Hino 500 auto the cure for bad fleet drivers

Hino says its mid-sized 500 Series truck is a fleet favourite, but the fact it has until now only been available with a regular manual has caused some issues. “In Australia our fleets have some good drivers and then some that are less than desirable,” says Hino Australia product planning manager, Daniel Petrovksi.

“If you have some of the latter, you are going to be replacing clutches on a regular basis,” he says. Given a clutch changeover can cost around $2000 including labour, these undesirables can cost operators a large amount of cash. Then there is the added extra cost of fuel that comes with their less than perfect driving.

Hino says a 500 Series truck fitted with its new six-speed automated manual transmission (AMT) will have similar clutch wear in the hands of a bad driver as it will with the very best. It adds that bad drivers might go through three, four or five manual clutches before the AMT clutch will need replacing.

When it comes to fuel consumption, Hino says the AMT is more efficient than a manual transmission because it doesn’t pick the wrong gear. That said, the driver can control it using the sequential manual mode. Hino is not releasing AMT pricing, but expect a premium of around $4000 to $5000.

The Hino AMT, which it calls ProShift, has the same dry clutch as a manual gearbox but it is controlled by the truck, not the driver. This gearbox has been around for nearly a decade in Japan, so it is tried and true rather than cutting edge technology. Hino says this system is up to 15 per cent more efficient than some other AMTs that use a fluid coupling system and around 10 per cent more efficient than some regular torque convertor automatic transmissions.

The advantage of those two rival transmission types is that they are better at creeping at low speed, which helps when the driver inches up to a loading platform. Hino has come up with its own Slow mode, which limits the engine to 550 revs but requires some throttle, unlike the other systems that naturally creep in gear.

Hino is offering the AMT for two FC and FD models. The AMT FC has a gross vehicle mass (the weight of the truck and its load) of 10,400kg, is fitted with leaf springs and has a wheelbase of 4350mm or 4650mm. It has a 6.4-litre five-cylinder generating 162kW and 647Nm.

The AMT FD has a GVM of 11,000kg, a wheelbase of 4850mm, a 6.4-litre engine with 176kW and 716Nm and is available with leaf or air rear suspension.
Working Wheels tested the Proshift 500 trucks on a hilly run from Sydney to Canberra. The transmission works brilliantly in stop-start traffic. It shifts noticeably faster than most rival AMTs and the changes are smooth as well.

There can be a slight delay on take-off as the truck releases the clutch, so drivers have to be on their toes and read the traffic in front.
Hilly terrain quickly reveals the limitations of the Proshift AMT transmission.

Even Hino suggested before our drive that it would be best to flick the shifter into manual mode and take over the gear changing because the truck’s computer can’t see the upcoming hill. When the driver does take over the truck conquers the hills without a worry.

If the transmission was simply left in automatic mode, it struggled. It was quickly befuddled, picked the wrong gear and changed again until the road speed had dropped right back. So, it’s not perfect, but works a treat with a little input from the driver. However, we would also want to properly test its low speed creeping ability before signing on the dotted line.

The running cost savings will need to be evaluated in time, but it’s immediately clear that running this transmission is a lot easier on the drivers, who won’t get tired-out working the gearbox and controlling the clutch. That can only be a good thing.