tatra 813 new owner

[duncan]

Im sure you can buy new dashes from ATH Tatra. Let me know if you want one, Ill check with them on prices, want one myself too.

Either way, it looks like disconnect-the-dash, replace cap, reconnect dash, done. Hoping it really is that easy. When the cab is removed I'll replace the air and clutch lined underneath so Ill be done with that hard-to-reach work for a while.

 

[John C]

Thanks for the offer , but I think I will probably pick one up at the same time I get a new cab, not likely to be for a while though I imagine, hope they have plenty of them left by the time I get there - Be good to know how much they are asking for one though?

Regards

 

[vtunimog]

John - I have the manual on CD if you would like it and alot less than the 250 Quid I paid for it !

Cheers,

Chris M.

1971 813 ! FOR SALE !!

 

[vtunimog]

Im sure you can buy new dashes from ATH Tatra. Let me know if you want one, Ill check with them on prices, want one myself too.

Either way, it looks like disconnect-the-dash, replace cap, reconnect dash, done. Hoping it really is that easy. When the cab is removed I'll replace the air and clutch lined underneath so Ill be done with that hard-to-reach work for a while.

There is a firm in southern CZ I think who also does a Dash rebuild/refit with more modern and reliable switches etc. I think they charge 399EURO

 

[duncan]

Hey vtunimog! Good to see you still active. On the dash, I'll pass on that one for a while, busy saving money to get a new cab from ATH. Its mixing up with vacation and some other work related stuff pretty bad, so it'll be about 3 months before I can make that one happen.

I also just got a manual on CD, digitized version of the DDR verkstatt handbuch (in german). It's missing some stuff and incomplete in some other parts (mainly the air system and bodywork), but most of the info is there. My 813 is shaping up nicely and soon all there will be left to do is replace that cab.

Do you have a different version of the manual? If so I'd be interested, cant have enough manuals for a truck this size

 

[John C]

John - I have the manual on CD if you would like it and alot less than the 250 Quid I paid for it !

Cheers,

Chris M.

1971 813 ! FOR SALE !!

Thanks, PM sent.

Regards

 

[tm america]

hey tatra813 not usre what you do for a living but anyone that can afford two of them can surely afford to donate one to me .so i wont have to wait till i win the lottery to have one for myselfthose things are awsome some day....some day

 

[duncan]

They can be had cheap, but I guess the cost of shipping them to america doubles or triples the price. They're massively fun.

Wanted to make one of those pics where its up a hill to steep you can see the bottom of the cabin. I parked it correctly for that picture, but then had to get out. Thats a 2.5 metre gap down

As always, pics dont do it justice. You can see by the mud on the front bumper, it dug in till about the blinkers before it started to go up and over. Cleaning the bed this weekend to prepare it for anti rust coating and paint!

 

[John C]

Thats the only thing I can fault the 813 on; the overhang at the front, I notice on a lot of the trails trucks they modify the front end and bumper - I guess they also don't want the batteries getting smashed.

Hopefully getting an original body for mine soon, it's actually the one that came off mine - think I'm going to put it back on for the time being until I get a tipper body that's suitable, also think that crane is going to have to come off temporarily as I think there's not enough room for with the original body.

Regards

 

[duncan]

Just spend today grinding the rust of the trucks body with some friends. It's ready for anti rust primer now, and looks a lot better.

From what I saw when working on it, its not hard to shorten it to fit your crane. All straightforward construction (what else did I expect ).

 

[tatra813]

overhang isnt a problem the front bumper doubles as a dozer blade when needed....... just throw a metal cover over the headlight holes.

Duncan I agree, nothing better than taking this truck up a short STEEP hill or down one just before you crest down, its a serious rush the first few times and friens get a serious rush over it, nothing like sliding this truck around coming up or down a hill and spinning all 8 tires getting it on! Feels like you are shooting 20 feet in the air lol

By the time you ship one of these to the U.S. pay the shipping, and hopefully get throught all the custom headaches then pay the huge exise tax its almost unaffordable. I was lucky to find all 3 of mine in the U.S. it saved me a bunch, I think there are only 6 total of the 813 model in the U.S. so pickins are slim, but I know where one may be picked up in the U.S. for a decent price if anyone is interested (its not from me) its mechanically good, but body is rough, but it looks like new old stock cabs are available per Duncan for a reasonable price.

Have a good one guys, good to see you putting them to use also.
Dean

 

[John C]

From what I saw when working on it, its not hard to shorten it to fit your crane. All straightforward construction (what else did I expect ).

