I’ve been wondering why there are so few mid engined trucks. It was the norm in coaches for many years but never caught in lorrys.
I’ve got a nice large area I can easily stand up in with plenty of space for a bunk above the screen in my coach. The area I would be happy to use as a ‘cab’ is probably shallower than many truck sleeper cabs. The bhp of engines is comparable for coaches and rigid trucks.
There doesn’t appear to be any great need to be sat on top of a noisy engine when it works perfectly well 10 foot behind the driver.
The only slight problem I can see is getting truckers used to steering with wheels 4 foot BEHIND them.
Weight distribution perhaps, it would possibly add more weight over the rear axle(s) which is where the payload is obviously needed more, the front axle basically supports just the cab and a little bit of load so doesn’t vary as much.
dew:
Weight distribution perhaps, it would possibly add more weight over the rear axle(s) which is where the payload is obviously needed more, the front axle basically supports just the cab and a little bit of load so doesn’t vary as much.
Albion offered a rigid in the 50s with a low under slung mid engine which was popular with removal firms as it offered low deck height but if you broke down and access to the engine was needed it required the truck to be unloaded.
Weight distribution between the axles can easily be altered with the fifth wheel position, and mid mounted engines could only really be used on a 4x2 tractor. To keep costs down they use an engine/cab/1st axle layout that can be used on any chassis configuration such as tractors with midlifts or double drives, or rigids of various lengths with double steering front axles.
LOL What have you done ? Get ready for a 6 page discussion/argument with Leatherhead’s finest I’ll stick with my antique yank crap tnx , enter center stage “Geoffrey”
flat to the mat:
LOL What have you done ? Get ready for a 6 page discussion/argument with Leatherhead’s finest I’ll stick with my antique yank crap tnx , enter center stage “Geoffrey”
No it is safe, he is too busy sticking up for Jimmy Savile and blaming the girls who were in hospital for being loose groupies
Big Joe:
Weight distribution between the axles can easily be altered with the fifth wheel position, and mid mounted engines could only really be used on a 4x2 tractor. To keep costs down they use an engine/cab/1st axle layout that can be used on any chassis configuration such as tractors with midlifts or double drives, or rigids of various lengths with double steering front axles.
If that was the case then I would expect to see more makers playing with the idea of FWD trucks, then you really could have a modular design that would bolt straight in and be good to go with any model, and possibly save a little weight with propshafts.
The Bussing with the MAN cab (badged unteflur) was mid engined, you could easily stand up with the flat floor in the cab.
The turbocharged 6 cyl was mounted horizontally mid way between the 2 axles. they were favoured by 4x2 drawbar operators. Eurotransit from Germany ran quite a few of them.
Big Joe:
Weight distribution between the axles can easily be altered with the fifth wheel position, and mid mounted engines could only really be used on a 4x2 tractor. To keep costs down they use an engine/cab/1st axle layout that can be used on any chassis configuration such as tractors with midlifts or double drives, or rigids of various lengths with double steering front axles.
If that was the case then I would expect to see more makers playing with the idea of FWD trucks, then you really could have a modular design that would bolt straight in and be good to go with any model, and possibly save a little weight with propshafts.
Again - weight distribution would mean too little traction when loaded to be practical
No thanks, it took long enough to get tilt cabs so us poor bloody grease monkeys could work in relative easiness on engines without crawling on all fours to change the oil and filters on a mid engine job, besides its all been tried before many years ago and wasn’t a great success, goods vehicles are more suited to CoE designs. Franky.
Big Joe:
Weight distribution between the axles can easily be altered with the fifth wheel position, and mid mounted engines could only really be used on a 4x2 tractor. To keep costs down they use an engine/cab/1st axle layout that can be used on any chassis configuration such as tractors with midlifts or double drives, or rigids of various lengths with double steering front axles.
If that was the case then I would expect to see more makers playing with the idea of FWD trucks, then you really could have a modular design that would bolt straight in and be good to go with any model, and possibly save a little weight with propshafts.
They’re about as modular as they can be with a one layout fits all, and they stick with beam section straight driven axles for simplicity and efficiency.
FWD would actually make it more complicated and inefficient as the drive would need extra gears to send it back to the front and extra UJ’s would be needed in the steering axle hubs. Room for a differential under the engine would be non existent, remember a non driven front axle is usually cranked to keep the engine as low down as possible, as opposed to all wheel drive trucks with front driven axles that look as though they’re stood on tip toes.
Such AWD trucks would also need they’re very own drive train as opposed to borrowing the current set up with the simple addition of a transfer box and jacking up the suspension to get drive axles under the front.
Engines mounted further back may be a possibility in the future though, as getting big engines running with EGR cool enough with a lack of room for big radiators is stretching the designers. This problem would be helped if the diesel/electric drive concept as used in trains was used.It is currently being evaluated in some areas of industry where power is only transmitted to drive wheels via wires and electric motors mounted in the wheel hubs. Catapillar have diesel/electric bulldozers in the pipeline, and car makers also have prototypes buzzing around (not to be confused with Toyota Prious types) constructionequipment.com/ca … oductivity pistonheads.com/gassing/topi … 08767&nmt=
The Bussing with the MAN cab (badged unteflur) was mid engined, you could easily stand up with the flat floor in the cab.
The turbocharged 6 cyl was mounted horizontally mid way between the 2 axles. they were favoured by 4x2 drawbar operators. Eurotransit from Germany ran quite a few of them.
If ste87 had read the script instead of just looking at the pictures, he’d have known that too.
The Bussing with the MAN cab (badged unteflur) was mid engined, you could easily stand up with the flat floor in the cab.
The turbocharged 6 cyl was mounted horizontally mid way between the 2 axles. they were favoured by 4x2 drawbar operators. Eurotransit from Germany ran quite a few of them.
If ste87 had read the script instead of just looking at the pictures, he’d have known that too.
Lol. I don’t doubt your word, or the existence of mid-engined trucks, but the Wikipedia article suggests that the Germans did not like mid-engined trucks at all, because there isn’t a single mention of the mid-engined concept in the text, or a picture of any vehicle that is obviously mid-engined!
I’ll stick with my antique yank crap tnx , enter center stage “Geoffrey” 
