Not only in winter but all year-round - at IFAT 2014, MAN shows two lorries in Euro 6.

The communal and urban yards, road and highway maintenance companies, and their subcontractors clear snow, clean roads, and carry out repairs on the road surface, signs, and lighting, as well as maintain the roadside greenery. Throughout the year, their trucks must be ready for use, and to be able do this, they have to be easily converted for summer and winter tasks. Here, the MAN chassis of the TGL, TGM, and TGS series is the winner as a three-way tipper and a tipper for loading cranes and elevating platforms, as well as with bodies such as mowers or spreaders for road maintenance in winter.

MAN TGS: the master for winter

At IFAT 2014, MAN at its booth will present a three-axle MAN TGS 28.400 BL 6x4-4 in the new Euro 6 version, which features a side plough. In winter, the road maintenance departments prefer this type as it excels due to its branch-related drive train design: MAN offers ex-factory a steered and lifting trailing axle. Because of this feature, it is less than a two-axle but provides the payload of a three-axle vehicle. The front axle and the first rear axle are driven. On the one hand, this ensures maximum traction when clearing snow due to the heavy front shield and offers a high payload for loading gritting materials such as road salt, wet salts, or liquid de-icing salts. On the other hand, raising the lifting axle optimizes the economic use if no heavy load has to be carried around.

Conversion of the MAN-made chassis to the exhaust emission standard Euro 6, which will be in force from December 31, 2013, onward, limits the usability of the side plough. Especially on highways, road maintenance vehicles with snow ploughs are deployed to clear several lanes of snow. MAN has applied the components of the Euro 6 exhaust-cleaning system that is usually mounted on the right-hand frame in such a way that the side plough will continue to have its space.

The MAN TGS offers a special technical feature. The innovative drive system MAN HydroDrive with its switchable hydrostatic front-axle drive offers additional traction.

For municipal use of two-, three-, and four-axle vehicles of the TGS series, MAN offers the necessary preparations ex-factory. In the field, the standardized panel of the device, which is within easy reach next to the hydraulic connections, and the additional light and flasher units, which have been positioned higher, will be noticed. In the cab, controls for the snow plough and spreader are within easy reach for the driver, fixed on the dashboard next to the steering wheel or on the armrest. Installation of winter road maintenance hydraulics rounds off the equipment package for winter service.

MAN TGM: the flexible all-wheel drive

MAN will also present a very compact version of the TGM with an all-wheel drive at its booth. With a wheelbase of 3050 mm, it meets the high requirements of flexibility when clearing snow in close streets overrun with parked cars, as well as on large squares and car park facilities. Here, vehicles are needed that are easy to use. Therefore, controls for the ergonomically optimized hydraulics for winter road maintenance have been arranged optimally near the driver's compartment.

A speciality of the TGM series with a gross vehicle weight of 13 to 15 tons and all-wheel drive is the standard air suspension of the rear axle. It ensures maximum protection of the load from bumps and keeps the driving level always the same. The advantage of the system proves itself in winter. Regardless of the load condition of the attached spreader, the loading area and spreading disc remain always at the same height level, and the set spreading level does not have to be readjusted during the tour. In year-round use, the driver changes the devices on the loading area several times a year on the yard. Supported by air suspension, this can be done quickly and easily. Bleeding the suspension bellows on the rear axle lowers the vehicle by 9 cm or lowers it by 13 cm, all on the touch of a button. With only a few clicks, devices can be attached or taken off.

For the TGL series with a gross vehicle weight from 7.49 tons upward and TGM series from 11.99 tons upward, MAN offers the most spacious double cabin for up to seven people in its program. As such, employees of road maintenance, maintenance of green areas, or horticulture will arrive comfortably at their workplace. The double cabins in a fully galvanized all-steel body, along with other cab models, are produced at the Steyr plant (Austria).

distributed by