Under Wraps number 2

The waterfront was the scene for more activity under wraps recently when Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyard took delivery of some large engines. The units were landed at the PSA Fairview Cove container terminal, presumably from Germany on a Roll On  / Roll Off ship of Atlantic Container Lines. They were then transported by modular transporter to the shipyard.

J.D.Irving Ltd., the company that owns Irving Shipbuilding, is a multi-faceted, vertically integrated,  industrial operation that also has an equipment division with a fleet of mobile cranes, trucks and trailers to serve them, and a number of modular transporters. These units, when coupled together can carry huge loads - up to and including entire ships.

The modular transporters arrived at the shipyard on a flat bed trailer behind a Freightliner day cab with an extra drop axle. (J.D.Irving also owns Universal Truck and Trailer Co. a Freightliner and Western Star sales, parts and service operation covering New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.)

 The units were lifted off by an Irving Equipment 500 tonne Liebherr hydrauulic crane.

 Once full assembled the modular transporter hustled off to the container terminal, with the operator sitting on what looked like a milk crate. (There were escort vehicles ahead and behind.)

 The load(s) were MAN main engines for the Arctic Escort and Patrol vessels currently under construction at the Shipyard. Each ship has four 6L32/44CR engines of 3600kW (4827 HP) each weighing 39.5 tonnes, powering two electric drives.

Unlike the military vehicles in the previous post, these wraps advertise the manufacturer. (MAN Diesel & Turbo is part of Volkswagen and also makes trucks and buses. It also owns the former Burmeister & Wain = B&W, and Alstom. It manufactures some engines in Denmark, France, india and China and licenses builders in Korea.)

 

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Big RVs

 In the past few days I have seen several large European RVs in Halifax. These huge rigs are not uncommon - see many previous posts - but two of the recent ones were a little unusual.

MAN (part of Volswagen) is, not surprisingly, a popular choice for German travellers, and this shiny grey unit could be considered fairly typical. It was built as an RV by Actionmobil.com

 

From where it was parked it took on a reflection from an MSC container.

Although it was badged as a Steyr, this unit was also MAN, marketed to Austria under the name of the pioneering Austrian automobile and truck manufacturer. (But I think this one was Swiss.)

Today's rig was the biggest surprise.

Expecting to see another MAN or perhaps a Mercedes emblem, I was more than a little startled to see something more familiar between the driving lights.

That's because this is not a European RV at all. It was built by Global Expedition Vehicles of Springfield, Missouri on a Kenworth chassis. Comparing it with the previous two RVs it appears to be less rugged, and with a longer wheelbase than most of the Europeans. It does seem to be AWD but even the tires are smaller.

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They're Back - 2023

 The annual invasion of RVs from Europe is well underway. Dozens of the vehicles have been arriving on Atlantic Container Line ships over the past few weeks, at the PSA Fairview Cove terminal in north end Halifax. Once they clear Customs they may linger for a while in the parking lot as the owners get organized. But they are soon underway for destinations as far afield as Alaska.

One nice Mercedes / Doepfer from Switzerland that I saw on April 12 had a map painted on the back, ready to trace out its travels.

Most of the RVs are from Germany, and are built on a variety of European chassis. Fiat is one of the most popular. This one had a Carado mobil RV body. The miniature bull bar should be a great defence against mice on the road.

There are always a few heavy duty expedition type all terrain units. This MAN is perhaps a bit larger than some. it has an Action mobil RV package.

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Euro imports

I regret I was unable to post for some time, but now with the pandemic (I hope) easing, combined with better weather and Daylight Saving Time I hope to resume posting on a more regular basis. And a reminder, this is a blog not a forum, and while I am pleased to receive corrections, I am not able to respond to all comments, particularly anonymous ones.

 Euro RV

There was certainly a lengthy interruption in European tourist vehicles during the height of the pandemic. Now with restrictions lifting in many jurisdictions, we may expect to see more European trucks on the roads. One of the first this year is this expedition class MAN model TGM 18.340 , with crew tilt cab. (When have you seen a tilting crew cab before? It may be a first for me.)

 Converted and fitted out by the German company Unicat Expedition Vehicles, it looks capable of handling some rough terrain. I am not too impressed with the access stairs however - you would think they could do better for the price.

Euro ATV

An ATV on steroids might look like one of these Prinoth Panthers. (Panther T7R on the left and Panther T14 on the right.)

Tracked dump trucks with rotating dump body available in several models, they are truly all terrain. The multi-national owners HTI (High Technology Industries) have Italian, German and Canadian roots. They acquired the Bombardier snow groomer company Camoplast in 2005 and their tracked vehicles in 2009. In 2011 they acquired the German company AHWI and its forestry equipment. Prinoth is orginally an Italian maker of snow grooming equipment which has diversified and expanded word wide under HTI ownership.

Prinoth's Canadian headquarters is on Boulevard J.A.Bombardier in Granby, QC. I have seen videos of these rigs working in mucky conditions and they handle like skid steers but are much bigger.

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Class A RVs

The big Class A motor homes and RVs cover a wide range of types and sizes. Some are motor coaches converted or purpose built, others are RVs with completely purpose built "coachwork". Class Bs on the other hand have at least a commericial chassis and cab, with some sort of add on or faired-in body.

Two recent European callers I have seen are small Class As. They have have no obviously identifiable commercial truck or van component, but do carry the badge of the chassis manufacturer.

A week or two ago I spotted this spendid PhoneiX-Liner Reisemobile. PhoeniX makes a range of RVs in Germany, and use the MAN and Iveco chassis.

This one is quite new, and was planning on staying awhile, since it had deployed its leveller legs. It is wearing Swiss plates from the Canton of Lucerne.

More recently a "less than new" RV showed up wearing a confusing array of badges.

