[Sankar]

Originally Posted by cadaver_prad

Wow. 520hp engine on the truck? What kind of engines do they run? and what is the huge box behind the cabin, Does it also house any engine components?

520HP plus massive amounts of torque! Engine would be a diesel engine, probably with eight or more cylinders.

The huge box contains ballast weight. This is to press the driven wheels to the tarmac to aid in traction. Without the ballast the tractor would probably wheelspin trying to pull that monster load.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by indian21r

The ODC that blocked the Bikaner - Jaipur Highway NH-11 near Ratangarh. The trailer had

22 *16 + 1*12= 364 Tires.

Dude have you noticed?

the 5th pic says Eqpt name - VGO II reactor, and GW 808 tonnes!

the 6th pic says Eqpt name - VGO I reactor, and GW 684 tonnes!

By any chance were they 2 reactors, with a combined weight of 1492 tonnes?!!!!!

[indian21r]

nope they are 2 different trailers. there was a third one as well at some distance away.

but that tonnage is the highest I have seen in India atleast

[Ashley2]

Came across this tractor last week near Athibelle RTO check post.
Prime mover : Volvo FH 540 ( 2 Nos)
Trailor : Hydraulic modular with 2 numbers of 10 axle trailor coupled together
Total tyres : 160
Pay load : 250 Tonnes
Cost of tractor : 90 lks
Range covered / day : 180 to 200 KMS
Total Crew : about 12 people including a shift supervisor
Load carried : Reactor Vessel
From : Trichy
To : Kandwa
Total KMS : 1500 KMS

Additional Puller which was not coupled and will be used only in inclined stretches. This is a new model compared to the other one which was pulling the trailor. Tyres where 12R20 compared to 11 R 20 in old model. Projector lamps, New side indicators, additional storage compartment inside the cab with reading lights







Maximum adjustable steering rack and reach

Interior of the old puller. AC was good and it made the entire cab cool in less than 2 min. The NVH levels was really impressive even in the crawler gear.

I had a chance to move the additional puller to some extent. There were actually six gears with high and low and each gear. additionally a crawler was provided. The shift pattern is inverted h going from 1 to 3 and by using a switch we can use the same pattern from 4 to 6.
Seats are fully floating with good under thigh and rear support. Two berths were provided with reading lamps.
Additionally Sony Music player with four speakers all around.
Over all this monster was packed with all the Goodies like a car and they (me) enjoy driving

[DWind]

The right stalk below the steering wheel has on-off and resume switches. Are these for cruise control. If so, do the drivers use it while crawling?
BTW which lever is the parking brake. The one above or below.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by DWind

The right stalk below the steering wheel has on-off and resume switches. Are these for cruise control. If so, do the drivers use it while crawling?
BTW which lever is the parking brake. The one above or below.

No idea about cruise control.
PB is the above one.

[Auto freak]

That's indeed a monster you've caught there Ashley2!
I'm really amazed at the fit and finish of this machine!
Looks like its brand new with only a little over 24k on the odo.
Any details of the engines that power them?
And can you please tell me what an additional puller is? Do they couple that in addition to the regular tractor or do they use both tractors alternatively??

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by Auto freak

Any details of the engines that power them?
And can you please tell me what an additional puller is? Do they couple that in addition to the regular tractor or do they use both tractors alternatively??

No idea about the genesis of the Engine but its a 540HP Euro III.
I should have seen about the availability of SCR or EGR though .
Normal haulage will be with one tractor only. The additional tractor(puller) will be used only in steep roads.
I forgot to say one more thing. Actually in the additional puller which is standing behind they had a motor cycle. That will be used for emergency purposes it seems!

[julupani]

The "on-off resume" switch is indeed a cruise control button. Some thing similar is found in Tata Primas.

The additional is most likey for engaging or disengaging the trailor braking.

Euro III engines almost never require SCRs or EGRs to acheive emmision control. Thus these engines are pretty much specific for developing countries where emmission norms are little less restrictive.

An additional puller is when two tractors are attached in series to provide extra torque, something like using two railway locomotives on heavier trains. In fact in these kinds of situations, the tractors are exactly analogical to railway locomotives. This is because none of the load actually rests on the tractor axles, helping to pull the load, requiring those boxes on the rear axles which provide the requisite weight for the powered axles not to slip and utilise all the available torque.

[Ashley2]

Yesterday I have caught a series of Tractors carrying the same type of load but no idea what it was.
It was a total of 5 vehicles. They were Volvo FM400, MAN CLA 4928 and three AL Hippo's.
I was very surprised to see Hippos still being used to carry such a massive load. By looking into history I can easily say that it was produced atleast 10 to 12 years back and still it was doing good!

[kaushik_s]

Whoaa, didn't know that Autobots and Decepticons have landed in India also

BTW, few months back saw few (I think we saw 3) Battle Tanks being carried on the road by huge trucks on Chennai-Bangalore road. We were so enticed looking at the Tanks that we forgot to see what the truck was. That thing was pretty huge. Couldn't click pictures as it was evening time and no light to shoot.

[jagan0677]

Originally Posted by DWind

The right stalk below the steering wheel has on-off and resume switches. Are these for cruise control. If so, do the drivers use it while crawling?
BTW which lever is the parking brake. The one above or below.

Cruise Control is offered for use for the same reason as in cars. There is no relation between crawler function and cruise control.

Parking brake is the one on the left side of the meter cluster. The big one is the parking brake - integrated for the tractor and the trailer.
the small knob below the parking brake is a blocking valve, which is additional safety. For air-operated systems, this ensures that there is no possibility of vehicle moving off on its own, in case of air leakage in stationary vehicle.

Cheers,

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by jagan0677

...the small knob below the parking brake is a blocking valve, which is additional safety. For air-operated systems, this ensures that there is no possibility of vehicle moving off on its own, in case of air leakage in stationary vehicle.

The system is designed such a way that if there is a loss of pressure the breaks gets actuated due to negative pressure.
No way the vehicle can move of its own when there is a air leakage.
That is the reason the engines are raised and run in a high speed before making an overnight parking so that the set pressure is ensured in a safe side - atleast 8 bar aganist the required 6 bar.

[DWind]

Originally Posted by jagan0677

There is no relation between crawler function and cruise control.

By Crawling I meant lugging such huge loads. By using cruise control during crawling one can

1. Minimize jerks which reduce stress on couplers used to pull the load. As also, driver fatigue.
2. Helps maintain constant speed at gradients. Reduces runaways during down gradient by using exhaust brake.

[Spinnerr]

Sharing a few pics of trucks carrying oversized cargo that I got on the email today.

These trucks carry anything from ships/yacht to airplanes to huge storage tanks.

They are a treat to your eyes. and driving them, deff not easy. And I don't think they get past the crawler gear.

Enjoy!















Now, what exactly is a yacht doing in a suburb??
And I think its stuck, not sure if that turn can be completed without scrapping.