The prize in the nomination “The longest road train in the world” deserves several vehicles. Most famous car designs are designed for demonstrations. The country in which such demonstrations became possible is Australia.
The Hulks of the Australian Continent
In 2006, the Mack Titan road train was launched in Queensland, which carried 112 trailers. The mass of the entire road train was 1300 tons, and the length was 14 km 743 m.
John Atkinson, the truck driver, made a kind of small performance for the public. To start the truck along the route, the specialists took 6 hours to prepare. The trip range was 140 meters. This truck is the longest road train in the world. The tank volume of such a giant holds up to 2 tons of fuel.
In 2003, the longest road train in the world was constructed in Mangindi, which ranks second in the record table. Its composition totaled 87 trailers with a total length of 1 km 235 m.
Almost 20 years ago, the Kenworth C501T was the leader in Kalguri. The longest truck in the world is 1km, it was driven by driver Stephen Matthews. In fact, the length of the road train was 1 km 18 meters, but for convenience, the population rounded this number to 1 km. About 5 thousand people came to see the spectacle. The truck, accompanied by 79 trailers, drove 8 km.
The predecessor of the kilometer giant is the K100G model (Merridin, 1999). Greg Marley drove a distance of 8 km at a speed of 12 km / h. The length of the train with 45 trailers reached 610 meters.
Norms and Rules
Moving along the tracks behind the wheel of huge road trains is allowed only subject to the norms and standards set by each country separately.
It looks, for example, like this:
- In Australia, two types of trucks are allowed - with 38- or 53-meter trailers.
- In Canada, the composition of a road train should not exceed 35 m, if a truck with several semi-trailers on 3 rear axles at once, then the length of such a truck is up to 38 m.
- In China, other methods for creating giant machines. Necessarily a large number of wheels for uniform distribution of axial load. This helps preserve the asphalt surface. An example of such a tractor was a 73-meter giant with 88 wheels.
Having met such a composition on the highway, drivers should be vigilant in turns and careful when overtaking. A maneuver is recommended if there is no oncoming transport a kilometer in front.
Unique technique of the past
The world's longest road train super car - LeTourneau TC-497. It was created by the Americans in the 50s of the last century. General characteristics:
- dimensions (in meters): length - 173, cabin height - 9; the tire is 3.5;
- maximum load - over 400 tons;
- the number of wheels - 54 pcs.;
- engine: quantity - 4 pcs., total capacity - 5 thousand liters. with.;
Each wheel is equipped with an electric motor, the generating set of which was a gas turbine engine.
The composition of the road train is 8 - 12 trailers, which served as a transport tool for equipment weighing up to 150 tons. The loaded train weighed approximately 450 tons.
In addition to cargo, there were trailers for residential purposes, which could accommodate up to 6 people. The caravan was equipped with berths, a sewer, a room for eating and an independent laundry room.
The dimensions of the car made it difficult to drive. The developers solved this problem by installing an electronic control system on the vehicle. As a result, the super tractor could easily overcome various kinds of obstacles.
The desert in Arizona from 1962 to 1969 became a test site. The road train showed a range of 600 km. It was possible to disperse the truck to 35 km per hour.
The giant could move both on the highway and off-road in any climatic conditions. Upon completion of the tests, the project was closed for financial reasons. Now the tractor was restored and made part of the exhibition.
The giant of our time
The longest KamAZ in the world was created in Slovenia. ETF Mining has developed a mining dump truck in an innovative modular design. A feature of the giant was a complete set of motor wheels and additional batteries. This will take only 15 minutes. The driver's cab can transform into a trailer.
KamAZ characteristics:
- Carrying capacity - 760 tons.
- Length varies from 12.5 to 29 meters.
- The width of the road necessary for movement is 24 m.
- Number of axles: 2 - 8 pcs.; biaxial section with a turning radius of 20.7 m, for 8 axes - 40.9 m.
