[nithesh]

Never seen this TATA 37 T truck or the AL 3718 being operated by any transporters. Are there any reviews of these 14 wheel trucks by actual end users ?

I will be making a decision on my next purchase soon and as there are no reviews of 3723 by transporters, i am leaning towards buying the tried and tested mature product TATA lpt 3118 .

cheers.

[greatmana2000]

The lift mechanism is hydraulic and not by air .
They use air suspension because the Air bellows need not be anchored to the chassis ,where as leaf springs are anchored at the chassis . The air bellows are integrated into the sub frame which in turn is controlled by a hydraulic lifter or by using another set of bellows which are bolted on to a cantilever frame

[julupani]

Originally Posted by Hemicuda

The lift Axle here is placed at the rear because that is the only place that can be available.Remember u have a prop shaft to accomodate which provides drive to the third axle in this case or the 8x2( Tata,Al.Eicher)

There are no problems in placing the lift axle in-front of the driven axle or axles. Look at the Tata 3118 or the BB 31tonner or the Leyland 3718, all of these trucks have lift axles placed in front of the driven axle. The lift axle and the propshaft can be packaged together so as not to cause interference. Generally, in case of a pusher lift axle, ie one in front of the driven axle, the amount of lift that can be achieved is less compared to a tag lift axle, ie one behind the driven axle.

Originally Posted by nithesh

Never seen this TATA 37 T truck or the AL 3718 being operated by any transporters. Are there any reviews of these 14 wheel trucks by actual end users ?

I will be making a decision on my next purchase soon and as there are no reviews of 3723 by transporters, i am leaning towards buying the tried and tested mature product TATA lpt 3118 .

cheers.

I dont think you need to worry at all about buying any of the 37tonners if they suit your needs more than the 31tonners. Neither of them have anything revolutionary that should cause reliability issues any more than their 31tonner counterparts. These trucks share pretty much all their components with other trucks in their respective line-ups, all of which have been in use for quite some time now.

So if its the 37tonner that is better for you, then go for it. The only question is which to choose, the Tata or the Leyland, with their different engine specs as well as position of the lift axle.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by Hemicuda

The lift Axle here is placed at the rear because that is the only place that can be available.Remember u have a prop shaft to accomodate which provides drive to the third axle in this case or the 8x2( Tata,Al.Eicher)

If you would recollect, the TM 3118c has the lift axle placed ahead of the live rear axle. TM chose to have the lift axle in the LPT3723c at the rear, for their own reason. The AL offering, 3718il has the lift axle ahead of the first rear axle. The prop shaft does not foul with the additional axle at all.

Originally Posted by greatmana2000

The lift mechanism is hydraulic and not by air .
They use air suspension because the Air bellows need not be anchored to the chassis ,where as leaf springs are anchored at the chassis . The air bellows are integrated into the sub frame which in turn is controlled by a hydraulic lifter or by using another set of bellows which are bolted on to a cantilever frame

Thanks for that insight! I thought they are pneumatic. And I have seen additional air tanks too. The post here shows additional air tanks, but I don't see any hydraulics there

EDIT:

Originally Posted by nithesh

Never seen this TATA 37 T truck or the AL 3718 being operated by any transporters. Are there any reviews of these 14 wheel trucks by actual end users ?

I will be making a decision on my next purchase soon and as there are no reviews of 3723 by transporters, i am leaning towards buying the tried and tested mature product TATA lpt 3118 .
cheers.

The call is yours. If you need a 37 T rigid, then you must choose from among the AL 3718il or TM LPT 3723c. For a better FE, i would lean towards the AL 3718il. However, for mostly 31T GVW use, why bother to go for 37 tonners, you can choose the LPT 3118c itself, as you said.

As julupani has rightly pointed out, there's nothing pathbreaking in the 37T trucks. The same aggregates being used in their other products and same engines - so there is hardly anything that could be a cause of worry.

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by nithesh

I will be making a decision on my next purchase soon and as there are no reviews of 3723 by transporters, i am leaning towards buying the tried and tested mature product TATA lpt 3118 .

cheers.

