Russian military trucks are distinguished by high cross-country ability, reliability and maintainability in the most difficult road conditions. In civilian life, this technique is popular with fishermen, hunters and travelers who prefer to climb into the most inaccessible corners of Russia and other countries of Europe and Asia. But which of these military trucks is the most passable? To answer this question, you need to consider each car separately, and then compare their cross-country ability.
ZIL-131
ZIL-131 began to be mass-produced since 1966, production continued until 2002 inclusive, so you can safely call the truck both Soviet and Russian.
Interesting! The ZIL-131 was developed as a replacement for the ZIL-157 (Cleaver), but in the end both trucks were produced in parallel for more than 25 years, the production of the ZIL-157 was curtailed only in 1992!
ZIL-131 is an all-wheel drive off-road vehicle with a 6x6 wheel arrangement, equipped with a gasoline engine with a working volume of 6,0 liters and a power of 150 hp.
Sand is not an obstacle for the Russian ZIL-131! Photo: youtube.comThe engine is reliable, simple and maintainable, but its gas consumption is simply prohibitive - from 40 liters per 100 kilometers on the highway, and up to 100 liters while driving on heavy off-road. In the second half of the 1960s, no one counted gasoline in the USSR, but already in the late 1970s, Soviet economists decided that it was time to switch heavy trucks to diesel fuel.
Now the average consumption of 60 liters of gasoline for the ZIL-131 looks scary for the budget of a private owner.
The ZIL-131 heavy truck has a curb weight of 6 kg without a winch and 135 kg with a winch. Car load capacity of 6 tons on the highway, on dirt roads or off-road, the truck can carry up to 375 tons of cargo. The maximum speed of the car on the highway is 5 km / h, the gearbox is a five-speed manual. The total length of the truck is 3,5 mm, width - 85 mm, ground clearance - 7 mm.
GAZ-66
The GAZ-66 medium-duty truck was originally developed as a truck for paratroopers, hence its cabover layout. The release was launched in 1964, and continued until 1999. Wheel formula 4x4, all-wheel drive. The engine is gasoline, eight-cylinder, V-shaped. The working volume of the engine is 4,2 liters, the power is 112 hp, the gearbox is mechanical four-speed.
After tuning GAZ-66 will go better! Photo: youtube.comMany argue that the GAZ-66 is the most passable Russian truck due to its lightness and cabover layout.
The carrying capacity of the GAZ-66 is 2 kg on the highway; when operating in off-road conditions, the truck carries up to 000 kg of cargo. Vehicle length - 1 mm, width - 500 mm, ground clearance 5 mm.
Ural-4320
The off-road truck Ural-4320 compares favorably with the gasoline GAZ and ZIL with a powerful and economical diesel engine. The truck is longer than the ZIL-131 - 7 mm versus 588 mm, both cars are the same in width - 7 mm. The Ural has more ground clearance than its rivals - 040 mm.
The carrying capacity of the Urals on the highway is about 7 kg, off-road - about 000 kg.
Ural-4320 is the test leader! Photo: youtube.comThe engines on the Ural-4320 were installed differently, but they are all diesel. Most popular motors:
- ? YaMZ-236 with a working volume of 11,15 liters and a power of 230 hp;
- ? YaMZ-238 with a working volume of 14,86 liters and a power of 240 hp;
- ? KamAZ-740 with a working volume of 10,86 liters and a power of 210 hp;
- ? YaMZ-6565 with a working volume of 11,15 liters and a power of 300 hp;
- ? YaMZ-536 with a working volume of 6,65 liters and a power of 312 hp.
As you can see, even the “weakest” unit produces 210 “horses” that are decent enough for that time.
Comparison of trucks by terrain
One can argue until hoarseness which Russian military truck is better, but only a comparative test can give an accurate answer to the question. Now such tests are regularly carried out by enthusiasts, but back in the USSR in the 1980s, engineers made such comparisons in accordance with all the rules, and found out which truck was better and “passable”.
The stock GAZ-66 clearly lacks power. Photo: youtube.comAlthough all cars have different missions and weight categories, the comparisons were made under the same conditions, with the same load to gross weight.
The first stage is a comparison of the specific traction force on deformable soils, in conditions of driving on sand and wet plowing. When driving in such conditions, the salvation for the driver is the centralized tire inflation system - the pressure drops from 2 atmospheres to 0,5 atmospheres, and the truck demonstrates an increase in traction at times, up to 7 times!
In this test, Ural-4320 won, its coefficient of traction force per unit weight of the truck was 0,53 units. Almost did not lag behind the leader ZIL-131, which in fact is the predecessor of the Urals - 0,52 units. The vaunted GAZ-66, which is “the most passable, lightest and most maneuverable”, is seriously behind the leaders - 0,35 units.
The next parameter is the speed of movement on plowing and sand:
- ? ZIL-131 - 12 km / h plowing, 22 km / h sand
- ? Ural-4320 - 13 / 22,5 km / h
- ? Gas-66 - 10 / 15 km / h
As can be seen from the list, the “light and maneuverable” Shishiga was let down by a weak gasoline engine. But in terms of track depth on sand and plowing, the GAZ-66 should definitely be ahead?
We'll see:
- ? ZIL-131 - 4,5 cm sand, 19 cm plowing
- ? Ural-4320 - 5 cm / 20 cm
- ? Gas-66 - 5 cm / 24 cm
Oddly enough, and here the GAZ-66 lost! This is due to the 4x4 wheel formula, because other contestants have a 6x6 base.
The Ural-4320 moves more confidently in the snow, but the light GAZ-66 is the best in the swampy terrain.
The ability to overcome the ascent on sand and arable land is highest in the Urals - 11,9 ° and 27,9 °. ZIL-131 is a little behind - 11,3 ° and 27,5 °. GAZ-66 is again behind - 3,4 ° and 19,5 °.
Only the Urals could pass the test to overcome a trench 1,2 meters wide, both at an acute and at a right angle. ZIL-131 passed the trench only at an acute angle, and GAZ-66 could not pass the test at all.
ZIL-131 conquers off-road. Photo: youtube.comOvercoming the steps was best done in the Urals - the maximum height was 0,67 meters. For ZIL, this figure was 0,55 meters, and GAZ was able to overcome the maximum counterscarp height of 0,5 meters. Interestingly, an attempt to overcome a higher step for all cars, except for the Urals, ends in failure - the front cardan bends, the Urals simply sit on the frame.
Driving on broken dirt roads is possible as long as the track depth does not seriously exceed the ground clearance:
- ? Ural rides until the track depth exceeds 450 mm
- ? for ZIL this figure is 370 mm
- ? GAZ-66 will get stuck when the track depth exceeds 330 mm
The Ural-4320 becomes the undisputed leader of the comparative tests, the vaunted GAZ-66 takes the honorable last place. But in any case, everything corresponds to the price / quality ratio - the GAZ-66 in the secondary market is the cheapest.
How much is the pleasure?
It turns out that the cars are quite interesting for fans of OffRoad. But here's how affordable such entertainment will be. Regardless of the year, of course, it all depends on the model. Average prices for off-road trucks:
- ? GAZ-66 - 200 rubles.
- ? ZIL-131 - 350 rubles. (even a converted truck with a diesel engine can be found for this price)
- ? Ural-4320 - 1 rubles.
Prices are approximate and may vary by region and vehicle condition. Buying any of these trucks, you can get high cross-country ability even in stock condition, but do not forget about the skill of the driver - usually this criterion is most valued. As practice shows, in some cases, skills determine 90% of off-road driving success. Do you agree?
