The 12-tonne vehicles have four-cylinder Paccar PX-5 engines and, says Romaquip, Allison’s transmission is preferred for the refuse sector.
“Along with Allison’s UK team, we were able to work with the DAF engineering team based in Leyland to secure the release of the ideal specification for our application,” says John McKeown, technical director at Romaquip.
An automated manual transmission (AMT) was not suitable, he says, for the creeping speeds and multiple stop-start conditions – but there was no Allison option available with a four-cylinder Euro 6 engine.
“We also considered the six-cylinder DAF LF220 with an Allison 3000 Series transmission, but that configuration would have added half a tonne, putting too much additional weight on the front axle,” says McKeown.
“The Allison 2500 model solution is a godsend for our sector.”
Romaquip’s Kerb-Sort vehicle was the first to feature a fully automated unloading system in 2011. Able to separate 10 types of fully segregated, unpolluted waste in a single pass, Romaquip guarantees off-loading in just seven minutes.
A stainless steel, compartmentalised body doubles the normal vehicle life to 10-14 years, reducing lifetime ownership costs by protecting against corrosion and high maintenance costs. Likewise, the Allison transmission protects the driveline and reduces unnecessary maintenance expenses, requiring only scheduled fluid and filter changes.
Since the vehicle can compact up to four tonnes of payload into a 35-metre-cubed collection space, McKeown said vehicle weight was also critical in the specification process.
The first 40 trucks are now in operation for local authority fleets in Wrexham, the Lake District, Devon and Flintshire.