Tatra 813

[John C]

Hi all.

I'm newbie to this forum, my name's John & I live in N. Wales. I recently bought myself this 1970 Czech built Tatra 813 kolos which just arrived home today; it needs a little work but is still one of the most awesome trucks I've ever seen!

Also have two Russian built Zil 131's, a 1980 (scrapper) and a 1972 which is on the road.

John C.

[abn deuce]

Welcome , they are Big and Green a perfect fit with all the other HMV's here.

[madrat]

John! Good to see you on here, and glad you got the 813 home!

 

I'd drop a little hello into the welcome section so no-one misses your arrival.

 

all the best..

 

Duncan

[Poptopshed]

Hi John,

Its a great truck, had a good look over it when it was with the last owners. Even still had the saw in the wrappers on the cab bulkhead behind the rear seat!

Do you plan on keeping the crane and huge ground anchor or restoring it?

[Austin]

Impressive kit you've got there John. More pictures please!

[private mw]

hi and welcome :coffee:

[abn deuce]

What are each of them like to drive ? what is their comfortable cruising speeds . Any interesting engineering quirks ...good or bad ?

[daz76]

Cor! What great trucks John. Welcome to the forum. I've (mis)spent many an hour watching clips of these things in action on Youtube. They're awesome. Something a bit different in the UK too. would love to see some more photos when you have time. Daz

[John C]

Thanks

John! Good to see you on here, and glad you got the 813 home!

 

I'd drop a little hello into the welcome section so no-one misses your arrival.

 

all the best..

 

Duncan

 

Hi Duncan - good to be here, I hope your new project soon breathes life again.

Do you plan on keeping the crane and huge ground anchor or restoring it?

Probably going to dispense with the anchor as it’s not really needed now and it reduces the trucks off road abilities, I will keep the crane though - however it does need a little work to be fully usable again as all the seals on the rams are damaged and leaking due to contamination of the hydraulic oil. I would also like to move things around a bit anyway; will place the fuel and oil tanks down between the two middle axles meaning I can move the crane closer up behind the cab so I’ve got more room on the back for bodies, the problem with this is the jack legs on the crane will foul on the wheels with the crane in this position - thinking I can fabricate a new mounting for them further back along the chassis to remedy this.

What are each of them like to drive ? what is their comfortable cruising speeds . Any interesting engineering quirks ...good or bad ?

 

Both the trucks are very happy at around 45-50 MPH although the Tatra is rather slow getting there, the Zil however is capable of a much greater speed if you have the bottle – it does feel rather naughty though above 50MPH as the tyres are more like tractor tyres than truck tyres - I’m currently in the process of upgrading from these old cross ply tyres to more modern radials which I believe will greatly increase the ride at speed - albeit at the expense of some of the trucks off road ability as the new tyres don’t have such an aggressive tread pattern.

Engineering wise the Tatra is the most interesting of the two vehicles, it utilizes a central tube which encases the majority of the dive-line components protecting them from damage when travelling over rough terrain, it also eliminates twist in the chassis meaning the truck is ideal for carrying delicate equipment or for mounting various weapon systems on such as a MLRS as on the RM-70 variant of the vehicle.

Photos of the two trucks here:

http://www.russianmilitarytrucks.com/gallery2/Johns-Tatra-813-Kolos

http://www.russianmilitarytrucks.com/gallery2/album11

 

Regards John.