In May 2023, I visited the open house days of the Falkom company in the Netherlands, a manufacturer of a wide range of recovery vehicles. The crew was building a heavy wrecker-rotator on a Scania 770S V8 10×4/6 chassis-cab. Just a few weeks ago, I came across the end result.
The situation in Falkom’s workshop, back in May 2023.
The 10×4/6 drivetrain designation I mentioned means that a five-axle truck or tractor chassis has two drive axles and three steering axles, one of them is a pusher axle. The legal maximum gross weight rating for this 770 DIN-hp Scania is 47 tonnes (103,600 lbs).
Look at the sheer massiveness of the whole construction, mounted on the truck’s frame rails.
Here’s the plan, still in a drawing stage.
And there it was, as big as life, early September. The supportive elephant is owned by a towing company, based in the same town as Falkom. One of their other divisions is a Scania dealership.
One big yellow lump of steel, weighing 37,315 kg (82,265 lbs).
The outriggers come with an integrated winch.
A mighty piece of rolling equipment for sure. The rotator and its carrier seem to be made for each other, they couldn’t have built a more compact package.
Related Reading
Open House Falkom Tiel – Part One, Under Construction
Open House Falkom Tiel – Part Two, All Ready And Up To The Task
WOW, WOW, and WOW! “Whaddya mean you’re stuck, buddy?” Fine engineering. Thanks for showing this to us with explanation. This is one good heavy hauler. Have a fine afternoon! It’s 9:39 AM EST where I am.
Looks really well balanced. Scania equipment is among the world’s best.
Always appreciated the Mack/Scania alliance of past generations. Both companies benefited as well as the general public.
Nice, I didnt take note of who built it but Ive been towed by a couple of rotators one of them was a 5 axle Scania, Gross train weight is the number to look for on the loading cert, Ive been towed by one of these or one of its cousins and because my truck had eaten the rear diff it had to be towed backwards but I was laden, so 35 tonnes that had to be lifted and towed, add that to tare weight of the rotator and its not close to its maximum allowed GTW, trucks can gross 60+ tonnes here and these things can pull that on a flat tow
Yes, a horse can tow much more weight than it can carry on its back. Many heavy-haulage tractors with four or five axles (mostly Volvos and Scanias with the biggest and most powerful engines) are rated at 200 to 250 tonnes gross combination weight. Of course, you need some official documents for that kind of weight (and size).
A beautiful Scania, and the sound of its V8 is unmatched.
Its resemblance to modern DAFs is truly striking.
Wish I had a picture of the war surplus Sterling rotator that undecked trucks for the KW dealer I worked for in the ’70s. In comparison, it would look like an antique toy.
That’s impressive.