A dedicated machine transporter, on display in the showroom of a used truck dealership, last September. It was a used truck alright, yet the complete bed with its hardwood floor was newly made. As an aside, the loading process that day must have been a piece of cake.
The chassis-cab is a 2021 Scania G500 with a classic 6×2 drivetrain -which means it has a liftable tag axle with dual wheels- and low profile tires. The G-series is the truck maker’s all-round, mid-size model. It’s not available with Scania’s 16.4 liter V8, that monster of a turbodiesel is exclusive to the taller R- and S-series.
Currently, the most powerful Scania G-series has a 560 DIN-hp, 12.7 liter DC13 ‘Super’ engine. Nothing to complain about, really.
A cozy interior for short distance, heavy-duty trucking. With the in-house Opticruise automated manual transmission, there’s no gear stick intruding into the cab (courtesy of Scania Nederland).
The truck comes with disc brakes and air suspension all around, its payload capacity is 15 tonnes (33,000 lbs). Evidently, the machine transporter is not using its full potential.
The small wheel loader goes by the name of Giant D263SW, it’s powered by a Kubota D1105 three-cylinder diesel engine.
It took a bit of web searching, but it turned out that the nameless truck bed was made and installed by Berg Oprijwagens.
This is how the Scania looks in broad daylight, completely leveled and with the hydraulic loading ramps up. In the meantime, the truck has found a new owner (courtesy of Versteijnen Trucks).
Very interesting. I will have to find time to learn how the semi-automated transmission is operated by the driver. You have whetted my mind. Tom
Opticruise operation:
Driving modes (three of them):
Very interesting – in checking out the Berg Oprijwagens website, it seems that they make truck beds and ramps out of steel, aluminum or wood. The wood like on this one is interesting from a number of perspectives, but I’m awfully curious what the price difference is between wood and metal, and if there’s some uses for which wood is actually preferable.
Regardless, it sure looks neat.
Same ‘flatdeck flooring options’ (steel, aluminum or wood). Never mind the completely different truck segment.
https://expertec.com/flatdeck-flooring-options/
Like the way they alternate wood slats with aluminum. Good look!
Wouldn’t think wood would be a good choice for longevity. Liable to get lots of engine oil, trans and hydraulic fluid leaked on it. The years I spent in the equipment rental business, we steam cleaned and pressure washed the aluminum deck all the time.
Omega flooring:
https://donbur.co.uk/features/flooring/omega-flooring.html
Another machinery mover, converted from a Pacific off-road logging truck. They never came with 2 steering axles; the conversion cost a reputed $500,000 CDN. Used on the northern end of Vancouver Island to move lighter logging equipment up (and down) the steep roads.
Brutal! Which manufacturers build such dedicated, king-size logging trucks these days? Kenworth and Mack?
No one really builds these anymore for logging in BC (Challenger was the last one and I think they moved to Australia), however there is a reasonable market for rebuilding the old ones but with declining harvests and the switch to second growth trees (lighter, smaller) there is less need for these 200t monsters. Most logs are moved by heavy duty versions of highway trucks, the company I retired from uses Kenworths.
OK, thanks for the reply. So the Pacifics and the like are truly the diesel-dinosaurs of the logging industry.
That Kenworth tractor is still impressive though, with its tridem-axle set-up.