24.10.2014

ALE launches new Trojan truck

Heavy lift and transport company ALE has launched a new heavy transport tractor, the Trojan Truck.

Designed and built in-house with a 72 tonne design weight, the Trojan has a maximum road speed of 48mph and can pull a gross combination weight of 300 tonnes at a gradient of 14 percent and 500 tonnes at seven percent.
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The unit has a 72 tonne design weight

A total of six Trojan trucks will be built (two have already been produced) with four staying in the UK, replacing older vehicles - mainly Fauns plus one Unipower and an MAN. Two are also destined for the United Arab Emirates.

“The Trojan 8870 is the next generation of vehicles in the heavy lift industry with major advances in capability, fuel efficiency and reliability,” said Gary Butler, ALE project manager and designer of the Trojan truck.
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The Trojan 8870 has four axles with 8x8 drive and uses an inline six cylinder Volvo Penta Euro 5 engine producing 700hp at 1,800 rpm and 3,220 Nm of torque at 1,200rpm.

One of the main features of the vehicle is its ability to link up multiple tractor units in a command and drone convoy. The steering, vehicle braking, electrics, engine and transmission on all tractor units are synchronised by computer, ensuring each vehicle is matched for gear, RPM and torque.

Vehicle braking, engine compression-braking and transmission retardation can also be controlled identically, resulting in no limit to the number of vehicles in the convoy.
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Gary Butler

The Trojan 8870 has four axles with 8x8 drive and uses an in line six cylinder Volvo Penta Euro 5 engine, producing 700hp at 1,800 RPM.
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The truck is said to be 40 percent more efficient than previous models

The engine has been mated to an Allison fully automatic six speed transmission with integral torque converter, PTO and retarder. Dana twin steer front axles and Kessler tandem rear axles with a Kessler auxiliary transmission with two speed transfer case with built-in torque proportioning giving one third power to the front two axles and two thirds to the rear. The engine and transmission combination is said to reduce emissions and provides fuel savings of 40 percent compared to older tractor units.

“We used the Volvo Penta engine because we wanted an inline six rather than a V and it can also comply with Euro 5 for UK registration,” said David Purslow, general manager, global operations. “A key design consideration was ensuring the power could be delivered effectively and critical to this was providing a significant and balanced footprint which would also assist retardation.”
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Inside the cab

“We wanted to replace our current fleet of trucks with a specification that improved on vehicle performance, capability and fuel efficiency but there was no other truck on the market that delivered this,” said Butler. “We therefore designed out own based on our specific requirements which included computer synchronisation, future-proof electronics, automatic gear change, ABS, transmission retarder, a good footprint for power and torque and stainless steel cab. It was very much a team effort and without the hard work from everyone involved the truck could not have been created.”
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The digital central display displays a wide variety of functions including speed and diagnostics