On March 15 this year Volvo Trucks launched the new I-Shift with crawler gears. The new crawler ratios make it possible to start and drive with a gross combination weight of up to 325 tonnes – which is unique for a series-produced truck. But just how much weight can the transmission really handle? Volvo Trucks’ forthcoming test of ultimate strength will reveal the answer. In the challenge, Magnus Samuelsson, former winner of the “World’s Strongest Man” competition, and truck journalist Brian Weatherley will go head-to-head with the laws of physics and subject I-Shift with crawler gears to its toughest test.
“We already know that I-Shift with crawler gears can haul really heavy loads. With this challenge, we want to demonstrate the transmission’s immense capacity and show what the new crawler ratios can accomplish,” says Peter Hardin, Product Manager FM and FMX, Volvo Trucks.
In this challenge, which takes place at the Port of Gothenburg, the truck has to pull an extremely heavy container train.
“Attempting to move off from standstill with such a heavy load, like we’re doing here, is an immensely tough challenge for a regular series-produced truck with automated transmission. In my 30 years as a trucking journalist, I’ve never witnessed anything like it,” says Brian Weatherley.
