[netchef]

Originally Posted by ram

Is Peterbilt better just because it is American?
Left Hand Drive in India in 2008 seems sinful and criminal.

Couldn't ONGC ensure the trucks were RHD before importing?

Darned good point, Sir. Points actually.
Glad it's you telling them. Goes down better when it comes from a Senior.

[AMATMO]

Originally Posted by ram

Is Peterbilt better just because it is American?
Left Hand Drive in India in 2008 seems sinful and criminal.

Couldn't ONGC ensure the trucks were RHD before importing?

true they could have been strict there

well i am not very sure but SPV special purpose vehicles are allowed to be LHD,cause sometimes we dont have local truck makers satisfiing the needs of certain institutions under such cases they are allowed to import a vehicle that suits their need,i think the MAN trucks posted earlier on the forum come in the same category

correct me if i am wrong.

secondly the truck doesnt look like the latest model either,so maybe the rules were different back then?

[Ram]

GJ-18 is a Gandhinagar, Gujarat registration.

You have to check the newness of the H-7808 registration.

And big American Iron [Peterbilt, Kenworth, Mack, White, ...] always had those dated retro looks.

In fact Peterbilt calls this the "Signature Traditional Styling".

Ram

[Nitin]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

This is not a 18 wheeler (tractor). Its a fixed frame type, three axle that makes 10 wheels. They have some kind of pneumatic equipment bolted on it.

Oh is it? I thought they were the trailer type trucks,attached to the mail hauling truck.

Originally Posted by netchef

Great that someone's talking 'trucks', isn't it, Nitin? I once dreamed of becoming a trucker in the Wild West.

Couple of them make 70-80K USD in those 3-4 months, but there is a very real risk to life and limb.

Rajeev the truck driver! far more dangerous than being the ad-guy,eh?
Lots of people get licensed to drive trucks for the quick money they make. I've heard of fairly well educated/working individuals who've quit their jobs to take up a job as a truck driver, all this as one gets to earn upto $100K in 6 months. Something that would take them ages to get,if they stuck to their original job.

[Ram]

Wasn't it a 1955 Peterbilt 281 that featured in Steven Spielberg's first film, "Duel" which came out in 1971?
That truck looked truly evil and menacing, terrorizing Dennis Weaver in the 1971 Plymouth Valiant.

Ram

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by netchef

Darned good point, Sir. Points actually.
Glad it's you telling them. Goes down better when it comes from a Senior.

Here it doesn't matter if its RHD or LHD, its imported for specific requirements. and they won't change the tooling and assembly line for just couple of overseas order.

you must recall, all the scania, tatra and zils that army and airforce owns are LHD. and in army its not even written LHD warning, as they are mostly off highway models and used on highways only for movement.

PS: as somebody mentioned somewhere above Volvo, Tatra, Merc Actros, are made in india.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Here it doesn't matter if its RHD or LHD, its imported for specific requirements. and they won't change the tooling and assembly line for just couple of overseas order.

Why change OEM tooling and assembly line?

There are so many companies in the UK and Australia whose raison d'être is conversion of LHD to RHD.

And what do you think about Peterbilts seen on Australian roads (of the road trains fame)? Every single one has been imported and converted to right hand drive for Australian roads.

[netchef]

Originally Posted by Nitin

Oh is it? I thought they were the trailer type trucks,attached to the mail hauling truck.



Rajeev the truck driver! far more dangerous than being the ad-guy,eh?
Lots of people get licensed to drive trucks for the quick money they make. I've heard of fairly well educated/working individuals who've quit their jobs to take up a job as a truck driver, all this as one gets to earn upto $100K in 6 months. Something that would take them ages to get,if they stuck to their original job.

Not so much the money as the escape- mindlessness - of the road. Perhaps it's the strain of being a Creative Director- don't know- but I often yearn for some vapid, vacuous, mechanical job, and trucking comes close as it also throws in music which is a love. (We ad guys- more mad than dangerous.)

Originally Posted by ram

Wasn't it a 1955 Peterbilt 281 that featured in Steven Spielberg's first film, "Duel" which came out in 1971?
That truck looked truly evil and menacing, terrorizing Dennis Weaver in the 1971 Plymouth Valiant.

Attachment 14023

Ram

Never saw the flick, but the truck sure looks mean.
I love the Tatras made in India by BEML. They have presence and personality, and a honk like a ship's.

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by netchef

Not so much the money as the escape- mindlessness - of the road. Perhaps it's the strain of being a Creative Director- don't know- but I often yearn for some vapid, vacuous, mechanical job, and trucking comes close as it also throws in music which is a love. (We ad guys- more mad than dangerous.)


Never saw the flick, but the truck sure looks mean.
I love the Tatras made in India by BEML. They have presence and personality, and a honk like a ship's.

actually in india Tatra used to be assembled by BEML but for army only and AFAIK none were sold to civilian use. Now Tatra is made by a company called Vectra. They basically have two models hemang (india specific) and popular 6 times Dakar winner T815.

[netchef]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

actually in india Tatra used to be assembled by BEML but for army only and AFAIK none were sold to civilian use. Now Tatra is made by a company called Vectra. They basically have two models hemang (india specific) and popular 6 times Dakar winner T815.

SirAlec: I often fantasised about converting one into a caravan but think you're right about them not being leaked to civilians. Any idea about the engine spec?

[karlosdeville]

I visited ONGCs setup in Ankleshwar for training (im training to be a Petroluem Engg). I was fortunate enough to see loads of these and the like, I remember only one Peterbilt though, most were Kenworth, some of them ancient and rotting in a corner. The applications they are imported for are extremely specialsed, mainly for well logging, and I dont see the problem if they are LHD. The demand for conversion specialists just isnt there, the numbers are so few and applications so different.

[pankaj_sachdeva]

Originally Posted by netchef

Any idea about the engine spec?

Here you go Sir

Hemang Specification EngineMake and Model TATRA T3 B 928 - 10, 12667cc, air intercooled, turbocharged, 8 cylinder V 90°Max. Power 230 kW (308 hp) @ 2000 rpm Max. Torque 1300 Nm @ 1300 rpm
23 N 65 Tractor Specifications EngineMake and Model

TATRA T3 B 928-10,12667 cc, Air cooled, turbocharged, 8 cylinder V 90° with intake air intercooler

Max. Power 230 kW (308 hp) @ 2000 rpmMax. Torque1300 Nm @1300 rpm Source : Web Home to Tatra Vectra Motors Limited

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

I visited ONGCs setup in Ankleshwar for training (im training to be a Petroluem Engg). I was fortunate enough to see loads of these and the like, I remember only one Peterbilt though, most were Kenworth, some of them ancient and rotting in a corner. The applications they are imported for are extremely specialsed, mainly for well logging, and I dont see the problem if they are LHD. The demand for conversion specialists just isnt there, the numbers are so few and applications so different.

Dude! some images please, if you may.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Dude! some images please, if you may.

Sigh, we couldnt carry any cameras, and camera fones were frowned upon there anyways.

[SirAlec]

Don't miss Ice Road Truckers at 10:00 PM IST today on History Channel