Russian all-terrain vehicle for housing and communal services to replace Mercedes-Benz Unimog: import-substituted gearbox undergoing tests

The Russian engineering company ARM has developed a universal transmission and equipment drive gearbox (REPTO) for municipal special equipment, "Pervy Tekhnichesky" was informed by the company. The device is designed for truck chassis of production vehicles and solves the problem of converting standard trucks into full-fledged machines for the needs of housing and communal services.

The first customer of the gearbox was "Cheboksary Plant of Power Units", which is integrating the development into the power scheme of the new model of the wheeled municipal machine "Silant 4x4 C5". Its demonstration is scheduled for 2027.

According to the engineers' design, REPTO is installed between the engine and the gearbox. The unit allows switching between mechanical drive and hydrostatic transmission without stopping the equipment, as well as moving at ultra-low speeds - from 1 kilometer per hour. In addition, the gearbox provides up to 100 percent of engine power to the connectable power take-off shaft for driving attachments. The development combines three functions that usually require several separate units. In terms of efficiency and optimized design, the component surpasses foreign analogues, according to the developers.

Municipal equipment must operate in two main modes: transport and working, including movement at ultra-low speeds with parameter fixation. In this case, the main engine power is directed not to the wheels, but to the mounted units. ARM engineers have combined all the main technological functions in a single REPTO housing, which simplifies the integration of the unit into various chassis and the setup of the control system.

The gearbox control is implemented based on the universal ARM VKU-704 controller, which is already serially used in Silant special equipment - the Silant Universal municipal tractor and the FP12 front loader.

The new component will form the basis of a promising generation of municipal all-terrain vehicles, which are currently being designed at ARM. The machine will receive an updated modern cabin. In terms of technical parameters, this all-terrain vehicle will compete with foreign analogues of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog level, which will allow housing and communal services to be provided with productive domestic special equipment. It is the promising chassis with the REPTO gearbox that is intended to replace the German Mercedes-Benz Unimog on the market.