A few weeks back when Truck and Bus News was invited to the Angeles Proving Ground south of Geelong in Victoria for a Penske drive day we were taken with the latest flagship version of MAN’s TGX prime mover, equipped with the German Traton subsidiary’s latest 640hp 15 litre inline six cylinder and mated to the latest version of ZF’s excellent 12 speed AMT gearbox.
In discussion with a couple of the MAN / Penske execs at the event it was revealed that they needed to get the 640 back to its home port of Brisbane along with the Penske liveried B-Double set it was hauling. That challenge was tantalising for us, as driving it around the Angelsea on highway road course and hill climbing section could only reveal so much about the character and credentials if this truck.
So a plot was hatched for us to pilot the big MAN back to its Brissie base to get. real feel for the truck on a roughly 2000km trip that a lot of truck operators have to complete every week of the year.
The plan was to fly to Penske’s Melbourne operation with its Michael di Rameo and to steer the rig back to the Queensland capital over the best part of two days with an overnight break at Raymond Terrace near Newcastle.
Michael di Rameo is a 40 plus year veteran of MAN, having completed his apprenticeship on the brands truck in the early 1980s and successfully managed and navigated a path along witht he truck maker through various operations from factory owned to distributors including Trans Pacific and Penske. What he doesn’t know about MAN Trucks is probably not worth kn0wing
Penske labels the MAN TGX 640 as its heavy-duty flagship truck and points our that it is designed for extreme long-haul and heavy-haul applications with its 15.2 litre engine boasting 640hp of power and 3000Nm of torque. Typically it is available with a 6×4 axle configuration and is the brand’s frontline weapon in the interstate B-Double line haul market.
The MAN D38, In-line six is Euro 6e compliant and utilises soft EGR, CRT, and SCR for emission control.
Inevitable flight delays out of Sydney ot he way to the Victorian capital =meant we were late getting to the truck and getting underway but by the time we hit the Melbourne Ring Road traffic had eased a bit and the we ambled out of the city limits with an easy gait .
Ahead was a lot of motorway driving having decided between the two of us that the Hume-Pacific combo provided the best most efficient route to Brisbane. Online mapping apps told us that the old standard for this trip, taking the inland route via Shepparton and the Newell Highway was slightly shorter to the tune of about 112 kilometres, but that the Hume Pacific route was only going to be about five kms longer and offered motorway the entire distance, apart from the Coffs Harbour and Hexham Heatherbrae imbroglios, which aren’t too far away from being solved.
We were prepared to take the motorway option which is what we did.
Our march up the Hume was uneventful with the big MAN taking the task in its stride settling into an easy amble with the taco sitting int he prime efficiency range at around 1400 rpm and with the climbs over the hills to Seymour taxing the fuel consumption at little we were still returning an easy 1.9 kilometres per litre.
Noise levels in the cabin were exceptionally low with great insulation and the far off hum of the 15 litre underneath us probably being over powered by the buffeting winds of a late Autumn day in Victoria.
By the time we stopped for lunch near Wangaratta fuel consumption had dropped slightly to around 2.0 km to the litre, and the easy comfort of the MAN meant we were all too willing to climb back aboard and power up the highway.
The truck was loaded to just under 60 tonnes and was handling the task with ease as we chatted easily with our Penske companion Michael.
Darkeness gathered as we drove on past Yass and to Goulburn before plunging down from the Highlands to the never easy Sydney ring road which is the M7-M2-Northconnex. This would again prove the most frustrating part of a journey like this as workers strived to open the new lanes on the motorway after years of construction. Several full stops in traffic were the result before we cleared the ‘Big Apple’ and headed for an overnight stop at Heatherbrae.
Even though Penske had booked me a room at a motel I decided to test the TGX’s sleeper bunk, only using my room for a shower and a cuppa before settling in for six hours of good sleep in what is a very comfortable and practical bunk.
Before dawn the next morning we were on the road clear of the new Heatherbrae deviation road works and again settling into the 900 kms still ahead of us.
Plenty of hills between Newcastle and Coffs through what they could at the MAN but it hung in and drove brilliantly, powering up the climbs on the O’Sullivans Gap bypass, the Coolongoolook hill and the hills north of Port Macquarie with our eyes firmly set on the goal of making Penske’s Brisbane operation in business hours.
What the truck showed was its very clear capability as a genuine line haul truck with enough power to do the job easily and efficiently. But the time we reached Brisbane the fuel was showing 2.1 kms to the litre which we reckon was pretty good
It was a long drive but the truck was a great tool to achieve the task with and we would gladly put our hand up to do it again.
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So a plot was hatched for us to pilot the big MAN back to its Brissie base to get. real feel for the truck on a roughly 2000km trip that a lot of truck operators have to complete every week of the year.
Noise levels in the cabin were exceptionally low with great insulation and the far off hum of the 15 litre underneath us probably being over powered by the buffeting winds of a late Autumn day in Victoria.
only using my room for a shower and a cuppa before settling in for six hours of good sleep in what is a very comfortable and practical bunk.
Plenty of hills between Newcastle and Coffs through what they could at the MAN but it hung in and drove brilliantly, powering up the climbs on the O’Sullivans Gap bypass, the Coolongoolook hill and the hills north of Port Macquarie with our eyes firmly set on the goal of making Penske’s Brisbane operation in business hours.
