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NISSAN DIESELS
for Engen
Nissan Diesel is playing an increasingly important role in helping Engen deliver fuel to its outlets with the company recently supplying two new Nissan Diesel UD430WT truck-tractors to add to an existing fleet of 52 Nissan vehicles.
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| She's a real beauty but note in the story the extras - such as ABS braking - fitted that speak highly of Engen's responsible attitude to its transport operations. |
The UD430WT is Nissan Diesel's flagship and is fitted with a turbocharged, inter-cooled Nissan Diesel RF8TC engine which develops 315kW at 2 200r/min with 1 760Nm of torque at 1 200 r/min. It has a displacement of just under 17-litres and behind this 430 bhp V8 diesel engine is a 12-speed synchromesh gearbox which combines range-change and splitter technology.
Getting a vehicle into an oil company fleet is quite a coup for any truck manufacturer for, as Mervyn Knickelbein, transport engineer of Engen, says: "We have to safely transport huge volumes of highly-flammable fuel and our trucks must therefore be the best for the job."
In this regard, he has a lot of good things to say about the UD430WT. "The dynamics of these Nissan Diesels are impressive thanks to their good power to mass ratio and the finely matched engines, transmissions and final drives."
He adds that when loaded, the vehicles run up to the maximum allowable GVM of 56 tonnes. "Therefore, the vehicles themselves must be good in all respects with enough engine power and braking power to handle all situations."
To ensure control on downhills, Nissan Diesel has equipped the UD430 with a compact retarder as standard. The eddy-current brake, developed in-house by Nissan Diesel Motor Co, works in tandem with the exhaust brake and provides retardation up to engine brake level with, says Nissan Diesel, less mass and complication than some electronic retarders previously seen on our roads.
These specialised vehicles also carry high-tech pumping and measuring equipment and it is important to find the optimal point of the chassis for the fitment of ancillary equipment. Engen's semi-trailer tankers are built to the highest SABS specifications.
Knickelbein is also impressed with the driver friendly features of the cab such as the low noise level. "The cab is the driver's office so driver comfort is of great importance to us when making a purchase decision."
Vic Oliver, national fleet sales manager, Nissan SA Truck Division, is responsible for looking after Engen's transport needs and has vast experience in this specialised industry. Working closely with Engen's transport team, Oliver ensures that the product is best suited to the specific task - not always easy as exemplified by the extras that need to be fitted to the units on the line at Nissan SA Truck Division's assembly plant.
These extras include: Special electrical wiring protection (Mataflex wiring); ABS braking system; tachograph; an engine protection device; a heavy duty rear tow hitch; an air conditioning unit; seat belts; variable speed governor; Power Take Off with fail safe; Spinner oil filter and a double pole battery isolater switch.
If you linger on this list for a while, you'll see some interesting fitments that speak volumes for Engen's responsible attitude towards its transport operations. ABS braking is an impressive extra safety feature but note too the accent on driver comfort and safety via the fitting of air-con units as well as seat belts. Nice one Engen!
Seat belts - a
must
Just as an after-thought: Why seat belts need to be fitted as optional extras on trucks has always amazed us at FleetWatch. Surely seat belts should be standard fitment to all trucks given South Africa's horrendous road safety record.
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