wheel, which is based on gear mechanics. Unfortunately, its noise level is annoyingly loud because you can hear the friction of the gears every time you turn the steering wheel.

It would now be pointless to write an essay about how gear drives in steering wheels are old-fashioned and long outdated. Nobody would expect a direct drive wheel in this price range. But it would be nice to have a belt drive, especially since the motor doesn't have much power.

The resistance when turning the steering wheel can be compared to that of a Logitech G923, which is not particularly strong and is certainly due to the fact that the leverage of the 40-centimeter ring absorbs a lot of the engine power. But the how and the why play a small role. In the end, the steering wheel is just a little too loud to be annoying and a little too weak to convey a proper steering angle.