How much weight can a FH16 750 pull? Well, with the launch of the new I-Shift crawler gears system, Volvo says the mechanism can – among other things – move and transport a gross combination weight of 325 tons.
So here’s a video of the Swedish company’s truck doing just that, and 425 tons more. Yup, Volvo has subjected its product to the ultimate strength test, aiming to cover a distance of 100 meters from standstill with the rig, while hauling 750 tons.
The action took place in the Port of Gothenburg, Sweden, where 40 containers filled with Volvo spare parts were arranged to form a 300-metre long road train. The tractor unit used was a factory-stock, no-nonsense FH16 750, and while its crawler transmission allows it to drive as slowly as 0.5 km/h in order to move really heavy loads in difficult terrain, trying to move 750 tons was a herculean task, as anything could go wrong – from couplings, to the clutch to the transmission itself.
“I-Shift with crawler gears offers starting traction that is unlike anything else on the market for series-produced trucks. Specially built trucks are normally used for exceptionally heavy loads, but here we’re using a Volvo FH16 with a driveline that has come straight from the factory,” said Peter Hardin, Product Manager FM and FMX at Volvo Trucks.
Behind the wheel of the impressive rig was none other than Magnus Samuelsson – winner of the 1998 World’s Strongest Man contest – who teamed up with Volvo for this amazing achievement.
“Few things can match the sense of challenging and winning over one’s physical limitations. I’ve faced many tough challenges over the years but this pull is my heaviest ever,” said Magnus Samuelsson.
But we’ll shut up now and let you see the outcome of the video.
