MAN is one of those truck manufacturers that can offer factory 4×4, 6×6, and 8×8 chassis with in-house front and rear drive axles. Often, a chassis-cab with such a drivetrain gets a dump body, and this two-tone TGS 8×8 is no exception. To increase the truck’s GVWR and to improve its maneuverability, the rear tandem was reworked by a Dutch specialist.
The Gijsbertsen company built the dump body with solid covers. Göritzlehner is a MAN Truck & Bus dealership in the east of the Netherlands, they were about to deliver the heavy on-/off-roader to the Remmink Transport hauling company when I caught it, early September.
The dump truck is powered by a 12.4 liter, MAN D2676 inline-six engine with a maximum power output of 520 DIN-hp.
Just a minor detail, but thanks to the handle bar at the top and this black step, the driver can move straight from the cab to the dump body and back, all without getting muddy footwear.
Four drive axles, each of them rated at 11.5 tonnes axle weight, which results in a gross vehicle weight rating of 46 tonnes (101,400 lbs). With a factory rear tandem, that would have been 42 tonnes (92,600 lbs).
Zooming in on the stout underpinnings, the right frame rail and the rearmost crossmember.
This is the auxiliary frame between the truck’s frame rails and the dump body.
The planetary front drive axles with parabolic leaf springs, still commonplace in this segment of trucking. And super single tires, naturally.
WVT -Wierda Voertuig Techniek- converted the rear tandem. They increased the axle spacing, hence ‘Wide Spread’, and replaced the factory leaf springs by hydro-pneumatic suspension.
The electro-hydraulic steering system on the rearmost axle. The whole countersteering axle pivots.
WVT is related to Wierda Bedrijfswagens, the Frisian MAN dealership. They convert heavy-duty MAN chassis -adding axles included- for the Dutch market and abroad.
Similar truck modifications are done by Ginaf (DAF chassis-cabs and the pioneer in this field), Terberg (specialized in Volvo), and Veldhuizen Trucks (all brands).
A YouTube WVT video, demonstrating the leveling abilities of the hydro-pneumatic suspension.
As clean as a whistle, but not for long…
These future co-workers, made by that other on-/off-road specialist from Germany, already know all ins and outs of Remmink’s business activities and can’t wait to play.
Dual drive steer axles by themselves are impressive!!! Nice rig!
When I was a youngster, I would spend hours watching these kinds of trucks load and unload. Never bored.
And I could still do it today…..at 70!
Thanks!
That is a nice looking dump.
There’s a weird fascination in commercial vehicles in their showroom state, probably because they never look like that again in real use.
The rear axle on this giant is fascinating. It appears that the trailing arms that attach it are gigantic rams that can move it, as it doesn’t seem as if there’s some pivot attachment point up above the diff area. I presume the coils visible must have enough travel to allow for the amount of steering needed, as must the UJ joints receiving the drive (and any braking stuff too). Those rams must be quite a work of engineering, as they’re doing at least two tasks under huge loads – locating that axle and shoving it about too.