Yea, I was thinking of doing that, the back doors on my cab are a bit ratty anyway. The only difficult bits I can see to are; mounting the heater in a suitable place that doesn't make getting the rear engine cover off difficult - actually the rear engine cover would need to be modified anyway, also the exhaust system would need altering as would the rear mounts for the cab - apart from this it just looks like simple fabrication work

overhang isnt a problem the front bumper doubles as a dozer blade when needed....... just throw a metal cover over the headlight holes.

Yea you're right, i've only been cautious because I don't won't to smash the hydraulic pump off the front bumper - Think I'm going to remove the crane/hyd pump for the time being anyway so I'll be able to have a proper play soon


Regards

 

[duncan]

Yea, I was thinking of doing that, the back doors on my cab are a bit ratty anyway. The only difficult bits I can see to are; mounting the heater in a suitable place that doesn't make getting the rear engine cover off difficult - actually the rear engine cover would need to be modified anyway, also the exhaust system would need altering as would the rear mounts for the cab - apart from this it just looks like simple fabrication work

I was thinking of shortening the bed, not the cab If you want to short the cab you might well be better off buying a new 2 seater cab from ATH Tatra.

 

[tatra813]

any ideas on converting the 8x8 into a duel steer 6x6? looks like it could be done, suspention will be the worst part?

 

[duncan]

By removing the 3rd axle and diff (basicly shortening it) or by removing the half axles and blanking the holes in the backbone?

No matter how you do it, I'd have to ask: Dear god, why

 

[tatra813]

By removing the 3rd axle and diff (basicly shortening it) or by removing the half axles and blanking the holes in the backbone?

No matter how you do it, I'd have to ask: Dear god, why

Center tube looks like it is set up to get it to a 6x6, Tatra made them factory in 6x6 versions with one rear axle and 2 front steering axles, they look very cool! I thought it would be need to convert one of my tatras over, they definitily seam to be harder to come by.

 

[John C]

I think the the 6x6 version you are referring to is the 'hauler' which is a little different to the 8x8 'kolos' - It has heaveier springing and is on 22.5" wheels fitted with heavy comercial type tyres, this rig is able to tow a massive 100 metric tons as apossed to the lesser 60 tons of the kolosheaviercommercialapposed, for this purpose a few other minor differences seem to be apparent such as alterations to the air brake system, steering gear & suspension. - Not sure if transmission is and heavier but they do seem to utilize an additional set of gears through the transfer box.

Regards

 

[duncan]

From the specs I have here, the 6x6 is 21 tonnes and has a 100ton tow capacity. Says itll do a max of 14,6% uphill grade with a 100ton trailer (lowest gear), with top speed being about 35 km/h in 4th.

The 4wheel version takes a 65ton trailer up a 25% climb, and tops at around 65km/h.

For the 8x8 I can't really say, cause the manual is for the 2 seater PMS version, not the one with heavy trailer hitch and troop seats. It does have the exact same engine and gearbox ratios as the 6x6 though.

 

[FridgeFreezer]

Morning all I thought I'd post up and say hello, and make a nuisance of myself by asking a few questions...

I've read this entire thread (my brain hurts now!) as I am currently grappling with the idea of buying a T813 8x8. My mate is also looking at a T815 6x6 heavy hauler. Both would be used for race support for our stupid off-roading holidays / general camping & expedition stuff all over the UK, EU and into Russia.

It's either genius or insanity for a number of reasons, not least of which is the modified Land Rover in the back garden which may become jealous if I bring another toy home

I'm hoping you guys can help us out by answering a few questions.

The T813 is a later 19-litre version, does anyone know if they have better or worse fuel consumption than the 17-litre, and if they go any faster?

The 80kph top speed is a small issue, OK the speed limit in Europe is around 80kph for trucks, but when we get to the race it would be nice to go a bit faster on occasion if someone needs help quickly. We know it must be possible to make them go faster because of the Dakar trucks, but the question is how to squeeze a few more kph out of them (100kph would be brilliant, but 90 would do) without risking reliability or spending a fortune.

Fuel "economy", we know they're not quite Prius territory but what sort of mileage are you guys actually getting on the road? I've seen figures of around 42L/100km (6-7mpg), is that about right or is it hugely optimistic? Is there anything that can be changed to improve matters - such as re-tuning the engine so you lose the multi-fuel capability but gain economy?

Can anyone tell us definitely what the T815 6x6 heavy hauler is? It looks like an 8x8 with the back end chopped off. Some spec sheets list them as being low geared and very slow, while others say they are the same speed as an 8x8 or even faster.

The T815 is also listed as being Euro-5 emissions compliant, which seems almost too good to be true for something a few years old - is it a misprint or are they really that clean? The tech specs say they still only manage 42L/100k, which seems odd if it's running that efficiently on emissions.