Centered in the grille is "Florium", and on the bar below, "Wincester".  High over the windshield was "Fleurette". It was not until looking near the driver's door (an unusual feature on a Class A) that I found "Ducato Maxi" - revealing at least a Fiat undercarriage.

 CarryIng French plates, this one hails from Département 83, Var (Toulon, Préfecture). Since 2009 the new French plates stay with the vehicle for life, and you are apparently free to put whatever region you want on the plate, since it is not part of the alpha-numeric registration.

More MANs

A small fleet of MANs arrived by ships recently, and they are being ferried to Ontario by Earl Paddock Trucking. I have featured the well kept Paddock fleet here before. Based in Stoney Creek, ON, they specialize in oversize and large loads, but also in transporting military vehivcles. We used to see them in Halifax frequently when they delivered Saudi military LAVs from General Dynamics in London, ON to the Port of Halifax. The Saudis moved their operation but LAV deliveries have dried up, so Paddock trucks are rarer here now.

 

The new MANs appear to be 6x4s, with large single tires on the drive axles, and a long wheelbase. However these truclks are available with selectable hydrostatic front wheel drive.
This one is a TGS  33.400, and the other five appear to be the same, as seen from a distance.  It has the M  cab (day cab),  TGS signifies heavy duty  and the 33 stands for 33,000 kg GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) and the 400 stands for 400 hp.

 

Hauling these vehicles is the job of one of Paddock's many excellent Kenworths:

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They're everywhere

European RVs are to be found in all parts of North America, particularly in the summer, even in distant parts of Quebec.

Today's spotting was a large MAN TGW 13.290 from Belgium, with the slogan "Brussels - Ushuaia" on the sides.

The usual MAN lion trademark was supplemented by a beluga, native to the St.Lawrence River near where the RV was parked.

Turns out the proprietors have a massive web site http://www.epicureman.com/ that describes their trip and the construction of the vehicle, and much more (it is in French, with lots of pictures). They also accompanied their RV on the ocean trip from Antwerp to Halifax on the Atlantic Sea.

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More contrasts

This giant MAN RV from Switzerland is on the last leg of an aborted North American tour. It's various previous odysseys are covered in the owner's website, bluedove.ch. The site is all in German, so may pose a challenge to follow (for me included). The owner decided to cut short his tour in northwestern Ontario, having seen enough of endless Canadian bush.

By clicking on the pictures on the web site various galleries open up showing how the rig was built and the trips they have made.

From the web site I did learn that the MAN is a model TGM 18.340 4X4 BB. It has a torsional frame that allows the box body to flex independently of the cab. The inside of the body is quite spectacular.

The RV body was built by F. Woelcke GmbH + Co KG  of Heimsheim, Germany.

And now for something completely different.

Spotted in a Walmart parking lot a pair of aged Mercs, with little if any interior finish appear to be for those who really want to rough it. They are early Westphalia conversions of the late 1970s or early 1980s era. Mercedes Benz introduced this van line 1977 and ran it essentially unchanged until 1986. Thomas Cook Travel had a stable of these for rent, and it is possible that these are from that fleet.

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And another one

The second MAN this week - this one from Germany - and with a very slick RV body.

 This MAN model TGM 18.340 is a much bigger and more rugged rig than the one I saw Monday.

 The Bischoff-Scheck body is almost featureless. It is better know for its racing industery trailers:

http://www.bischoff-scheck.de/en/index.htm

 

The flush fitting access door is barely visible just ahead of the rear axle. This is really a fortress on wheels!

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And they keep on coming

With more than a dozen or more foreign RVs, ranging from bus size to pickup, lined up in the compound at Fairview Cove, the end of the season will soon be here. Most will leave Halifax by ship in the next few days.
It is unfortunate that photos are not possible in that area, for the array is quite astounding.
I am able to pick off the odd one before it enters the compound, but that is rare.
Yesterday I was fortunate to catch this MAN from France.

California, Mexico and Cuba are among the stickers plastered on the cabin.

 

This rig is equipped with a winch and frame at the rear which I assume is used to extract a motorcycle from the hatch. It also has a "Dakar Arica" label and the tire frame is marked Baja Rack. The owners are obviously desert lovers.

MAN trucks and Neoplan buses are produced by MAN Truck + Bus AG of Germany, a company that is owned by Volkswagen. They are sold world wide, except in North America where they are still seen only rarely.

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Fresh off the Boat - REVISED

More RVs keep rolling in. I have missed several I know, but I did manage to catch some more today such as these:

Renault with Delfin RV body.

Hymermobile - B 604 SL model 

Monster MAN with pop top body and pup trailer.

Late Catch:

I caught this one later in the day. A bit of a rarity- carrying GB plates, but a Merc:

 

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COEs rule the road

After week in Germany, where I saw only one truck with a "bonnet" - that is engine ahead of cab (and it was a Dodge Ram pickup!) -it did feel a little bit like a time warp, when COEs ruled the road in North America.
Here's a sampling of the various makes I saw last week:

 Scania, DAF, Volvo. MAN and Mercedes of all ages, but all COE.

On  arrival home I was pleased to see another Freightliner COE on Canadian soil:

Canam Steel from Quebec has a fleet of FLiners, there were three in Halifax on Wednesday, all with long loads of structural steel.
Longtime users of COEs to get more length, Canam and others have been able to purchase Freightliner COEs, new, as glider kits. As long as they could rebuild on older drive trains, Freightliner would sell new COE gliders to them. This was never publicized very much, but several owners that haul oversize and extra long loads have been buying these gliders and building them up over the past several years. Apparently Freightliner has now got the message and may be putting them into more regular production.The have been building RHD COEs for Australia and New Zealand all along, so the cabs were never really out of production.

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