Congrats on the decision ! IMHO the LPT 3118C is the most handsome Indian truck till date, hope your ventures with it reward you handsomely too .


BTW Can someone tell me if the lift axles decrease fuel consumption when not used ?
In theory the more moving parts, the more energy needed no? Yes I know the axle is not driven but doesn't rolling resistance have some impact on FE?

[julupani]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

BTW Can someone tell me if the lift axles decrease fuel consumption when not used ?
In theory the more moving parts, the more energy needed no? Yes I know the axle is not driven but doesn't rolling resistance have some impact on FE?

I dont think there is a simple rule of thumb answer to this question. Remember that when you raise the lift axle, the weight that was resting on it is now transferred to the other axles. Thus the increased load causes the rolling resistance due to those tyres to increase. One or more of these axles will be driven ones, where the effect of increased load will cause significant more rolling resistance due to application of torque.

But overall, from an operational point of view, even if there is an advantage in FE, it wont be too large. Also take into account the increased wear and tear of the components, I dont think raising the lift axle when the load on the truck needs it is a good idea at all. This is probably why many lift axles use load sensors to read the load and lift or lower themselves as necessary.

[Ravindra M]

I have a general query which the truck experts may explain.
This particular truck has total 5 axles out of which only 1 is live axle.
That means, only 1 axle will provide the traction, while load is shared by all.
Does it mean, it is strictly for on-road use ? I have seen many roadside dhabas with quite muddy / slippery approach roads and also seen many trucks stalled in the mud.
Multi-axles in rigid trucks is a phenomenon very specific to India I think.

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by Ravindra M

I have a general query which the truck experts may explain.
This particular truck has total 5 axles out of which only 1 is live axle.
That means, only 1 axle will provide the traction, while load is shared by all.
Does it mean, it is strictly for on-road use ? I have seen many roadside dhabas with quite muddy / slippery approach roads and also seen many trucks stalled in the mud.
Multi-axles in rigid trucks is a phenomenon very specific to India I think.

If you mean the prevalence/popularity of these trucks in india is greater, yes I think this could be true, but I know they are used widely in northern/eastern(russia) europe a lot. I think Brazil is also one place where we see similar things from Volkswagen.

Surely it has deeper history elsewhere because this obviously isnt an Indian innovation.


For example:

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/f-dump-truc...nceSearchZtrue

http://www.mascus.com/transportation.../gniu6ldp.html


http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsde...x?OHID=4396809

[julupani]

Originally Posted by Ravindra M

I have a general query which the truck experts may explain.
This particular truck has total 5 axles out of which only 1 is live axle.
That means, only 1 axle will provide the traction, while load is shared by all.
Does it mean, it is strictly for on-road use ? I have seen many roadside dhabas with quite muddy / slippery approach roads and also seen many trucks stalled in the mud.
Multi-axles in rigid trucks is a phenomenon very specific to India I think.

Which 5 axle truck are you talking about which has only 1 live axle??

37 tonner, ie 5axle rigids, due to the extra load are sure to have 2 driven axles ie a 10x4 configuration.

Similarly with other multi axle rigids too, multiple driven axles are available. Though the popular Tata 31tonner was only 8x2, other manufacturers offered 8x4 variants of the 4-axle rigids. In 3-axle rigids, having a 6x4 configurations is not really necessary when most of your usage is on paved surfaces. But for off-road usage where surfaces dont provide high grip, having a 6x4 configuration is useful.

As to the popularity of multi-axle rigids, it is very popular in south and south-east Asia. This doesnt mean that they are not found in other parts of the world, just that they are not very popular. You will also find these kinds of trucks in South America, Eastern Europe, Africa etc. Due to a variety of reasons, rigid trucks remain high in popularity in India, though everybody will agree over the past decade popularity of tractors too have increased by leaps and bounds in India.

