In the 1970s, the then China Automobile Transport Corporation ordered a batch of French William special tractors for domestic large-scale transportation work. The models introduced are divided into two models, including the TG200 8x4 tractor with a total weight of 200 tons and the TG300 8x8 tractor with a total weight of 300 tons. Over time, the williams introduced at the time were gradually phased out. However, in Wuhan, I was lucky to keep a TG300, got this news, and immediately set off for Wuhan.
This isn't the first time I've seen the TG300, I've seen it 6 years ago when it was locked up in a garage. But the locked garage can't get a closer look at its charm. The TG300 is so big that it's parked with a regular truck, and it's a mountain.
Founded in 1923 by Mr. Louis Willeme, the French willème automobile is more about producing ordinary civilian trucks to maintain normal operation in addition to producing special tractors. In 1970, however, William went bankrupt and the company was handed over to PRP (Perez et Raymond), which produced only the TG series of trucks.
At the end of the 1970s, the last batch of large projects in the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" can be said to be one of the largest orders in the history of the brand. Since there were no other competitors of the same level in China at that time, these Williams also became the main players of domestic large-scale transportation at that time, and thanks to the large size, it also became an important target for many media and publicity. For example, the former Shanghai LargeWare Company took the William TG300 to a trailer to form a stage for performance, which was extremely hardcore.
The William TG300 is powered by a Detroit V16 two-stroke diesel engine with a maximum output of 560 hp and a maximum torque of 206 kg. rice. In fact, from the current point of view, this value is not nothing, but this is an old car from 40 years ago, and the total towing weight has reached 300 tons!
At a time when domestic trucks were almost all long-headed, the two-row flat-headed cab of the William TG300 was like a mansion. The space is big, not to mention, the last row can still sleep.
Pulling open the door, it was found that the car's engine bulge was almost flush with the seat. Also have you noticed? This car has no clutch pedals...
Getting into the cab of the William TG300 wasn't easy, so I wasn't able to get in (for another reason, of course). Since there is no boarding pedal under the first row of doors, you need to step on the bulge on the rim and climb up, and if you are wearing jeans, consider the risk of the crotch being torn in advance.
By the way, the size of this tire is 16.00 R25, which is close to the height of an adult.
The chassis of the behemoth is solid steel, here to talk about lightweight? Nothing. According to insiders, William's frame plate thickness is 10, and the use of double structure, the strength is ordinary large cars can not be expected to back. So the TG300's self-weight has reached 29.2 tons. Then its counterweight weight can reach 45.5 tons, under full load work, the total weight of the vehicle's own weight plus counterweight has been 74.7 tons, plus the next 300 tons of cargo and the weight of the trailer itself, the total weight is how much to think about. The self-weight of large trucks is also an important consideration: the greater the self-weight, the better the grip performance, and the higher the road adhesion coefficient means that the traction is better; the current domestic mainstream large-scale vehicles usually weigh about 13-14 tons, while the william TG300 weighs nearly 30 tons, which is exactly double! Self-weight, gripping good front end has the ability to "lower" the trailer of the dwelling tow, especially downhill and turning sections. This is also the experience of most William drivers.
The back of the cab is filled with air receivers, and since the TG300 uses a V16 machine, it has an air filter on each side.
The 8x8 drive form, in fact, 300 tons is only a conservative set value, under the right conditions (flat road, good weather, paved road, etc.), TG300 can drag heavier cargo.
Interestingly, William's front and rear tow hooks are not produced by himself, but by another French manufacturer, Nicolas, with a maximum towing/jacking design capacity of up to 1,000 tons.
Unfortunately, the Williams brand was eventually acquired by Belgian MOL. MOL also produced special tractors based on Williams' technology, but the number was pitifully small. In the end, the French truck brand came to an end.