tatra 813 new owner

[FridgeFreezer]

Seems a bit pricey - over here 6mm (O.D.) nylon is ~62p/m (70 Euro cents), maybe cheaper if you buy a lot and speak nicely to teh chaps behind the counter. Remember you need to match the bore size of the old pipes, not the outside diameter. The flexi rubber bits may be fat but I'll bet the walls are pretty thick compared to the equivalent bore nylon.

Fittings are generally £1 - £3 depending on complexity.

The company we use locally is Hyphose, they stock Parker & Camozzi among others and I think those are the main brands we use.

Aside from the air brakes, I'd say the CTIS lines could be happily re-done in 6 or 8mm regardless of original spec, it'll just change how long it takes to inflate your tyres.

 

[duncan]

I was going to keep I.D. high, and not use flex hose too much (becomes too large). Thanks for the brand names, will look into that. Ideally I'd find some company that likes this kind of project and gives me something like a 100 metre spindle of the stuff plus a box of straight, angled and T-section fitting, and lets me return what's left after replacing everything.
Current company wants me to make exact list of what I need, making it into a massive project all of a sudden.

 

[FridgeFreezer]

I know some places do a sale-or-return deal on fittings, they chuck a load of assorted fittings at you & you give back what you don't use.

Two more names of fittings & bits for you: Norgren & AirPro.

As a guide my HypHose catalogue lists 100m coils of 6mm hose at £66 + VAT(15%) and 30m coils at £20 + VAT, any colour. 8mm is £94+VAT for 100m. That's all made by AirPro.

 

[duncan]

Thanks for the brand names, found a Parker Store nearby who seems to have everything, will go there tomorow. I'll see for Norgren and Airpro too! Massive help, thank you!

 

[FridgeFreezer]

AirPro seems to be the cheapest for most things, they do "normal" and "extra flexible" hose.

Thanks for the lead on the other T813, it's looking much more promising just the logistics of getting it home to worry about really.

 

[duncan]

Either drive it home if you're confident, or get a semi lowboy and haul it. I went for the latter, made for a fun trip. Got the truck from Manby Experience, near Hull, in a crazy 24 hour trip.

Ferry dunkerque-dover set me back 450 (return trip for loaded semi), about 400 diesel and 600 truck rent (euros). But I did about 1000 miles, your diesel costs should be way lower.

Last time I hauled a load to Southampton it took about 18 hours (return trip including ferries, border secutiry, loading and unloading), and that includes clipping the rear of some stupid UK volvo driver who cut me off on a parking lot and didnt understand the LEFT HAND DRIVER sign and the OVERSIZE LOAD sign I heared and felt the impact but still couldn't see the car, had to get out for that. Some people

Anyway, tell me if you need a hand on the logistics. I will go and find me some plumbing tomorow!

 

[FridgeFreezer]

Either drive it home if you're confident, or get a semi lowboy and haul it.
...
Anyway, tell me if you need a hand on the logistics. I will go and find me some plumbing tomorow!

The only issue is that the truck has no Dutch paperwork so can't be driven on the road. I don't know what the Dutch system is like, whether getting some paperwork is possible/practical or if there's no point trying.

I'm waiting to see which option works best:
- Local low loader to the docks, drive on to the ferry, and local low-loader from the other end home.
- Low-loader all the way
- Find some paperwork from somewhere and drive it one side or the other or both.

I have a friend in the army and a few who drive HGV's so we may be able to drive it home on trade plates or some such thing.

I've had an offer of a low-loader from the UK docks to home, and the seller thinks he can get the use of a loader at his end - only 150k to HvH from him by the looks of it. It'll come down to cost and legality.

 

[duncan]

Not sure on the paperwork side, seller knows more about that than me. Be aware though that HvH ferry is twice as expensive as Dover ferries. Dunkerque was the cheapest I could find.

Theres a semi lowboy rusting away near here I might be able to use. Otherwise I have a contact in the truck and trailer rental business that loves crazy stuff like this, and is located a little closer to the seller.

