Allison Transmission answers Romaquip’s call to equip 4-cylinder DAF LFs

27 September 2016

DAF, Allison and Romaquip collaboration leads to new curbside recycling trucks across UK.

UK curbside collection market leader Romaquip has ordered 160 new DAF LF180 trucks, 40 of which were recently delivered. Romaquip requested that the Allison 2500 fully automatic transmission be made available with the 4-cylinder PACCAR PX-5 engine in the new 12-ton vehicles.

“The preferred transmission for the refuse and municipal sector is an Allison, due to its quality, reliability and ability to protect the driveline,” said John McKeown, technical director at Romaquip. “Along with Allison’s UK team, we were able to work with the DAF engineering team based in Leyland to secure the release of the ideal specification for our application.”

According to McKeown, an automated manual transmission (AMT) was not suitable for the creeping speeds and multiple stop-start conditions customer vehicles face, but there was no Allison option available with a 4-cylinder Euro 6 engine.

“We also considered the 6-cylinder DAF LF220 with an Allison 3000 Series™ transmission, but that configuration would have added half a ton, putting too much additional weight on the front axle,” said McKeown. “The Allison 2500 model solution is a godsend for our sector.”

Romaquip entered the curbside collection market in 2011 with its Kerb-Sort vehicle, the first with a fully automated unloading system. Able to separate 10 kinds of fully segregated, unpolluted waste in a single pass, Romaquip guarantees off-loading in just seven minutes.

A stainless steel, compartmentalized body extends the vehicle’s life from 10 to 14 years, reducing lifetime ownership costs by protecting against corrosion and high maintenance costs. Likewise, the Allison transmission protects the driveline and reduces unnecessary maintenance expenses, requiring only scheduled fluid and filter changes.

Since the vehicle can compact up to four tons of payload into a 35-meter-cubed collection space, McKeown said vehicle weight was also critical in the specification process. The first 40 trucks are now in operation for local authority fleets in Wrexham, the Lake District, Devon and Flintshire.