From 1956 to 1994, with an update in 1969, German truck manufacturer MAN offered a short-nosed conventional, generally referred to as the ‘MAN Ponton-Kurzhauber’. It was one of the heavy-duty trucks that was on a par with the venerable Mercedes-Benz L-Series, in each and every aspect.
Given the brand name MAN on the grille -instead of the previously used M.A.N. Diesel- and the model designation 26.281, I’d say this 6×4 dump truck is around 40 years old. Evidently it was thoroughly restored, doubtlessly in its homeland.
The model designation tells us that the MAN is factory rated at a gross weight of 26 tonnes (57,320 lbs) and that its engine is good for 280 DIN-hp.
According to the information I found, the engine must be the 11.3 liter, turbocharged and intercooled D 2566 inline-six. Partly intruding into the cab because of the short (‘kurz’) nose.
Chassis and wheels in bright red, combined with this specific shade of green. Absolutely period correct and oh so very German!
The truck is equipped with a three-way dump bed (and there’s the ‘Dreiseitenkipper’ part), most likely built by the Meiller company.
Now let’s have a closer look at the MAN’s sturdy underpinnings.
All this was brought to you by Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg, the diesel truck pioneers…
…and by the Hoffmann family, of course. Trucking heritage at its finest, well done!
More classic MANs and Büssings will follow.
It is what it says on the label, ‘Truck”. a 6 wheel tipper by MAN a high priced low horsepower effort, I see it has a ringfeeder, Ive driven underpowered rigs like this and pulled trailers @ 44 +tonnes with them, its hard work.
Now there’s a real MAN alright!
Johannes, you are making me run to my German Dictionary because I no longer speak the language fluently. Fun exercise, I might add. Great truck. Incidentally, what is “oh, so German” in its red and green color of red chassis and green body and cab, is a scheme used in the eastern United States by garbage haulers. it is the most common color combination on garbage trucks. Nice truck. With what is called here a “short-nosed conventional,” the driver gets to enjoy the noise of the engine. When longer overall lengths became available nationwide, these trucks were no longer ordered. Things got quieter aa roomier in the cabs.
That’s a fun fact about the garbage haulers’ color scheme!
These days, the only ‘full-size’ factory conventional in Europe is the Mercedes-Benz Zetros (see below, photo courtesy of Heinrich Höllerl), it’s clearly in the same trucking segment as their old L-series and the article’s MAN, which was also offered as an AWD chassis.
Yet in essence, the Zetros is a military vehicle.
Sweet truck. They’re familiar from my childhood and later visits home.
Neat truck, and looking great too.
I always thought – and still do – that the MAN Kurzhauber looks so much more substantial than the MB L-Series.
The MB L-series had a huge, globally working organization behind it and was distributed all over the world.
But overall-quality/durability-wise, it was not a ‘stand-alone’ model. Besides MAN, let’s not forget Krupp, Büssing, (Hanomag-)Henschel, Magirus-Deutz, Steyr and Saurer. All of them also offered excellent heavy on-/off-road trucks.
Outstanding photos and bio, of an extraordinarily rugged truck!
Thanks! Luckily, the vehicles weren’t parked too close to each other, though I had to crawl under a semi-trailer to get a clear shot of the right tandem. For the underside pictures, I just hold the camera at ground level and point the camera lens slightly upwards. And look at the result after the click.
By the way: Rudolf Diesel was an employee at MAN when he invented the notorious Diesel engine. Then thought as a s t a t i o n a r y engine for multiple purpose.
Handsome old devil, which looks like it fell out of the inherited train set and surrounds we had when I was a kid. (Btw, I had a guess at “triple-dried kipper”, but then realized that it was unlikely any truck this big was built for such a specific purpose as transporting small and smelly old fish).
I know I always end up asking dumb questions on your posts – though I must say, there’s nowhere else I’m going to get answers about truck’s stuff without having to join sites that will either condescend to me or otherwise just give information vastly beyond what I’ll ever understand – but what is the rear axle mechanism that has those rubber boots/bellows involved? Looks surprisingly home-made/Heath Robinson if it’s the brakes.
Above the diff, on its left and right side? Must be rubber dust covers, protecting the brake chambers’ push rods (if my English terminology is correct).
I think he is talking about what look like rather elaborate bump-stops on picture number 7 numbering from the top.
It seems like this has planetary hub-reduction axles, which is rather advanced for an over-the-road truck.
Thanks again for these pictures!
That’s what I initially thought too, but that’s the front axle in picture number 7, justy mentions the ‘rear axle mechanism’.
Hub-reduction axles have been very common -the norm, actually- here for decades in on-/off-road applications (like the MAN dump truck and the Ginaf in my previous article) and in heavy-haulage. All major truck makers (the ‘Big Seven’) offer them.
Sorry for the confusion, folks, I did mean the brake mechanism on the rear axle. It just looks surprisingly mechanical, but upon thinking about it, I guess every braking system (whether fluid, air, or rods and cables) is always mechanical in the final action. The final action here – from those rubber bellows, or more likely, pushrod dust covers – is just a bit more visible and sizeable.
See drawings here:
https://sgi.sk.ca/air-brake/-/knowledge_base/air-brake/basic-air-brake-system
The brake chambers’ push rods are situated directly under all numbers 4 in the drawings. The MAN’s ‘reservoirs’ are on the left side of the chassis, close to the cab.
These MAN long noses were common in Israel in the early 80s alongside older Leyland, Mercedes L Series, and Mack R series conventionals. As I recall the Egged Mercedes and MAN busses were war reparations and some of the trucks may have been part of the deal. Germany was still sending a lot of money into Israel since the banks advertised Deutsche Mark accounts for individuals receiving war reparations.