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: Through mounted into Hino trucks, Allison is contributing to the regular cleaning of one of the busiest road in Sydney—Sydney Harbor Tunnel. In March 2013, Sydney Harbor Tunnel Company purchased Hino GH1728 trucks equipped with Allison 3000 automatic transmission to replace the previous manual Hino trucks used since 1992 when the tunnel put into use.
Chief engineer of Sydney Harbor Tunnel Jacques Calluaud says the convenient use is the most important feature of this truck. “We plan to replace our fleet with automatic trucks because of more convenient operation,” he adds, “the automatic vehicle enables drivers to concentrate on the cleaning work without distraction on manual shift.”
Automatic cleaning truck is able to run out 2.5-mile tunnel at a low speed
Automatic cleaning truck is able to run out 2.5-mile tunnel at a low speed without filling water to 10,000L tank in the middle. In order to take the load of equipment and water tank, the Hino truck is mounted with a bearing shaft.
Calluaud says: “We have been in cooperation with Hino for 20 years. They reassemble this truck according to our unique demands.”
The cleaning equipment composed of two revolving brushes, spray lance and blower is driven by one high-pressure hydraulic pump which is powered by Allison 3000 transmission’s power takeoff (PTO). In this way, drivers are able to take full control of the cleaning equipment when driving the truck.
New Hino 500 GH1728 truck equipped with Allison 3000 automatic transmission
“With the PTO all pumps and cleaning brushes can work without a generator,” Calluaud explains, “we need a generator to provide power previously when we use the old trucks. The new truck, however, completely relies on hydraulic facility and PTO. In spraying water, hydraulic pump is more advantageous than a generator.”
He also adds: “the new truck meets our demands very well as is proved by actual use. The automatic transmission is a key factor.”