Engine swaps - a bit drastic, and a shame to lose the aircooled V12, but with it being divorced from the gearbox it does set our tinkering minds going with the prospect of swapping in a slightly more economical unit from something modern.

Power take-off - If I buy the 8x8 it might well gain a Hiab crane, and depending on how things pan out we might want to add things like generators & compressors too. Can anyone tell us about the PTO, if the winch uses the only available output or if there is another, and what the output looks like.

Lastly - pictures! We're trying to get a sense of scale on these trucks as the tech measurements suggest they're not as big as they look, but most photos either show them next to more big toys, or on their own. The picture of the T813 next to the Range Rover & pickup SUV thing was quite useful, anyone got any more like that? Side views showing the length would be most helpful. Pictures of the inside of the cab, drivetrain, and general construction are handy too - we're going to have to modify & service these ourselves so it'd be good to see what we're letting ourselves in for.

Incidentally, I can offer one piece of tech info in return for the inquisition - someone further back in the thread mentioned the exhaust on the Tatra being high up for wading - this is not the case, as long as the engine is running it doesn't actually matter if the exhaust is submerged - most off-roaders run with raised air intakes & standard height exhausts, it's only trucks that have stacks, presumably to avoid coating pedestrians in black soot when you race off the traffic lights

Oh and when you raise the air intake, you should check ALL the joints and breathers, you'd be amazed where water can get in - and after wading, check all the oils for contamination and grease everything. Most people raise breathers (tank breathers, axle & transmission, engine, etc. to the same height as the intake to avoid sucking in water.

 

[duncan]

Can anyone tell us definitely what the T815 6x6 heavy hauler is? It looks like an 8x8 with the back end chopped off. Some spec sheets list them as being low geared and very slow, while others say they are the same speed as an 8x8 or even faster.

Not sure, but theres a rally team around here that is now using a T815 6x6 instead of the T813 8x8 for races, so I guess it can't be all bad. The T813 6x6 is basicly an 8x8 with the 3rd axle "blanked", so it has 2 steering front axles. The T815 6x6 seems to have 2 rear axles and a single steering front.

Fuel "economy", we know they're not quite Prius territory but what sort of mileage are you guys actually getting on the road? I've seen figures of around 42L/100km (6-7mpg), is that about right or is it hugely optimistic?

Thats right, it does about that for 80kph highway speed. Bear in mind when offroading its more like 200L/100km. But you get more than double the fun, too

The T815 is also listed as being Euro-5 emissions compliant, which seems almost too good to be true for something a few years old - is it a misprint or are they really that clean? The tech specs say they still only manage 42L/100k, which seems odd if it's running that efficiently on emissions.

To quote Wikipedia: In September 2006 Tatra introduced its Euro4 compliant turbocharged T3D engine with the SCR exhaust technology and in February 2008 the worlds's first Euro 5 compliant aircooled diesel engine based on T3D engine.

Engine swaps - a bit drastic, and a shame to lose the aircooled V12, but with it being divorced from the gearbox it does set our tinkering minds going with the prospect of swapping in a slightly more economical unit from something modern.

Again to quite Wikipedia: Following further improvements in 2003 T815 gets new Euro3 T3C V8 engine mated to all new 14 speed range+split gearbox as well as option for engines from other suppliers most notably CAT, Cummins, Renault, Deutz and MTU with its "monster" 22.5 Litre V12 and up to 620 kW (843 PS; 831 hp) power output!

Power take-off - If I buy the 8x8 it might well gain a Hiab crane, and depending on how things pan out we might want to add things like generators & compressors too. Can anyone tell us about the PTO, if the winch uses the only available output or if there is another, and what the output looks like.

Theres a slot on the front bumper to fit a hydraulic pump to the main shaft. Otherwise, yeah, the winch in your way to go. Bear in mind the winch is powered through the gearbox, so you end up having a 20 speed PTO

Lastly - pictures! We're trying to get a sense of scale on these trucks as the tech measurements suggest they're not as big as they look, but most photos either show them next to more big toys, or on their own. [...] Pictures of the inside of the cab, drivetrain, and general construction are handy too [...]

Some more pictures attached. Service wise, everything is very easy and doable with various sized and shaped hammers Some of the required spanner sizes are... well, its a truck. Dont be suprised when you need sizes exceeding M36 for simple maintenance tasks. Which raises another very important point: Apart from the thread in some of the fuel and air lines, its all metric.

it's only trucks that have stacks, presumably to avoid coating pedestrians in black soot when you race off the traffic lights

I made a straight up exhaust because my damper was rusted beyond repair anyway, and it helps rear view mirror visibility a LOT when accelerating and reversing. Seriously, the smoke blocked the view some times.

Hope this helped some, didn't comment on the parts I dont know about.