ATN #418

the heavier-duty Allison 4440 series
six-speed automatic.
In the 13-litre class, the revamped
range starts with the SH 1845 4x2
model powered by Hino’s E13C
dispensing 331kW (450hp) and
2,157Nm of torque.
All other 13-litre models – the
high-roof SS 2848 6x4 prime mover,
the FS 2848 6x4 rigid and the FY
3248 eight-wheeler – have the
engine rated to existing performance
peaks of 353kW (480hp) and
2,157Nm of torque, though Hino
points out that peak torque is now
dispensed across a wider 1,000 to
1,500rpm rev range.
Coupled to all 13-litre variants
is the ZF Traxon 16-speed AMT,
with forward, neutral and reverse
controlled through a rotary
dash-mounted shift knob; uncannily
similar to Traxon installations in
MAN models. The knob also controls
a ‘slow mode’ for crawling.
Furthermore, says Hino:
“The dash-mounted selector is
complemented by a sequential-type
shift lever on the steering column
that allows the driver to switch
between automatic and manual
modes, and manually select gears.”
Also part of the AMT package is
Hino’s Easy Start (hill hold) system
for smooth lift-offs on grades.
The list of standard features in the
new range is undeniably impressive
and includes alloy wheels in an
obvious move to improve both tare
weight and aesthetics.
Much like its light- and
medium-duty siblings, though, some
of the most notable advances in
Hino’s vastly upgraded 700-series
have been in the deployment of
advanced safety systems.
SAFETY FIRST
Hino is adamant its new 700-series
range comprises the safest trucks
Opposite
from top:
Hino Australia
product strategy
manager Daniel
Petrovski. Among
an extended
700-series model
range is a new
eight-wheeler
offering a nineor
13-litre Euro
6 engines. But
the big gain for
Hino’s 8x4 is
a loadsharing
twin-steer.
Finally!; Modern
makeover.
Vastly upgraded
700-series
takes its interior
design cues from
its 500-series
medium-duty
stablemate
which has
enjoyed positive
driver feedback.
Function and
form rate high
in Hino’s new
flagship range
Below: Cummins
Engine Company
founder Clessie
Cummins. In
retirement in
1955, he found
the time to create
the design that
would become
the remarkably
effective Jake
brake
Every model in the
expanded range is fitted
with either an automated
manual transmission or an
Allison automatic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAKE
Hiding in the shadows of Hino’s preview of its new 700-series trucks, and the
use of a Jacobs engine brake in all models, is the fact that 2021 marks the 60th
anniversary of Jacobs Vehicle Systems.
Jacobs introduced the first engine brake for commercial vehicles in 1961 and,
since then, more than nine million Jake brakes have been produced for trucks
around the world.
In fact, Jacob engine brake use has grown markedly over the past few years. The
company sold its eight millionth engine brake in 2019 but it was only two years
later, in March 2021, that the nine millionth unit rolled off the Jacobs assembly line.
It may, however, surprise more than a few people to learn that the world’s best
known engine retarder was actually invented by Clessie Cummins, the man who, in
1919, founded the Cummins Engine Company. And it may also be a surprise to learn
that safety and a near-death experience were the reasons why Cummins made an
effective engine brake one of his most enduring engineering legacies.
The story goes that, in 1955, when Cummins retired from the engine company
he’d created, his thoughts returned to a terrifying experience in the northern
summer of 1931, when he and two colleagues drove a Cummins diesel-powered
truck from New York to Los Angeles in an attempt to set a new truck speed record
across mainland USA.
On the fifth day of the drive, at the top of a notorious pass on a stretch of historic
Route 66 in Southern California, Cummins was at the wheel of the truck when it
started a long, steep descent towards the San Bernardino Valley.
On a gravel road that plunged downwards for 35 miles (55km), criss-crossed
by a busy railway line, the frequent slowing for twists and turns overheated
the truck’s brakes. Cummins tried to restrain the runaway truck with engine
compression but, with so much momentum and road speed, was unable to engage
a lower gear than third. To his horror, the Cummins founder realised he “would just
have to ride it out”.
With a freight train cutting across their path a short distance ahead, he was sure
his days were done.
Cummins later recounted how the truck passed the back of the train with inches
to spare and how he had vowed that someday, somehow, he would make his engine
work just as well going downhill as it did uphill.
Almost 25 years passed before Cummins found the time in retirement to study
what might be done to turn his engine into an effective brake. By 1957, he’d
developed a design that would revolutionise engine braking. His idea was to take
advantage of perfectly timed motion already built into Cummins and Detroit Diesel
engines, which have a third cam on the main camshaft that activates the fuel
injector of each cylinder. By transferring this motion to open the exhaust valve with
a simple retrofit mechanism, the engine brake was born.
Although the principal of engine braking wasn’t new, the details of Cummins’
new technical approach made it novel enough to be granted patent protection.
As for getting his engine brake into the market, it wasn’t plain sailing. Cummins
was contractually obliged to offer his invention first to Cummins Engine Co. But,
strangely, his design was rejected on the grounds of commercial risk. Big mistake!
Fortunately, Cummins received a more positive response when he explained his
idea to a vice-president of Jacobs Manufacturing Company. By April 1960, after
the success of extensive tests of the design, Jacobs established a new Clessie L.
Cummins Division (now named Jacobs Vehicle Systems) for the manufacturer of
the engine brake.
The rest, of course, is history and, while the raucous bark of earlier Jakes has
been criticised by many,
the one salient fact
that can’t be criticised
is the engine brake’s
inestimable contribution
in keeping truck drivers
and other road users
safe on downhill grades.
Besides, the modern
Jake is far quieter than
its forebears, thanks
to the fact that Jacobs
Vehicle Systems
engineers continue
to work closely with
engine manufacturers
throughout the world,
not least Hino.
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU July 2021 ATN 53