Pickup Artistry

Hino has a long-standing relationship with Supercars racing in Australia involving a suite of Hino-themed features such as the informative ‘Hino Hub’ which looks at the technology of the race cars and the impressive Hino Sports Deck semi-trailer which transforms into a mobile hospitality suite and viewing platform at the touch of just a few buttons.

Hino tilt tray recovery vehicles are also a part of the Supercars scene, clearing away the damaged race cars following the inevitable “shunts” which occur in high speed racing.

The 2024 Bathurst 1000 saw the debut of a Hino 300 Series Hybrid Electric recovery vehicle equipped with a unique Kyokuto single car tilt tray body which has been engineered to provide a loading angle of essentially zero degrees.

This is important for permitting easy removal of low ground clearance race cars, particularly after they have been involved in a crash resulting in damaged wheels and deflated tyres.

The zero-angle feature is also applicable to non-racing applications when modern passenger cars need to be towed for any reason, including post-crash or mechanical issues.

One of the many benefits of the Kyokuto tilt slide tray is once it is on the ground, loading the damaged vehicle and securing restraint equipment can happen at ground level, eliminating the risk of an operator falling from the height of a conventional tilt tray truck.

The slide tray mechanism is operated by a single button remote control, which allows the operator to keep safely well away from the mechanicals of the truck.

The underpinnings of this particular truck is the wide cab Hino 916 Hybrid Electric with a 3.9 metre wheelbase and a GVM of 8500kgs. The four cylinder diesel engine produces 150hp (110kW) and 470Nm of torque. In combination with the 35kW electric motor the maximum torque is available from as low as 1,000rpm. The electric drive motor is located between the diesel engine and the six-speed automated manual transmission.

The hybrid system operates by continuously seeking to supplement the diesel power delivery by feeding electric power into the driveline, and the truck is constantly transitioning between diesel engine drive only, a combination of both electric motor and diesel engine drive, and can also utilise electric drive only during certain low load take-off situations.

The transmission has a relatively wide spread between ratios, taking advantage of the available torque when accelerating, and maximising the rate of battery recharging when decelerating.

The hybrid driveline management system ensures the diesel spends plenty of time in the green band shown on the dash as the electric motor supplements the power delivery.

Take off and shifting are remarkably smooth. The “retarder” wand is located on the steering column in the same position where the exhaust brake control would be on a diesel-powered Hino and produces a similar auxiliary braking effect in slowing the truck by increasing the electrical resistance on the driveline, harnessing the otherwise wasted kinetic energy and adding to the charge of the battery.

A driver can influence considerable influence on the rate of battery charging by the use of this feature. The Hino Hybrid Electric also features an engine stop-start system which all but eliminates engine idling time and allows the operation of the electro-hydraulic tilt tray mechanism to take place without the need for the diesel engine to be running.

This becomes a major contributor to the improvement in fuel consumption by eliminating engine idle time and creates a potential saving of up to 5.1 tonnes of CO₂ emissions and over $4,000 per annum in fuel savings per truck.

In addition to direct operational savings the Hino Hybrid brings with it a reduction in maintenance costs as the electric motor replaces the diesel engine’s starter motor and alternator, while regenerative braking recharges the batteries and extends the operational lives of braking components such as disc rotors and pads.

The reduced fuel consumption afforded by the hybrid system means a smaller 80-litre fuel tank in place of the 100-litre unit used by equivalent diesel-only Hino 300 Series trucks.

As in all Hino 300 Series 4×2 models, the Hybrid models features Hino SmartSafe, Hino’s comprehensive safety package which includes a Pre-Collision System with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Pedestrian Detection (PD) and Lane Departure Warning System.

This is in addition to Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), reverse camera, dual SRS airbags, four-wheel disc brakes, UN ECE R-29 cab strength certified and the Easy-Start to prevent rolling back on hill starts by holding the brakes until the accelerator is depressed.

With the Hino Hybrid Electric operators can reduce their running costs and improve fuel efficiency immediately, as well as reducing emissions. There are no operational restrictions that would not be inherent to a conventional diesel truck.

As the Hino Hybrid Electric is essentially self-charging and doesn’t require connection to a charger drawing from the electricity grid, the scope of its operation is wide in a geographical sense.

It only needs to have the diesel tank topped up. This particularly suits the Supercars application as the requirement for a recovery vehicle can vary from race to race, as demonstrated at Bathurst which in 2024 only had one safety car period.

The recovery trucks need to be on standby and ready to get out on the circuit at very short notice, a situation which doesn’t suit an all-electric vehicle which would require monitoring of the charge levels and time could be lost in disconnecting from the charging outlet.

Now after 15 years in Australia, the Hino Hybrid Electric truck range is built around what can now be certainly considered mature technology, and this recovery truck example shows yet another application to which hybrid vehicles are well suited.