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DAY TWO
Page 47
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The second day of our Swedish odyssey saw a return to the quarry. This time, we were using a trio of Allison-equipped tippers from the two domestic manufacturers as transport to and from our hotel.
A pair of 6x4s, a Scania P380 and a Volvo FE320 performed very much as expected, but, for us, the biggest revelation was a Scania 6x2. An R480 with full snow ploughing kit was hitched to a longdrawbar tri-axle tipping trailer from lstrail, the whole outfit running at its GCW of 50 tonnes. We drove this rig on the road, where the Allison provided the benefits of any auto in aiding concentration when weaving the trailer through some fairly aggressive traffic-calming chicanes, and off-road. We were given the run of the quarry, including
climbs up and down slippery gradients up to 21%. It's amazing how much traction you can get out of one axle, especially when the steering tag is lifted.
Controllability was key, while the full power gear shifting allowed full use of the performance without the risk of breaking traction inherent in even the best AMT. The risk of a downhill runaway situation was more scary, given that there is no solid link in a basic torque converter to provide engine braking. But the Allison comes with a lock-up clutch and the ability to engage it on demand in first gear, which offered reassurance when descending next to drops big enough to give you plenty of time to reflect on your demise if you make a mistake.