Two Swedish infrastructure workers with a 10×4*6 drivetrain, air suspension all around, and a gross weight rating of 47 tonnes (103,600 lbs). And both of them are equipped with a roll-off system and an identical HMF grab crane behind the cab.
With its low day cab and good visibility -from a driver’s point of view- this Volvo FM is ideal for working in built-up areas and city centers. The truck is powered by a 12.8 liter, inline-six engine.
Add a counter-steering, liftable tag axle to an 8×4 drivetrain and the result is a 10×4*6. And voilà, there’s your eight tonnes (17,600 lbs) GVWR-bonus without hampering the maneuverability.
The Volvo’s roll-off system comes in the form of a Hyva hooklift hoist.
Another Hyva product is the dump body and flatbed combo, the left side can be dropped down hydraulically. All the way, so that a forklift can do its job.
A Volvo FM inside look. In the truck maker’s tilt cab hierarchy, the FM is positioned above the FL and FE and below the FH.
Parked next to the Volvo, a fairly new Scania R530 V8 with the exact same axle configuration. Outstanding, in all possible ways, and powered by a 16.4 liter drop hammer.
The truck’s HTS-NCH roll-off cable system has a capacity of 30 tonnes (66,000 lbs). At the September show, the Scania carried a Vossebelt insulated dump body for hauling asphalt.
The R-series’ latest, 2024 Smart Dash. The Scania tilt cabs, in ascending order of height: L, P, G, R, and S.
These pictures are published on the Dutch Scania website. Note how the grab crane is resting behind the cab, neatly folded up.
And this is not a still from a monster movie, but the trucks’ HMF 1943 cranes, reaching for the sky.
These are extreme versions but after working for a trash co in the early ’80s I was convinced farmers could benefit from a roll-off truck system. One chassis to maintain, multiple boxes/platform for hauling different commodities. The guy that owned the company also farmed and hauled shelled corn in a 20yd box but it had to be covered. We took a packer container cut a hole in the front for a combine unload auger that we could cover, then made an angle tract on the back door to slide a sheet of plywood in to cover the packer port. Worked great and could set anywhere till unloaded.
Straight trucks with five axles are commonplace here, and they all need (at least) a 30 tonnes roll-off system, because that’s roughly the payload capacity of such chassis.
Hooklift hoists are also used in farming, example below, not as common as in the trucking business though.
I love Swedish trucks.
Still don’t understand how Volvo could establish itself in the US market as one of the best-selling truck brands, while Scania couldn’t.
I have no doubt that if we sold trucks in North America, Scania would be at the top in sales.
Volvo could establish itself in the US by ‘eating’ White and GMC (the heavy models) in the eighties. Later on they also became the new owner of Mack after taking over Renault’s truck division (the French owned Mack).
Scania, MAN, and International (formerly known as Navistar) are all subsidiaries of Traton, Volkswagen’s truck division.
The latest 13 liter engine in Internationals was developed by Scania and MAN, and is thus called a ‘world engine’ now. No V8’s for International, Scania only.
That’s the history and current state of affairs in a nutshell.
As an aside, a Scania V8 adept in the US is Bruce Wilson. A brand new Scania tractor with a 770 hp V8 is on its way to the US. Numerous older and recent videos of him can be found on YouTube.
Mid-Liner Macks with the French Poodle on the hood.
Or a French Bulldog?
Lucky the Netherlands is flat because a 460 FM Volvo is no powerhouse @44,000kg on a 10% grade, you are in low box whether you like it or not and the V shaped manual shift gates take some getting used to but manuals are very rare, Scanias are nice except for the robotic transmissions. YMMV.
If there were 10% grades in Vrijbloed’s area, they would have ordered the 540 hp Volvo FMX (same cab), also with the 12.8 liter engine.