Truck News: Volvo FH16 featuring I-Shift transmission with crawler gears faces an extreme heavy haulage challenge - 750 Tonnes

 Sometime last month Volvo Trucks featured a...well, Volvo Truck that pulled about 750 Tonnes - a road train. I just found the time to look through it and it is actually pretty interesting. The Volvo FH16 features the I-Shift gearbox fitted with crawler gears and 750hp state of tune running the power through the strongest heavy duty axle from the product range. 

The only real modification was that in order to handle the pressure on the drive axle, the plate under the fifth wheel was reinforced. Note the 1hp per 1 tonne equivalent. And nothing broke. Amazing.

According to Volvo Trucks,  750 tonnes equals to at least one of the items listed below:

• 57 Volvo FH16 trucks
• 350 Volvo XC90 cars
• 150 fully grown adult elephants
• 4 Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets
• Just over 4.5 wind turbines

PRESS RELEASE

In “Volvo Trucks vs 750 Tonnes”, a Volvo FH16 featuring I-Shift transmission with crawler gears faces an extreme heavy haulage challenge. With the world’s strongest man, Magnus Samuelsson, and trucking journalist Brian Weatherley in the driver’s cab, a Volvo FH16 pulls 750 tonnes

In the Port of Gothenburg, Sweden, 40 containers filled with Volvo spare parts sit on 20 trailers and form a 300-metre long road train. Together with the truck it weighs 750 tonnes. The mission: to drive a Volvo FH16 from standstill while hauling 750 tonnes and cover a distance of 100 metres.

"I-Shift with crawler gears offers starting traction that is unlike anything else on the market for series-produced trucks. The new crawler ratios make it possible to haul really heavy loads, start off in difficult terrain, and drive at speeds as low as 0.5 km/h. Specially built trucks are normally used for exceptionally heavy loads, but here we're using a Volvo FH16 with a driveline that has come straight from the factory," says Peter Hardin, Product Manager FM and FMX at Volvo Trucks.

The Volvo FH16 used in the test features I-Shift with crawler gears and the strongest axles from Volvo's regular product range. The truck is driven by Magnus Samuelsson, former holder of the "World's Strongest Man" title.

"Few things can match the sense of challenging and winning over one's physical limitations. I've faced many tough challenges over the years but this pull is my heaviest ever," says Magnus Samuelsson.

At his side he has experienced trucking journalist Brian Weatherley. 
"That Volvo Trucks has developed an automated gearbox that can haul 325 tonnes gross combination weight is impressive. But tackling more than 700 tonnes GCW* with a single regular production truck is really quite amazing. In my 30 years as a trucking journalist I've never seen anything like it," says Brian Weatherley.

*gross combination weight

April 12, 2016

The truck's specifications

• Volvo FH16 750 hp in standard configuration, featuring Volvo's strongest axles from its regular product range.
• In order to handle the pressure on the drive axle, the plate under the fifth wheel was reinforced.

How the challenge was tackled

• Before the trial was carried out, several safety measures had to be adopted. For instance, the couplings between the 20 trailers were checked thoroughly and the air pressure in all 204 tyres was finely adjusted.
• 40 containers were loaded onto the trailers. The containers were loaded in pairs, one on top of the other.
• All told, the truck, trailers and containers had a total weight exceeding 750 tonnes.
• The truck hauled the rig 100 metres.

Other ways of expressing 750 tonnes

• 57 Volvo FH16 trucks
• 350 Volvo XC90 cars
• 150 fully grown adult elephants
• 4 Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets
• Just over 4.5 wind turbines

Facts I-Shift with crawler gears

• I-Shift with crawler gears is a further development of Volvo Trucks' I-Shift automated gearbox.
• The new version of I-Shift has been specially developed for excellent starting traction and to handle driving at ultra-low speeds.
• I-Shift with crawler gears can drive as slowly as 0.5-2 km/h and can start off from standstill while hauling 325 tonnes, a unique achievement for series-produced trucks with an automated gearbox.
• The transmission is available in a choice of direct drive and overdrive, with one or two crawler ratios. It is also possible to specify two extra reverse crawler gears.
• The crawler gears are added to a regular I-Shift gearbox. In order to handle the high loads involved, several components are made from high-strength materials. The gearbox is 12 cm longer than a regular I-Shift unit.
• I-Shift with crawler gears is available with Volvo Trucks' 13- and 16-litre engines on the Volvo FM, Volvo FMX, Volvo FH and Volvo FH16.

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