ALE » Trojan

Leading heavylift and specialised transport provider, ALE, has unveiled the latest addition to its transport fleet, the highly anticipated Trojan Truck. Designed by ALE engineers and produced in the UK, the Trojan’s unique feature is its ability to link up multiple tractor units in a command and drone convoy. The command vehicle controls not only itself but all tractors in the convoy linked mechanically, by air, and by the Electronic Can Bus System.

The steering, vehicle braking, electrics, engine and transmissions on all tractor units are synchronised by computer which ensures each vehicle is in a matched gear, matched RPM and matched torque. Vehicle braking, engine compression braking and transmission retardation can be controlled identically and there is no limit to the number of vehicles that can be added to the convoy. Based on a concept conceived in 2012, the Trojan truck’s design weight is 72,000kg. Its maximum geared road speed is 48mph/77kph, and it can pull a gross combination weight of 300t at its maximum gradient of 14%. The bespoke engine and transmission performance reduces emissions and provides a fuel saving of 40% compared to that achieved by previous models. 

A key design consideration for ALE was to ensure that the power could be delivered effectively, producing significantly improved tractive effort compared to other standard market products. Critical to this was to ensure that the trucks provided a significant and balanced footprint which would also assist with retardation.