Remember trucks are commercial machines, thus the kind of trucks that are found in a region depend on a variety of factors that are valid in that region. Thus truck makers all over the world offer a lot of permutations and combinations of models so that every kind of customer can find a particular truck that is perfectly suited to his needs.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by nithesh

Never seen this TATA 37 T truck or the AL 3718 being operated by any transporters. Are there any reviews of these 14 wheel trucks by actual end users ?.

Tata is yet to launch 3723. Currently AL 3718 il is the only 37 tonner in market.
As you know, internet forums does'nt have much of user reviews for trucks except for few. So you may need to get in touch with your peers.

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

BTW Can someone tell me if the lift axles decrease fuel consumption when not used ?
In theory the more moving parts, the more energy needed no? Yes I know the axle is not driven but doesn't rolling resistance have some impact on FE?

You may need to consider as, its doesn't decrease but gives a normal FE.
But AL has recently lauched 31T with pusher lift axle for select application. So we may need to wait for review were we have better FE and reduced tyre wear.

Originally Posted by julupani

...

I dont think you need to worry at all about buying any of the 37tonners if they suit your needs more than the 31tonners. Neither of them have anything revolutionary that should cause reliability issues any more than their 31tonner counterparts. These trucks share pretty much all their components with other trucks in their respective line-ups, all of which have been in use for quite some time now../

The major difference being the 6 speed gear box and 9 speed gear box.

Originally Posted by Ravindra M

I have a general query which the truck experts may explain.
This particular truck has total 5 axles out of which only 1 is live axle.
That means, only 1 axle will provide the traction, while load is shared by all.
Does it mean, it is strictly for on-road use ? I have seen many roadside dhabas with quite muddy / slippery approach roads and also seen many trucks stalled in the mud.
Multi-axles in rigid trucks is a phenomenon very specific to India I think.

Though your point is valid wrt slippery roads near dhaba, there are rare cases that truck gets strucked due to lack power in 2 rear axle.
SO as mentioned all these trucks are for onroad application and comes with either 8x2 or 10x2 only. 8x4 is for select application like bitumen, bulker etc.
Infact the current 37T has only 10x2 model and 10x4 is yet to available.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Tata is yet to launch 3723. Currently AL 3718 il is the only 37 tonner in market..

You seem to be behind the curve on WRT the Tata LPT3723.

1. It has definitely been launched. Here is a link to a separate thread. You can even check the Tata Motors website for the press release.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...-services.html

2. Regarding its specifications, the Tata 3723 sports Tata's own 9-speed box, the G1150. And the 3723 is also not a 10x2, but a 10x4. Cant say what the configuration of the Leyland 3718 is though.

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

[Transsenger]

I understand that the 'lift axle' mechanism is supplied by Hendrickson for Tata and Bharatbenz. But AL seems to have developed it inhouse, for their 3718. Hope Ashley can put some light on this!

Also @Ashley, do you mean to say AL has new version of 3118 or 3116 with liftaxle for specific applications?

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by Transsenger

Also @Ashley, do you mean to say AL has new version of 3118 or 3116 with liftaxle for specific applications?

I guess he has mentioned the new launch (3718iL) from AL which has lift axle mechanism.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by Transsenger

I understand that the 'lift axle' mechanism is supplied by Hendrickson for Tata and Bharatbenz. But AL seems to have developed it inhouse, for their 3718. Hope Ashley can put some light on this!

Also @Ashley, do you mean to say AL has new version of 3118 or 3116 with liftaxle for specific applications?

TML sources its lift axles, and some other axles, from TACO Hendrickson Suspension systems who have a manufacturing facility in Pune. This is a JV between Tata AutoComp(TACO) and Hendrickson USA.

TACO has previously supplied components to Ashok Leyland. So it is not exactly impossible that even ALL have sourced their lift axle from TACO Hendrickson.

[nithesh]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Tata is yet to launch 3723. Currently AL 3718 il is the only 37 tonner in market.
As you know, internet forums does'nt have much of user reviews for trucks except for few. So you may need to get in touch with your peers.

Tata had launched the lpt 3723 some time back and is available with the dealers. It comes at a price of 25.5 Lakhs (cowl chassis).

cheers.