Hey all,

I'm currently running a Truckmounted line pump which runs off the PTO. I was just thinking about a few things and I wanted to write them out and see what the answers would be.

My truck is a Nissan Diesel MK175 and it does the job wonderfully, it has done alot of KM(2003 model with 420,000km) I wanted to know if say I brought a truck like Mercedes Benz Aetgo that has 280hp on it. Would that help me reduce fuel economy if I had a bigger engine. The one I have has 175hp and runs at around 2800rpm when I'm pumping at full volume. Will having a truck with a bigger engine benefit this or it doesn't work like that?

I also wanted to know what trucks(for Australian use) is the best to mount a concrete pump on it. when I mean by that, easy to mount, setup and get everything done easy without any much hassles. I was thinking of doing a project for myself looking for another pump suitable for a complete rebuild and put on a truck, the go is it needs to be high pressured or capable of pumping upto around 100m3 p/h.

Thank you

Brendan

the pto you are running at present- engine mounted such as a nmv or knowles, gearbox mounted  off the back or side of the box, or transfer box between the gearbox and axle?

Atego is fine but you will have some fancy merc computer/wiring work to do with regards the throttle etc . If you are buying used watch the earlier merc 12speed boxes, they can be troublesome.  As regards to horsepower then the 280 will be ok, the engine is only the smaller 6-odd litre unit, the next one up the 330 is better.  You need to bring your rpm down to make better economy which will mean a change in pto ratios.( the merc will not last at constant running at that speed.)

you should have a power curve for the hyd. system;if not your pump manufacturer should be able to supply you with one; more hp doesnt mean better or more economic;you run the engine at certain rpm to achieve a certain oil flow out of the hyd. pumps, which translates at the end into concrete volume; be careful not to run the hyd.pumps faster than what they can handle; hp curve is set as a relation between hyd. pressure and hyd. oil flow (more pressure>less flow)

Just a couple random thoughts

These factory units such as your are pre matched at the factory.I'm refering to engine hp vs gear sets for maximum performance.Another thought is cost of engine parts between the 2 engines.I somehow feel the smaller import if maintained would provide better sevice.

If you are running a split drive pto, the required input rpm will remain the same despite the hp increase. You would also have to fit a pto with a gear ratio to match the higher hp, thus bringing the input rpm down.

as far as best truck for rebuild job depends on money willing to spend and how long u want to keep truck.of all truck ive driven mercs and volvos seem best.of course anything new will alway go good but for how long is the question also mercs have very long service intervals

Don't overestimate mercedes trucks quallity. That's the cheaper european brand.

Thank you guys for the info. Very interesting to be honest. I had another question regarding PTOs. There are two types of PTO which is better to use and also service/maintainece costs.

I run a pump that has Split shaft PTO. It seems okay, but i don't really know much about PTOs but I need to read up on them.

I cannot tell anything about split shaft pto's, on our pumps (Schwing)we have Stiebel gearboxes as transfer case, they are almost bulletproof (once you tell the operator how to operate it the correct way...), we have very few problems with them and they are very easy to maintain; the down side is that they are expensive, even more with a conversion, which is what you're trying to do; also, if the gearbox does go out, you cannot drive the truck anymore; you should probably stay with what is in the truck right now