The Trucking Series

Know Your Truck inside out

Transport of goods is one of  the reasons for the climbing economy. The methods of transporting cargo have evolved with the progressive nature of technology. Transport trucks remain the backbone of this industry. Roadways are by far the most dependable and cost-effective way to transport goods from one place to another. Trucks have been around for a long time. Trucks vary greatly in size, power and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to a car. Depending on the requirement, custom parts and other changes have to be made to the truck so that it can be made dependable to carry the necessary load.

Almost all trucks share a common framework. They consist of  a chassis, a cab, an area for placing cargo or equipment, axles, suspension and road-wheels, an engine and a drive-train. Pneumatic, hydraulic, water, and electrical systems may also be identified.  The main features of the truck are:

Cab:The cab is the front portion of the truck where the driver sits. A sleeper is a compartment attached to the cab where the driver can take a break from driving. The cab is equipped with mostly all that a driver requires during his journey so that he doesn’t have to leave the cab for anything. The cabins for Mahindra Navistar trucks can be customised to have single sleeper or double sleeper options.

Engine:The oldest truck was built in 1896 by Gottlieb Daimler. Most small trucks such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) or pickups, and even light medium-duty trucks throughout the world use petrol but many diesel engined models are equally popular. Most heavier trucks use four stroke diesel engine with a turbocharger and after-cooler. Diesel engines are becoming the engine of choice for trucks as seen in MN 25 which uses the MaxxForce 7.2 Engine. This engine is a 7.2 litre in-line six cylinder diesel engine. It has a 4-valve per cylinder technology and features both a mechanical injection system with a Bosch Rotary pump, as well as a high-pressure 1800 bar common rail fuel injection system. The MaxxForce 7.2 diesel engine to be produced in India is also fully compliant with BS III and BS IV emissions standards.

Drivetrain:

Small trucks use the same type of transmissions as almost all cars, having either an automatic transmission or a manual transmission with synchromesh (synchronizers). Bigger trucks often use manual transmissions without synchronizers, saving bulk and weight, although synchromesh transmissions are used in larger trucks as well. MN 25 and MN 31 have 6 forward and 1 reverse syncromesh transmissions while the MN 40 and the MN 49 have  9 forward and 1 reverse sycromesh transmissions.

Frame:

The frame is mostly made of steel, but can be made (whole or in part) of aluminium for a lighter weight. A tow bar may be found attached at one or both ends, but heavy trucks mostly make use of a fifth wheel hitch. A truck frame consists of two parallel boxed (tubular) or C-shaped rails, or beams, held together by cross-members.

It is very interesting to find out the details of a truck’s inner workings. We hope that you know your truck better now.

Ice Road Truckers

What happens when you combine trucks and sheer danger and throw snow into the mix? Well, you get Ice Road Truckers. This iconic show has been around for many seasons and has garnered many accolades. The show’s premise is driving trucks in hellishly cold and frigid areas. This is not about having a death wish but to test trucks and their safety in dangerous road conditions. The show is shot in high definition and charts two months in the lives of six extraordinary men who haul vital supplies to diamond mines and other remote locations over frozen lakes that double as roads. This is a different kind of reality show. There is real danger here and this job is touted to be the most challenging assignment ever.


Lisa Kelly is the first woman driver to appear on the show. She spent two months hauling cement in the Himalayas for practice. Lisa said that her Indian experience was a great one, but she criticised Indian Highway conditions for not being very safe and the Indian trucks for not being powerful enough to ride under these conditions. This increases the concern for safety.


New trucks in India will no longer be the same. We have brought to the market, powerful trucks which can deliver on such conditions. With our new trucks like MN 25 and MN40, we can safely say that Lisa Kelly will never have to complain about Indian trucks again. We applaud Lisa Kelly’s undaunting courage in exploring the Himalayas in these treacherous conditions. We are sure that trucking enthusiasts will love the show and will gain new insights in this exciting field.

MNAL inaugurates three new Dealerships

Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd. (MNAL) recently inaugurated three new dealerships in Bengaluru, Jaipur and Hyderabad. This is a big step forward for MNAL as it gears up to enter the trucking market in India. The new dealerships arrangements have been finalised with Trident Group in Bangalore, KS Motors (P) Ltd. in Jaipur and Variety Automobiles in Hyderabad. It plans to include a hundred dealerships all over the country within twenty-four months.

The dealerships are crucial in MNAL’s plan which is to give the Indian public access to the best trucks in the Indian Market. 


MNAL has ambitious plans for the Indian Market. The MN 25 variant has already been launched and is garnering rave reviews everywhere. Launching its first heavy vehicle, MN25, in Bangalore, MNAL managing director Rakesh Kalra said it sold around 11,000 light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in the last fiscal, generating around Rs 600 crore. The goal of MNAL for the next 5 years is to increase their turnover to 6000 crores as compared to their current turnover of 600 crores. With MNAL gearing up to launch a chain of vehicles in light, medium and heavy CV sectors, he said the volumes would increase to 50,000-60,000 vehicles in the next four to five years. This is a significant challenge but MNAL is confident that they will reach that target, considering the response they have got. These dealerships have been devised to give the customer a smooth experience even after they buy the vehicle. All servicing and after sales support will be provided by these dealerships. These new dealerships are swanky and the staff is well trained.These dealerships have promised to aggressively promote MNAL trucks as they believe these trucks are instrumental in setting a high a standard for the trucking industry in India.

With everything falling in place smoothly, MNAL is looking forward to be the most premier trucking brand in India.

