Allison develops descent control for firefighters

Allison Transmission will soon have more than 100 of its 3000 Series commercial vehicle transmissions optimised for rugged offroad conditions and fitted to firefighting vehicles.

The new transmissions will allow 115 of IVECO’s Eurocargo ML150 4x4 trucks, used by emergency services workers fighting fires in rugged country, to safely descend slopes of up to 35 degrees with minimal input from the driver.

IVECO tested its trucks with an AMT alongside an Allison fully automatic transmission to establish the best gear configuration for emergency service purposes.

The aim was to reduce the speed of the truck in a controlled descent while leaving the driver to concentrate on steering. According to Allison, the input and output of the 3000 Series’ transmission control module (TCM) was customised to use a combination of exhaust brake and lock-up and retarder adjustments.

Allison Transmission Australia and New Zealand sales manager Robert Cavagnino said to develop the new descent control, an Allison 3000 Series transmission was fitted to an IVECO Eurocargo ML150 Euro5 and reworked to perform like a 3500 Series.

“A physical gear ratio change from close to wide ratio provided a deeper first gear, further optimising the vehicle’s performance and meeting the request of better driver control,” Cavagnino said.

“Importantly, the vehicle allowed those drivers to creep smoothly down very steep descents and feel fully supported by the gearing and braking systems while staying focused on the job,” he said.

“It’s about drivers of varying experience levels feeling confident in their vehicle.”

Once the trial showed that the pilot model was working, the new Allison gearbox tune was rolled out to 90 vehicles, with another 25 on order.

IVECO’s Eurocargo Euro6 now comes with the factory option (Europe) of the Allison 3500 transmission with Power Take-Off (PTO) and Retarder as the ideal 4x4 application.

IVECO product manager Emiliano Foieri said the move from the AMT to the fully automatic Allison transmission late in 2019 was the right one to take.

“The feedback from multiple fire agencies is that adding the Allison fully automatic 3500 transmission has provided confidence to drivers with limited truck driving experience, who’ll now get into a larger 15-tonne vehicle and confidently control it in some fairly challenging environments,” Foieri said.

“Considering these vehicles need to be in service for a minimum of 20 years, we wanted a configuration suitable to volunteers – some of which haven’t been born yet. I truly believe that with this truck and fully automatic transmission, we’ve achieved that.”

Foieri said IVECO’s work with the Allison Transmission team to get the specification right was seamless and, based on feedback from Australian and NZ-based emergency service agencies, this configuration had become a standard inclusion for off-road emergency vehicles in IVECO’s ML150 4X4 range.

Cavagnino said Allison Transmission was honoured to partner with IVECO to provide the nation’s emergency services with a greater sense of control over the large vehicles they were operating, often in highly stressful circumstances. 

“By instilling more confidence in the emergency service personnel on challenging terrain, we make their whole job easier,” he said.

“A lot of people who work for fire services are volunteers, and a fully automatic transmission protects from misuse of the drivetrain – giving greater service life of these important fire ground assets protecting the community in stressful times.”

More information on the new transmission is available from Allison Transmission.