No behemoths with towering cabs today. Instead, some agile and enclosed delivery trucks, like this meat-hauling MAN duo. The 2021 TGE in front is nothing more -or less- than a rebadged Volkswagen Crafter. Behind it, a 2015 TGL.
A fixed cab vs a substantially bigger tilt cab, 2.0 liter engine displacement vs 4.6 liter, 5,500 kg GVWR vs 7,490 kg (12,125 and 16,512 lbs, respectively).
This anonymous, 2011 Renault Master 2.3 dCi can be best described as a mix between a flatbed truck with dropsides and a box truck with a cantilever liftgate.
Same trucking segment, a 2021 Iveco Daily 35C18 box truck. One can say the Iveco Daily is a RWD, heavy-duty Fiat Ducato.
Ah, there he is, Duke John. Now his hairdo, clothing and handwriting may be slightly out of style, but the man’s renowned beer brewing qualities can still stand the test of time.
His latest turbodiesel carriage, a new DAF LF 230 FA truck. It’s powered by a 6.7 liter, PACCAR PX-7 engine, supplied by Cummins.
The tilt cab for this light DAF series is built by Renault and in North-America it’s used by Kenworth (K270/K370) and Peterbilt (model 220). Proost!
On the subject of truck agility. Is there a minimum length for a steerable axle? In other words would the TGL benefit from a steerable axle if the situation warranted if?
Thanks
These light vans and trucks are very maneuverable a steering tag axle would be a waste of effort and require a licence upgrade to become 6 wheelers.
The max you can squeeze from a 4×2 chassis would be 21,500 kg GVWR, but that’s certainly way beyond this segment of delivery trucks.
For comparison purposes, the DAF in the article is rated at 16,000 kg GVW.
Setting the front/first axle apart, obviously, only trucks with more than two axles in total can have one or more additional steering axles. There’s no minimum length or wheelbase, it’s just a question of extra GVWR and payload capacity.
Which means the most basic example in NL is a truck with three axles which has a steering axle ahead or behind the rear drive axle (a pusher or tag axle, respectively). These are designated as a 6×2/4 (steering pusher axle) and a 6×2*4 (steering tag axle) chassis.
Like the Scania 6×2*4 below. From front to rear: steering axle – drive axle (dual wheels) – steering tag axle.
And: a pusher axle steers in the same direction as the front axle, whereas a tag axle steers in the opposite direction.
Baby DAF, Ive seen a few of those in use here, Ivecos of all sizes are about and those Renaults are popular in the light delivery sector, but for better or worse SAIC LDV are flooding the market with their vans and pickups including EV versions of both.