Highway woes on NH22

Traveling to Shimla is going to be painful these few months. The National Highway 22 which is the highway of choice to enter Shimla has been facing choking traffic for some time now. This is mainly due to the fact that the NHAI is widening the 40 km long NH22, in-spite of environmental concerns.

The widening of the NH22 involves the loosening up of soil around the plush mountainside which can give rise to many problems later like landslide.'A moderate rainfall triggers massive landslides along the highway as the earth becomes loose due to the cutting of hills and the movement of road construction machines. This leads to traffic jams almost every day,' Dheeraj Bhaik, a daily commuter on the highway, said. Tourists have been complaining in stringent terms about the construction work at the highway. Incidents like falling boulders and loose mud is a huge liability to the the commuters. This potentially dangerous situation could snowball further if no action is taken. Adding to the woes of commuters, an NHAI official said the widening of the road will take more than a year to complete as the cutting of slopes has just started near the Timber Trail Hotel. The environmentalists are concerned that the blasting rocks and the exploding debris is weakening the strength of the hill and it is a disaster waiting to happen.They are of the opinion that that it took atleast 20 years to stabilise the hills when the original highway was built and the government has been undoing its good work by widening the highway. The NHAI has responded by saying that they are following the most optimum and efficient steps on widening the highway and besides the traffic inconveniences there is nothing to be worried about. The state government has ensured that security forces are dispatched so that the traffic problem can be sorted and worked upon. If you are going to travel to Shimla during this time, the present situation should be noted and precaution taken.

OK is no longer OK

The world has seen many changes. We have evolved from primitive cultures into complex social animals. We use technology so that we can do things faster and optimize our time and work. We have put man on the moon and we are planning to conquer Mars soon. The human race pushes on breaking barriers as they go.


Why do we still cling to obsolete things? Strides have been made across all sectors but we as people still have a hankering for old practices. Why can’t we look forward and anticipate the future rather than cling to things we have? We have products which work but can’t we develop them into beautiful exhibits of art and technology. Why should we stay satisfied with what we are getting at the moment? Shouldn’t we make our voices be heard to people? We are the future. We do not live in the present but in the future. We already have an inkling how our life will progress in the future because we have seen it. Why is this future being delayed? While technology progresses, we are driving age old trucks which are a safety hazard to one and all. Instead of harnessing the immense power of trucks to optimize our jobs we end up spending more time maintaining them. Our logic is that even though these every day trucks may work fine, what if we give you something thats phenomenal and it looks good doing its jobz, something that you will never have to worry about again. Mahindra Navistar has brought to you the most efficient and elegant trucks ever manufactured in India. We have made efforts to include the latest in global automobile technology and Indian innovation to give you a solid product, one that will never falter.

Truck sales rise 52% for the month of July

The sales of trucks have gone high around this season due to various reasons. The main reason is pegged to be higher demand due to our economy, which is currently buoyant. Another important reason the sales have experienced such spike, may be due to a very a different reason. Euro II standard trucks are estimated to go out of production soon around September 30th.

According to an Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) report, even after decreasing discount offers the sales of trucks have increased in various sectors of road transportation like manufacturing, import-export and agriculture. The problem that truckers are facing, is that the new Euro III and IV trucks may be definitely more expensive than the Euro II ones. So, in order to save money, truck owners and the related transportation companies are investing now in Euro II trucks. The highest increase has been seen in the 30-49 tonne multi-axle trailer category at about 2454 units.This is about an 85% increase in this category. The 25.2 to 31 tonne multi-axle category trails with an increase of about 61%. The last category, the 5-7.5 tonne, is seeing a significantly smaller share of the increase at 30%.

Another reason that might be also one of the reasons for the sales increase might be the introduction of a single composite fee of 15,000 INR for the National Permit. This has prompted the transportation service companies to upscale their business and buy more trucks. Truck rentals have also registered high sales last month. It is normally agreed that the monsoon season is a weak transportation phase but figures for this July have shown the opposite trend with a 2-3% increase in the rentals.

NHAI introduces tax free bonds to raise capital

The National Highway Authority of India has decided to float tax-free bonds to raise capital. The NHAI has received somewhat of a lacklustre response to its previous efforts in raising money through bonds. The association is pushing for tax-free bonds nonetheless. According to its estimates this new venture will raise Rs.6000 Cr. in capital.

The bonds will give a rate of interest of 8.5 per cent, significantly higher than its current 54EC tax free bonds that offer just 6 per cent. By introducing such incentives the NHAI believes that the response to this offer will be good and the necessary money will be raised.

Well, one can venture a guess as to the their motivation to introduce such a scheme. The Government has set itself an ambitious target of building 20 km of highway roads per day. The NHAI is the authority that has the responsibility to manage this target and see to it that the projects come to fruition. the time is running out for the the Government’s promise and concrete steps have to be taken. Hence the NHAI has proposed to float these bonds to raise the capital involved to meet this target.

Here is a look into NHAI’s previous efforts to raise money.NHAI raised Rs 500 cr. between April and June this fiscal through bonds. Last fiscal it raised Rs 1148 cr. through bonds and for this fiscal the authority hopes to raise Rs 2000 cr. from 54EC bonds. NHAI needs Rs 33,000 cr. for the execution of its targeted 12,000 km by 2013.

The NHAI is looking considerably upbeat about its new schemes, but financial experts beg to differ. According to them, the scheme should have a higher rate of return than what has been proposed. This is when people will be excited about the bonds and there may be a decent response

Source: Financial figures have been used from NDTV Profits website.