A Strong Team: New MAN Front Axle For Heavy-Duty Loading Cranes

The new MAN Truck Generation with adapted chassis is serving growing international markets for heavy duty loading cranes. Designed for high loads on the front axle, the new 10 ton axle is a key feature.

• Increasing demand for industry-specific chassis designs for heavy duty loading cranes
• Front axle with 10 ton load capacity for selected three and four-axle chassis designs on the MAN TGS and TGX
• Industry-specific features from MAN ex works, including reinforced frames and front plate for crane support
• Factory preparation of the chassis simplifies crane installation by the body manufacturer
• Suitable for use in many areas such as winter services, construction and mining

Demand for trucks with heavy duty, high performance loading cranes and other body features is growing constantly. Cranes mounted on a truck chassis are increasingly performing the tasks for which a large mobile crane would previously have been used. A truck is more compact, can be moved from one working site to the next more flexibly and more quickly and can be set up and dismantled more speedily. MAN supplies three and four axle versions of its TGS and TGX series trucks with industry-specific equipment. A non-driven front axle with ten ton axle load instead of the previous nine tons is now available. This will increase the load capacity for the crane body and extend the working area of large loading cranes over the cab. The ranges and lifting capacities of loading cranes that fold up behind the cab are increasing.

A crane like that shown comes with a 10 ton lifting capacity these days. Unfolded and fully extended, the crane fitted here can reach a height of around 29 metres. It can then be loaded with up to 650 kilograms, the equivalent of 13 sacks of cement. To put things in context, a comparable loading crane mounted on a MAN TGX with the standard 9-ton front axle would have a lifting height of 25 metres – reaching only the 9th floor of a high-rise building rather than the 10th. This crane could lift 8 ½ sacks of cement, around 420 kg, up to that height. But its maximum lifting capacity of around 6.2 tons is considerably lower.

Examples of construction and municipal use

If the beams for the roof structure have to be delivered and installed on a construction site, for example, heavy duty loading cranes are used. A narrow access route and restricted spaces for setting up inhibit optimum positioning of the vehicle. Particularly if working over the cab is necessary as a result, the usable load capacity and range of the crane are limited. A 10-ton front axle allows the use of heavier loading cranes with larger loads. When installing the roof structure, the crane can lift heavier loads at the front or reach further.

A high front axle load capacity also plays an important role in other sectors. On snow clearing vehicles, a heavy plough or snow blower is fitted on the front mounting plate. A four axle MAN TGS with a tipping trough for filling with spoil or mineral resources in an open cast mine also benefits from a higher axle load. Some countries, for example the Netherlands, calculate the permitted gross weight from the total of the axle loads. Thus, a four-axle tipper with two 10 ton front axles has two tons more payload, a major benefit for the contractor when it comes to the transport amount.

Industry-specific chassis designs on the MAN TGS and TGX

The new leaf-sprung higher load capacity 10-ton front axle with a straight or offset construction is available on 6x4 and 8x4 chassis designs in the MAN TGS and MAN TGX series with all cab versions. The range of options includes normal and medium height chassis designs.

MAN optimises the chassis for these applications. Depending on customer preferences and technical requirements from the crane manufacturer, a 9.5 millimetre thick frame and additional inserts of metal plates in the frame can contribute to an increase in rigidity and load capacity.

Fitting the side supports for safe crane operation takes up space on the frame. The exhaust system, fuel and AdBlue tanks, compressed air tank and battery box can be relocated in the factory if required. To fit an additional front support, MAN offers a front plate combined with the steel bumper. The body manufacturer fits a hydraulic supporting cylinder extending directly downwards to this. MAN Individual carries out these preparatory modifications and adaptations on a customised basis. The advantage of this is that the customer has a single contact at MAN for the industry-specific preparation of the vehicle and receives certified work from MAN with a full warranty.