Tatra T138
Encyclopedia
History
The decision to replace the Tatra T111Tatra T111
The Tatra T111 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company.-History:The T111 was developed and manufactured during World War II as a heavy truck for use by the Wehrmacht. Production started in 1942 and continued for twenty years, ending in 1962 when it was replaced by the Tatra T138...
was made in 1952 as part of a central state planning economy, where Tatra Kopřivnice
Koprivnice
Kopřivnice is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 23,500 inhabitants.- History :In 1850, both of the former villages, Drnholec nad Lubinou and Větřkovice, became a part of the political district of Nový Jičín within the judicial district Příbor...
was to produce 7-10 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
utility truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s. In 1956 at II. Czechoslovak Machinery Expo
Trade fair
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Tatra exhibited 2 new models, the T137 and T138. Both vehicles had up to 70% of parts in common across the range. New design features were introduced, such as improvement in driver environment and usability e.g. hydraulic power steering
Power steering
Power steering helps drivers steer vehicles by augmenting steering effort of the steering wheel.Hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism, so the driver needs to provide only modest effort regardless of conditions. Power steering helps considerably when a...
, a compressed air
Compressed air
Compressed air is air which is kept under a certain pressure, usually greater than that of the atmosphere. In Europe, 10 percent of all electricity used by industry is used to produce compressed air, amounting to 80 terawatt hours consumption per year....
assisted clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
and electro-pneumatic auxiliary gearbox gear
Gear
A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....
selection.
Design and technology
The design was of central backbone tube construction with modular power train concept in 4x4, 4x2, 6x6, 6x4 and 6x2 configuration. Version 4x2, 6x4 and 6x2 were produced in very low quantity. The main advantages of central load carrying backbone tube are in its high torsion and bend strength protecting truck body against load stresses. The secondary advantage is that it houses all important parts of the drive train. In addition, it enables a concept of modular construction where designers and customers can specify 4, 6, wheel drive and various length and wheelbase combinations.Engine
The engine was located ahead of the front axleAxle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
. It featured an Aircooled V8 75° with dry sump
Dry sump
A dry sump is a lubricating motor oil management method for four-stroke and large two-stroke piston internal combustion engines that uses external pumps and a secondary external reservoir for oil, as compared to a conventional wet sump system....
design and a new featured thermostat
Thermostat
A thermostat is the component of a control system which regulates the temperature of a system so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint temperature. The thermostat does this by switching heating or cooling devices on or off, or regulating the flow of a heat transfer...
controlled cooling fan by engine oil temperature via hydraulic clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
drive
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
to reduce noise and fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
consumption. The engine was also used in the OT-64
OT-64 SKOT
The OT-64 SKOT is an amphibious armored personnel carrier , developed jointly by Poland and Czechoslovakia well into the 1960s.-History:OT-64 was intended to replace the halftrack OT-810, which was nearly...
APC
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
.
Chassis
Central backbone tube, front and rear axles with independent swing half axles. The front suspensionSuspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
by torque arms (torsion bars) and hydraulic shock absorbers. The rear suspension by longitudinal half elliptic leaf spring
Leaf spring
Originally called laminated or carriage spring, a leaf spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles...
s. Front axle drive selectable on demand, differential locks electro-pneumatically controlled via dash switches.
- Front track = 1930 mm (76 in)
- Rear track = 1752 mm (69 in)
- Wheelbase = model specific
- Tatra T138 6x6 PP2, P3, PP6 = 4260 mm (167.7 in)+1320 mm (52 in)
- Tatra T138 6x6 PR14, PPR S3, PR S1, P19 = 3690 mm (145.3 in)+1320 mm (52 in)
- Tatra T138 4x4 = 4550 mm (179.1 in)
- Tatra T138 6x6 PR14, PPR S3, PR S1, P19 = 3690 mm (145.3 in)+1320 mm (52 in)
- Ground clearance = 290 mm (11.4 in)
Transmission
- Main gearbox - 5+1 (2-5 gear synchronizedSynchronizedSynchronized can refer to the following definitions:*synchronization , or syncronisation , the coordination of events to operate a system in unison.*Synchronized , a 2002 album by sHeavy....
)- Auxiliary gearbox - 2 speed (half split electro-pneumatic control)
- Step down transfer caseTransfer caseA transfer case is a part of a four-wheel-drive system found in four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles. The transfer case is connected to the transmission and also to the front and rear axles by means of drive shafts...
- Step down transfer case
- Auxiliary gearbox - 2 speed (half split electro-pneumatic control)
- ClutchClutchA clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
- 2x plate dry
Brakes
- Main wheel brakes ----> dual circuit full air drum brakes
- Park brake ----> mechanical via output shaft at the back of the gearbox
- Supplementary brake ----> exhaust brakeExhaust brakeAn exhaust brake is a means of slowing a diesel engine by closing off the exhaust path from the engine, causing the exhaust gases to be compressed in the exhaust manifold, and in the cylinder. Since the exhaust is being compressed, and there is no fuel being applied, the engine works backwards,...
electro-pneumatically controlled
- Supplementary brake ----> exhaust brake
- Park brake ----> mechanical via output shaft at the back of the gearbox
Bodywork
All steel cab construction with various body builder equipment such as tippers, flatbeds, concrete mixers, tankers, cranes, excavators and firefighting. The vehicle had a top speed of 72 km/h, capable of water crossing depth 800 mm (31 in), with maximum payload of 12000 kg (26,455.5 lb) and could tow trailersTrailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....
up to 15000 kg (33,069.3 lb) GCM
Gross combination mass
A Gross Combination Mass is the maximum allowable total mass of a fully loaded motor vehicle together with all of its trailers...
.
Production
Total production exceeded 45,900.The Tatra T138 was exported to the USSR, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-
- Primary variants:
- T138 S1 - one-way tipper
- T138 S3 - three-way tipper
- T138 V,VN - civilian and military flatbed
- T138 P1V - military special
- T138 CAS - firefighting unit
- T138 PP6V - excavator
- T138 PP5, PP4V, PP7 - tanker
- T138 P3, P11, P18, PP2, PP5, PP6, PP7, PP8V - crane
- T138 PP7 - concrete mixer