Well, everything goes wrong sometimes or the other, so the first thing when you make something such as a caravan is to figure out what would you do if something goes wrong. Ever wondered why that Mahindra Jeeps with the DI engine are so popular in rural areas. Well, its because its got such simple mechanicals that anything hardly goes wrong. Considering the Mahindra DI motor, it is probably the oldest diesel engine in India(or maybe the world, but do correct me if i am wrong) that is still in production. Its got a no good power figure, is noisey and will rattle you up, but low end torque its got plenty(What amases me is what kind of drugs were the company folks on when they decided to put the Di in the Bolero, when they could use the Scorpio motor instead). Anyways the major advantage of the DI , and also the reason why it finds favor amongst farmers ,pickup wallas ,taxi walla, etc, is that it has very simple mechanicals and that hardly anything goes wrong, and if it does, its again so simple that any road side/shade tree mechanic will fix it. As regarding parts, it again has a major advantage since the mahindra pick up is so popular and mahindra has a workshop even in the remotest areas, and even if there isnt, then, heard of the Mahindra tractors, well you could use the parts from the tractor in case of an emergency coz 90% of the parts match up, now that reliability. And since Tata trucks have penetrated the market so well, you would be able to find them everywhere, and therefore the workshops and spares wouldnt be that far off.
So the point my friend, is that even though the mercedes engine(actually is a 60's-early 70's mercedes engine) of the Force truck may sound appealing, it just cannot beat this quality of TATA. I mean, you are halfway between leh-ladakh and something goes wrong, how difficult and long do you think its going to take if you have a tata vs a force. In a tata, even the fauji's can help you out with parts as they have the same trucks.
Now if you think Tata aint reliable in terms or passenger vehicles, then its entirely the opposite when it comes to trucks, and why would'nt it, coz it makes nothing on its own leaving aside its chassis(actually i aint sure about the chassis too, who know if it too is outsourced). The Engine is a Cummins, which is a U.S company and the very same engine used on the Truck comes in the Dodge Rams also. The GBS600 gearbox(tata design but it doesn't make it) is probably the only gearbox in India meant for a truck with an overdrive and is very reliable(maybe the bigger volvo buses have it too but they are beyond our reach. The axles too are from Elliot and another company i cannot remember at the moment. And it is the only 3 ton class vehilce, that would give you a rear differential lock(only the high budget trucks would give you both front and rear diff locks, and as for tata 407, never seen one with a diff lock even though they are advertised with it). So its the best choice you have. I have PM'ed my number to you .
Regards,
Bikram Singh Sandhu |