| |
Aussie sets new world record with Mack
By John Baxter
|
John Atkinson recently raised funds for a cancer care charity near the town of Clifton, Australia, by setting a world record with his Mack Titan heavy-hauling tractor, an 8x6 with three drive axles.
Atkinson, 70, who drove trucks for 50 years, wanted to set a new Guinness world record for pulling the longest road train ever assembled with a single prime mover. Atkinson himself set the previous record, so the job wasn’t new to him. It was just harder than last time.
The stories that circulated after his last endeavor brought a crowd of 8,000 people to the new site. The train had 113 loaded trailers, giving an overall length of nearly a mile and a gross weight of 2.87 million pounds, roughly 100 times greater than the tractor's. Atkinson had to start the load from a full stop and pull it 328 feet.
In spite of soaring temperatures in the waning Australian summer, the truck was up to the job. Atkinson slipped it into gear, got the load moving and broke his own record. The equipment that did the job was as follows.
Tractor: Mack Titan XHD Tri-Axle Prime Mover, rated to pull 374,850 lb.
Engine: Cummins Signature, 620 hp, 2,050 lb. ft. torque, 920.67 cu. in.
Transmission: Mack Maxitorque 18-speed with a 2,100 lb. ft. torque rating and low gear of 16.42:1
Drive Axles: Mack S65 Tri-Drive on Neway AD378 suspension, with 5.88:1 ratio
Overall Low/Low Gear Ratio: 96.54:1
Front Axle: I-150S
Front Tires: Michelin XZE-2 295/80R22.5
Rear Tires: Michelin XDE-2 11R22.5
40-inch low-rise sleeper with dual mufflers, Outback Polished Bullbar, ISRI Luxury Driver’s Seat and four fuel tanks, jack rated at 45,000-lb.
|
|
