Hino will debut an Allison automatic version of its off-road medium truck popular with fire-fighting authorities
May 14, 2013
Hino will debut an Allison automatic version of its off-road medium truck at the Brisbane Truck Show.
The vehicle
is already popular with fire-fighting authorities, the company says.
The company says the new 500 Series GT Crew Cab Automatic four-wheel drive builds on the manual version by adding a five-speed automatic transmission “to combine ease of use with off-road capability and reliability”.
Hino Australia Product Planning Manager Daniel Petrovski says the GT Automatic is designed mainly with Australian fire-fighters in mind.
“Australia’s fire-fighting organisations were at the forefront of our thoughts when designing the GT Automatic,” Petrovski says.
“Hino four-wheel drive trucks are used to fight bushfires in some challenging environments across Australia
– we saw a need to build an automatic truck that retained Hino’s off-road capabilities.
“It’s not just a matter of convenience
– the simplicity of an automatic gearbox means fire-fighters have one less concern on their minds in what can be a highly stressful environment.”
To suit the needs of fire-fighting teams, the GT Automatic features an engine-mounted live-drive power take-off (PTO) as standard, which can operate independently of the drivetrain.
Hino adapted the Allison 2500 Series automatic transmission. The gearbox features a “Preselect” system which automatically shifts down when the exhaust brake is activated, increasing driver control by ensuring the engine and gearbox offer peak compression braking and reductive force respectively.
Hino offers a variant of the 500 GT with no-slip differentials and factory removal of the ABS.