 

[FridgeFreezer]

Duncan - top tips yet again, Dunquerke is 130gbp, HvH to Harwich is 400! Guess that solves that problem I found Freight Ferries have some very good prices, and compared to the official ferry websites which won't give you a quote at all it's great

The contact who knows about upping the top speed has come back and told me that it's done by making the engine rev to 2400, which involves a rebuild (in Czech as apparently only they have the skills) with uprated bearings & bolting some turbos on. Frankly, that sounds rather expensive and over the top.

I'm wondering about swapping gears in either the transfer box or main gearbox - if possible doing something like sticking a pair of 4th gear cogs in the place of 5th gear, but the opposite way round so they give a higher ratio, not lower.

A final option is putting an extra gearbox in between the engine & the main gearbox (perhaps a cut-up gearbox from another truck) to give an added overdrive or splitter box. I've seen it done with Land Rovers. There are some off-road trucks which have separate transfer cases (input & output by propshafts) so one of these could perhaps be used. It would mean more levers & buttons to play with, but hey ho!

Going through some previous correspondence with a guy at Tatra he seems to suggest ALL "true" military Kolos were multi-fuel, if that's true then that's a real bonus. I've asked him if he can shed any light on identifying if the engine is the right thing. The price (or not) of fuel is a major factor when the truck's first trip is likely to be a 5000km trip to Russia

 

[tatra813]

Duncan - top tips yet again, Dunquerke is 130gbp, HvH to Harwich is 400! Guess that solves that problem I found Freight Ferries have some very good prices, and compared to the official ferry websites which won't give you a quote at all it's great

The contact who knows about upping the top speed has come back and told me that it's done by making the engine rev to 2400, which involves a rebuild (in Czech as apparently only they have the skills) with uprated bearings & bolting some turbos on. Frankly, that sounds rather expensive and over the top.

I'm wondering about swapping gears in either the transfer box or main gearbox - if possible doing something like sticking a pair of 4th gear cogs in the place of 5th gear, but the opposite way round so they give a higher ratio, not lower.

A final option is putting an extra gearbox in between the engine & the main gearbox (perhaps a cut-up gearbox from another truck) to give an added overdrive or splitter box. I've seen it done with Land Rovers. There are some off-road trucks which have separate transfer cases (input & output by propshafts) so one of these could perhaps be used. It would mean more levers & buttons to play with, but hey ho!

Going through some previous correspondence with a guy at Tatra he seems to suggest ALL "true" military Kolos were multi-fuel, if that's true then that's a real bonus. I've asked him if he can shed any light on identifying if the engine is the right thing. The price (or not) of fuel is a major factor when the truck's first trip is likely to be a 5000km trip to Russia

I think if you buy the truck and drive it for a while you will see the gearing is pretty good in relationship to the power of the engine. I would up the h.p. of the engine before doing anything with the gears for sure! I think the gearing is fine , it just lacks h.p. It already runs a decent rpm at high speed of travel and the slightest slope and you have to downshift. As to how to raise the H.P. let me know if you find out a economical way that doesnt require a rebuild or a having to tweek the motor all the time to keep it going.

Ive heard the truck trials guys do engine mods I just dont know what they do? Anyone know. I can cruise the highway at 55mph....all in all its set up pretty nice just in the stock setup, its just a little slow up hills

 

[duncan]

Duncan - top tips yet again, Dunquerke is 130gbp, HvH to Harwich is 400! Guess that solves that problem I found Freight Ferries have some very good prices, and compared to the official ferry websites which won't give you a quote at all it's great

Same company I used, great service too. Rental company changed tractors at the last second so had to call to change reg numbers, they fixed it instantly. Also, the departure times are kind of free, they dont care if you take a ferry earlier or later, as long as the date and registration matches.

I can cruise the highway at 55mph....all in all its set up pretty nice just in the stock setup, its just a little slow up hills

Yes, but up any hill you throw at it Anyway, I dont see the point in making it go much faster, apart from racing/rallying it. Personally I love the slow stuff, makes you take a step back from the always rushing traffic and the people who need-to-get-there-quick, and allows you to look around and enjoy the road a lot more. If I want to be somewhere fast I grab one of the sports bikes.

