Tata LPT 407 EX BS-IV

April 17, 2020: If you are looking for an entry-level goods carriage truck, you should consider the Tata LPT 407 EX as one of the foremost options. It comes with a box body and a day cabin and has a gross vehicle weight of 6,250 kilograms. The maximum payload capacity lies at around 3,134 kilograms.

For the suspension, the company fits the truck with a special setup of semi-elliptic leaf spring with telescopic type absorbers for the front while the rear has the same, but with auxiliary springs instead of hydraulic. The braking is handled by hydraulic brakes instead of air units.

Powering the truck is a small 3.0-litre turbocharged engine that can make a maximum power of 82.6 bhp at 2,800 rpm along with a peak torque of 250 Nm at 1,400 rpm. A 5-speed manual gearbox is offered to do the transmission duties.

Overview

Tata LPT 407 is one of the best lightweight trucks made available by the company for easy intra-city transport. It has been equipped with many features to make the drive fatigue-free, economical and decently swift too. Tata has put 4SP Turbo Intercooled Water Cooled direct-injection 4-cylinder in-line 2956 cc diesel engine in it, which is enough to churn out 99.6 hp power and 300 Nm torque.Paired with a 5-speed manual transmission GBS-27 Synchromesh gearbox, it could hit the maximum speed of 92 km/h and 27% gradeability. The truck has also got good-enough load-carrying capacity with 7,250 kg Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) distributed as 3,600 kg and 3,650 kg over the Front and Rear axles. Detailing its axles, there is Heavy-duty Forged I beam reverse Elliot type on the front and Single Reduction Hypoid Gears with Fully Floating Axle Shafts taking loads at the rear.

LPT 407 has a top-notch braking system. It comes with best-in-class Vacuum-Assisted Dual Circuit Hydraulic with Tandem Master Cylinder as a primary brake, hand-operated parking brake and service brake coupled engine exhaust brake. Tata LPT 407 is also aesthetically designed from both inside and outside with features like a reverse beeper, clear lens lamp, mobile charger, portable lamp, rearview mirror, digital clock, utility box and shirt hook.

It is available in 3-body options, namely CLB, High Deck and CAB with the common wheelbase of 3,400 mm and a turning radius of 6,150 mm. The loading length for CLB and the High Deck body option is 4,081 mm and 4,093 mm respectively. With this much load body length and load carrying capacity, there needs to be an effective suspension system available and Semi-Elliptical leaf springs with hydraulic double acting telescopic shock absorber for the front and same with auxiliary springs for the rear meet that need quite effectively.

The 60 Litre fuel tank is a bit of on the lower side though but could be enough for the short to-and-fro trips within the city and its nearby areas. Conclusively, Tata LPT 407 is a good option for a number of applications like as a general good carrier, building material suppliers and others. It also runs on low maintenance with the longer lifetime period of parts to ensure better saving and profitability for the owner with needed comfort and performance for the driver and other occupants.

Engine Specification and Performance

Tata LPT 407 is powered by the 4SP Turbocharged Intercooled (TCIC) water cooled direct injection 4-Cylinder in-line diesel engine with Electronic Rotary fuel injection pump. The clutch available in it is Single Plate Dry Friction Type with 280 mm diameter and has been paired with GBS-27 Synchromesh 5-Speed (5F + 1R) gearbox.The engine is good enough to churn out a maximum power of 100 PS or 99.6 hp @ 2,800 rpm and a peak torque of 300 Nm between 1,400-1,500 rpm. The transmission system available in it could take it to the top speed of 92 km/h in top gear and with effective gradeability of 27%, to make it easily move on the high steep terrains.

Load Carrying Capacity and Applications

Manufactured as a transporter for light weight material and intra-city type transportation, Tata LPT 407 has enough weight carrying capacity and is available in 2 options, i.e. Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of 6,250 kg for LPT 407 EX and 7,250 kg for LPT 407. The weight is distributed as 3,600 kg on the Front and 3,650 kg on the Rear Axle. Talking of the applications, it can be used for carrying general goods, grocery items, vegetables, home supplies, building construction material and others.

Braking, Handling and Suspension

Tata LPT 407 has a very effective braking system with separate brakes for parking, service and engine exhaust. The service brake is a Vacuum Assisted Dual Circuit Hydraulic with Tandem Cylinder of 308 mm. The engine exhaust brakes are coupled with service brakes alongside hand operated parking brakes. However, the Antilock Braking System (ABS) could be introduced to further improve the braking.

Coming to suspension, the truck comes equipped with Semi-Elliptical leaf springs and Hydraulic Double Acting Telescopic shock absorbers (both front and rear). However, auxiliary springs are available at rear only. The Heavy Duty Forged I beam Reverse Elliot type front axle and Single Reduction Hypoid gear Fully Floating Axle Shafts as rear axle also helps in providing bump-free driving on uneven Indian roads. Allowing better handling, there is a Power Steering option available with Mechanical Steering for Tata LPT 407 Ex variant.

Exteriors and Interiors

Tata LPT 407 has very basic, but aesthetically pleasing design from both inside and outside. There are many to-talk-about features like portable and clear lens lamps, a rear view mirror, reverse beeper on exteriors and mobile charger, shirt hook, utility box and digital clock inside the cabin.

Detailing the dimensions, the wheelbase is 3,400 mm with turning radius of 6,150 mm for all of the its 3 variants namely CAB, CLB and High Deck. The loading dimensions {length (l) x breadth (b) x height (h)} for CLB and High Deck are 4081 x 2057 x 444 (mm) and 4093 x 2074 x 1773 (mm), respectively.

Comfort and Safety

There is not much to talk about comfort and safety in Tata LPT 407 as only a few basic things are available with the vehicle like standard seats, tiltable and power steering, fog lights and seat belts.