Renault tank transporter

[Great War truck]

I dont know if you are familiar with the superb website pre war car.com which can be found at

 

http://www.prewarcar.com/

 

Anyway, if you scroll down you will see a number of photos of an early unidentified Renault truck:

 

Runflat has already identified it as a Renault tank transporter from the 1920's and which would have looked like this:

 

http://www.activeboard.com/download.spark?ID=45840&forumID=63528&abKey=ba2c07e0b5750d8a6745d6e76b2e283f

 

 

It is a monstrous great big thing and a real rarity which deserves a good home.

 

Tim (too)

Edited August 7, 2008 by Great War truck

[Great War truck]

I have had permission from pre war car to post the photos here, so it will save you clicking on the link.

 

 

 

 

It is a very impressive truck.

 

Tim (too)

[Richard Farrant]

Tim,

 

A rare find. Even more interesting is the owner, Stijnus. He took part in the re-enactment of the 1907 Peking-Paris Car Race, in 2005. The event was part organised by a friend of mine, who also took part. Stijnus drove his Spyker in the event.

 

Now that reduction hub on the Renault looks familiar. I have come across a similar truck in England, it was unrestored and well sheeted down, but I have a feeling it might have been four wheel drive with those hubs front and back. Did Renault make a 4wd gun tractor like this?

[Rick W]

Reduction hub? Can you explain, I take it its to do with reducing gearing. How do the mechanics work?

[Richard Farrant]

Reduction hub? Can you explain, I take it its to do with reducing gearing. How do the mechanics work?

 

 

Rick,

 

Many heavy trucks, tractors, military vehicles, etc. use them. A Ferret for instance. High input speed reduced to low output speed for increase in torque. Laid out in different ways, a Ferret is different to a Fox set up. The simplest is the half shaft on an axle has a sun gearwheel attached, this engages in a set of planet wheels, which transfer the drive to a gear ring within the hub, thus driving it. Easy is'nt it? :-D

[Great War truck]

Tim,

Now that reduction hub on the Renault looks familiar. I have come across a similar truck in England, it was unrestored and well sheeted down, but I have a feeling it might have been four wheel drive with those hubs front and back. Did Renault make a 4wd gun tractor like this?

 

Renault did do a 4 wheel drive gun tractor but the hubs looked quite different. I am not aware of any being in the UK. There is a Latil TAR01 over here, but that also looks quite different. There was a large Renault truck from about 1920 in this country which has now been restored and which may have had those hubs on the rear. I cant find a picture of it at the moment. I have found a picture of an ex military Renault FU which is at the Berliet collection which does look remarkably similar to the fist one. In fact i would say that it is the same truck.

 

 

Tim (too)

[Runflat]

Some more pictures here:

 

here:

http://home.insightbb.com/~j.dapena/tanks/cipri.htm

 

and here (carrying one tank must have been hairy enough, but having another on a trailer as well!!):

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/pol/PolandFT17.htm

 

Surviving FT17 tanks listed here:

http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_FT-17.pdf

[Great War truck]

Alan kindly pointed out to me, that as the owner now knows what it is (as we told him) he has put it up for sale. The asking price, well a bit on the steep side €15,000. One of the more expensive unrestored GWT's that i have seen come up for sale. Sadly i did not win the lottery on Friday, so i will have to give it a miss (but there is always next week).

 

Tim (too)

[Stormin]

That radiator position must at least keep the drivers knees warm, if nothing else!

[Mark]

Did the truck ever sell Tim (too)

[N.O.S.]

I like the butterfly heads on the setscrews holding the tyre on (surely not for speedy puncture repairs on solids!!!), so I presume there would have been a problem with keeping the steel tyre rims tight.....

 

They would have been pressed on with a pretty tight fit originally, so was this a problem caused by the tremendous torque coming out of those reduction hubs? :-D:-D

[Great War truck]

Did the truck ever sell Tim (too)

 

I have been trying to find out, but there is no news at the moment. A friend e-mailed him about it, but he did not respond. I will let you know what happens.

 

Tim (too)

[Great War truck]

I like the butterfly heads on the setscrews holding the tyre on (surely not for speedy puncture repairs on solids!!!), so I presume there would have been a problem with keeping the steel tyre rims tight.....

 

They would have been pressed on with a pretty tight fit originally, so was this a problem caused by the tremendous torque coming out of those reduction hubs? :-D:-D

 

That is possible, but if so i have not come across that before. Could the butterfly nuts be used for securing chains to the rear tyres when required?

 

Tim (too)

[Charawacky]

Tim

Are the Renault Gun Tractors you refer to shown in the film link below?

They look to be traveling at speed.

 

Link:

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74877

 

Tom

[Runflat]

Or are they Latils?

[Great War truck]

No, i think they are Renault EG's. Very similar to the Latil of course (but you know that). They are going a fair old pace, but that might be due to the cameraman cranking too fast. Another great clip of film. I will have to go through all of them when i have time.

 

Tim (too)

[Runflat]

Having looked again, I agree they are Renaults. Nice clip.

 

A heck of a weight they are pulling. I wonder how good their (two wheel?) brakes were!

[ergie]

Renault FU tank transporter in the Polish army - 3 May 1932, Poznan.

[Great War truck]

Thanks for that interesting picture. i didnt know they made it to Poland.

 

Tim