 

[FridgeFreezer]

Anyway, I dont see the point in making it go much faster

Three reasons:
1 - Jez's Deutz will do 100kph, and we'll be in convoy
2 - You can't fit a race car and service crew on the back of a sports bike
3 - Russia is a long way away at 80kph

Edited to add: I found this bit that looks like an air line antifreeze injector, 14 euros: http://shop.strato.de/epages/203854.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/203854/Products/ANTIFREEZE

 

[duncan]

Sure his will do a 100, but its a heavy vehicles and thus EU traffic laws apply, meaning 80 max. He might not have a limiter, but other trucks do and theres an overtaking ban for heavy trucks on most european roads, so you'll be stuck doing 80 anyway.
Russia is a long way no matter how fast. I think you'd be better off making a relaxed trip out of it rather than rushing there. Do as you like though!

I removed the 3 rear air tanks today, they were completely dry. Will check the inside for rust and all this weekend, but I might not have to replace them, just clean, sandblast and respray Also found another pneumatic store near here that's going to assist me a bit more on the new air system.

 

[FridgeFreezer]

Sure his will do a 100, but its a heavy vehicles and thus EU traffic laws apply, meaning 80 max.

EU laws apply until we hit Russia we're not after racing about the place but sometimes we do have to "make progress" given the unique timescales we usually work to - This was us doing an emergency run when we realised the race car hadn't been refuelled since the border and was due on stage in 10 minutes - and we were more than 10km away with the fuel cans the DPC will pull you over for speeding whether you are or not, so you may as well get your 200 roubles' worth of value (200r = 5 euro, my kind of speeding ticket!)


Here's an answer about the faster Tatras, from someone who sounds like they actually know what they're on about:

Most of the times they have custom made gears in the transfercase, another possibility for 813 is to take a 2speed overdrive gearbox and mount it between the clutch and gearbox. A tuning session will get you more horsepowers but no higher top speed. it's not very healthy for such diesel engines as well as the drivers ears to make more then 2500rpm.

 

[duncan]

Rally pics always make me jealous. Takes me 20 years or so to save money for an epic road trip like that

Anyway, saved myself a little money today. Already picked out some replacement air tanks, but when removing the rear 3 tanks they looked quite clean. Inspected them a little more, turns out the inside of all tanks is are good! So I chucked a bucket of cold-degreaser in there, added a few buckets of M8 bolts and put the whole tank in the lathe. Used a rotary wire disc to clean the outside, then sanded it down to prepare for a new coat of paint. Rinse, repeat for the other 3 tanks, and voila, lot of money saved!

 

[FridgeFreezer]

Rally pics always make me jealous. Takes me 20 years or so to save money for an epic road trip like that

That's what credit cards are for

In all seriousness, the biggest cost of the trip is ~4000km worth of fuel. If you can handle that, the rest is not too bad (we have to get ferries to the mainland of Europe, you're already there).

 

[duncan]

If you grab a 3 or 4 axle semi lowboy you could fit a tatra plus a smaller 6x6 or something on it without going oversize or overweight. The newer tractors all put in a nice 4km per litre when driven carefully. Also you have to pay ferry and toll for one truck. On a 4000km trip it might save you money. If you plan on doing trips like this more often, it definately will!

This ofcourse does not factor in the possibility of you actually wanting to drive your tatra 4000km over boring stretches of highway

 

[FridgeFreezer]

This ofcourse does not factor in the possibility of you actually wanting to drive your tatra 4000km over boring stretches of highway

An important factor - the point of buying one would be to save driving 4000km in a fully laden Land Rover, which is no more comfortable and not much more economical

Only half the km's are boring, the rest more than make up for it though

 

[duncan]

Right, did some more work. Took the water-separator out of the air system for a thorough clean too. Had at least 2 inches of mud on the bottom, and took me 20 minutes and 3 clogged sinks to get it clean. Sandblasted it in preparation for paint.

Got the meanest most environmental-unfriendly hazardous lead based rustproof primer I could buy, and coated all bare metal parts of the air tanks and the separator with 2 layers of coat. Time to sit back an enjoy a cold one

 

[cranetruck]

Is the water separator a normally sealed unit or does it have a drain of some sort?