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Allison equipped line painting truck offers improved performance, increased safety and reduced driver workload
5/6/2014 |
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Municipal vehicles designed to surpass type approval requirements and operate smoothly, quietly and efficiently have an Allison fully automatic transmission at the heart of every build.
Millbrook, UK - When local authorities and line painting contractors look to replace their vehicles involved in line painting duties, there are a range of options to consider from the choice of truck itself, to transmission and interior. Specialist engineering firm Rexmar Engineering designs and builds bespoke vehicle bodies that maximise operator safety and driver operation, with Allison fully automatic transmissions central to each customer build. The company supplies a number of councils and contractors up and down the UK.
As with all road vehicles, the marketplace for road marking trucks has seen a move towards cleaner, safer and more economical vehicles. In November 2014, new type approval legislation will place further emphasis on improved emissions and increased safety features. Rexmar's response is a fully-equipped DAF LF55 220 line painting truck.
The DAF LF55 features a 6.7-litre PACCAR GR engine producing 165 kW / 224 hp partnered with an Allison 3000 SeriesTM transmission. The LF55 has a gross vehicle mass ranging from 12 to 19 tonnes and gross payloads from 10.7 to 14 tonnes. The 3000 Series transmission, designed for medium-duty commercial vehicles and engineered to adapt and operate efficiently in a variety of applications, includes close or wide ratio gearing and a maximum rating of 336 kW (450 hp).
Safety and ease of operation are essential for road marking, with two 300 litre pots containing paint material operating at very high temperatures that must be accurately applied onto the road surface. Fully automatic transmissions make this job easier. Not only are these vehicles involved in a persistent stop-start duty cycle but, once in motion, marking vehicles must maintain specific speeds to ensure consistent application of the material. This is easier to achieve without the requirement to operate a clutch and manually change gears during operation.
Martin Prosser, Rexmar managing director comments, "With ever stringent health and safety legal requirements and testing relating to type approval, we specify vehicles that are relevant for our customers for the whole of their life cycle. At the build stage Allison transmissions can be easily integrated. For example, the PTO pump can be packaged with the gearbox ?straight out of the box', without any re-working required. As an overall package, the ease of use and reduced down time that our customers experience make Allison the first choice in ensuring the overall proposition is future-proofed."
Operation of these vehicles is often at night when the roads are free of busy traffic or can be closed completely. Noise must be kept to a minimum, particularly when operating in residential areas. The Allison transmission's helical planetary gear sets not only deliver uninterrupted gear changes and ensure maximum engine power and torque flow to the driving wheels for efficient acceleration, they greatly reduce noise.
In some road marking vehicles, the addition of a smaller, secondary engine is required to power the pump; but with an Allison fully automatic transmission, a hydraulic pump is coupled to the transmission doing away completely with the so called ?donkey engine.' This also dramatically reduces noise.
There are further benefits in reduced maintenance and down time for vehicles equipped with an Allison transmission. The patented torque converter offers not only excellent vehicle startability, but also eliminates costly clutch replacements. The complete drivetrain is protected against vibrations and wear and tear, improving component life cycles and saving on maintenance costs.
This most advanced road marking truck boasts other impressive safety features: there has been a switch from using a gas fired burner to heat the paint material prior to marking, to a diesel fired unit, mounted at 90o to the pot, with a deflector that sends heat directly to where it is needed. Not only is this more economical, with a more even distribution of heat achieved throughout the mixing pots, the operation is far safer. LED lights are fitted so that other road users can easily identify the vehicle.
The firm has already delivered several of these line painting trucks in 2013 and 2014. |
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Related Exhibition:
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IFAT 2014
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World's Leading Trade Fair for Water, Sewage, Waste and Raw Materials Management
5/5/2014 - 5/9/2014
Venue: New Munich Trade Fair Centre, Munich, Germany
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