Comparison: Ashok Leyland 4825 and Eicher Pro 6048
Modified On Dec 14, 2020 12:26 PM
The top end of the Indian haulage segment which undergone a massive change post the new axle-load norms. The average tonnage size has increased by 25%, and OEMs have introduced the latest trucks complying with the new regulations. We compare the 48T rigid trucks-Ashok Leyland 4825 and Eicher Pro 6048. Read to know this major segment and the 16-wheels two premium trucks.
Indian transportation and logistics industry has been undergoing an evolution as changing legislation and rapidly improving infrastructure has heralded greater efficiency in the sector. The increase in axle load norms after nearly 3 decades has helped the trucking industry to scale-up the vehicle gross weight and in-turn carry more cargo, this is positive for the productivity of trucks and higher yield per truck in the sector.
Similarly, improving the highways, and implementation of Goods and Service Tax has accelerated faster movement of cargo with daily average truck speeds becoming better, and the emergence of the hub-and-spoke model.
This also means the enforcement of rated load by government and increasing average daily speed, prompted fleet operators to prefer higher and higher tonnage rigid trucks to carry more cargo per truck over the long-haul. The demand for bigger GVW trucks has gone up considerably and the growth of this segment has soared massively in the overall industry truck sales. OEMs have been introducing higher tonnage rigid trucks as the operative economics works in favor of the truck owner, hence swelling their demand significantly.
In our comparison stories, we detail another vital higher tonnage rigid truck segment with two competitive products from Ashok Leyland and Eicher. Both the OEMs have a strong portfolio of HCVs which are now been revamped with new emission standards along with superior performance characteristics.
48T rigid segment
The 48T GVW multi-axle rigid segment is the highest category in India post the new axle load norms. The massive trucks are used in market load, cement, iron & steel, tanker, construction, and industrial material, among others. The trucks in this category are largely being utilised by large organized fleet operators to cater to the corporate clients with rates loads on long-haul routes in India. Ashok Leyland 4825 10x2 rigid trucks and Eicher Pro 6048 now BS6 trucks with the modern powertrain. These trucks are known in the transport community as '16-Chakka' vehicles.
Engine
The engine is the heart at these trucks, and higher GVW means a more powerful and efficient engine for power, pickup and speed is a prerequisite. Ashok Leyland’s 4825 rigid truck gets the A series 5.3L iGen technology BS6 engine. It produces 250HP of power at a maximum torque of 900 Nm at 1200-2000 rpm. While the Pro 6048 comes with a 260HP VEDX8 BS6 engine which produces a maximum torque of 1000 Nm at 1000-1700 rpm. The engines on offer on both the trucks have are nearly similar with just a small difference in specs.
Key Aggregates
The Pro 6048 is fitted with heavy-duty fully floating single reduction, 458 mm drive head rear axle, and parabolic front suspensions and semi-elliptic slipper at the rear. It gets an Eaton140S9 manual gearbox, the chassis dimensions are 300mm x 76 mm x 7mm, and the brakes are dual circuit full air s-cam with ABS.
Ashok Leyland 4825 front axles are forged I section, reverse elliot type and optional unitized wheel bearings or anti-roll bar, the rear axle is fully floating single speed rear axle, RAR: 5.83:1 and optional: Unitized wheel bearings. The front suspensions are semi-elliptic multi-leaf optional parabolic springs and the rear NRS. It is equipped with a 9-speed synchromesh gearbox.
The chassis frame of this truck is high strength steel material with new improved design in 275x75x(8+6) mm in dimensions in bolted construction. The brakes are full air dual line with ABS and auto exhaust.
The rigid trucks are primarily operating on long-haul routes and hence driver comfort is highly critical for productive use of the truck. The 4825 comes with a premium cabin with air-conditioning as an option, while the Pro6048 comes in a sleeper cabin.
Cargo Load body options
Taking into account the variety of application these trucks are being used, different load-body configuration is extremely important for the customers, it boils down to the cargo he wishes to carry. Consequently, both the truck makers offer choices to the customers. The 4825 comes in 28 and 30 ft load body options in wheelbase 6600 mm, an overall length of 10,900 and 11,500 mm, the overall width and height of 2570 and 3110 mm respectively.
The Pro6048 comes in cabin and chassis (CBC), high-side deck (HSD), and full side deck (FSD) variants with load body spans of 8822, 9422 mm in CBC, 8866 mm in HSD and 8861 mm in FSD.
Needless to say, both the products in this category offer nearly identical specifications and combinations targeted at providing suitable solutions to the customers. The growing demand for high tonnage rigid long-haul trucks over the last few years has propelled several options to the customer. The Ashok Leyland 4825 and Eicher Pro 6048 are among the top products in the category.