"Valdai 18" - a construction set that will be assembled especially for you

For the first time, the general public examined this truck at the COMTRANS-2023 exhibition last fall. In fact, the vehicle is an intermediate option between a long-haul tractor and a city “shuttle transporter”. "Valdai 18" is produced in Nizhny Novgorod and has a total weight of eighteen tons (load capacity 12 tons) - hence the number in the name.


The car, which is almost a copy of the Chinese Photon in appearance, is suitable for use both in the city and beyond. The production of the truck started last year. Planned production volumes have not yet been announced: everything depends on demand.

Features of the novelty

Of course, they are also quite unusual. The main one is the variability of the proposed model. At the discretion of the buyer, the manufacturer can present the Valdai 18 to the customer with the selected wheelbase:

✅ 4,8 m (total length will be 8,31 m)
✅ 5,75 m (9,86 m)
✅ 6,1 m (10,11 m)

But the variety doesn’t end there: buy a truck with or without a sleeper, with a two- or three-seater cab. There is also a choice of suspension, which can be conventional, with springs, or pneumatic (the second option was presented at the exhibition). And one more innovation, unusual for Russian buyers: the ability to choose a car with a specific drive axle gear ratio: 4,875, 5,143 or 5,571.


This is done in order to purchase the car as much as possible, taking into account its operating conditions. If it is assumed that the car will mainly “drag” around the city, the gear ratio should be one, for constant long-distance travel it should be another. Such an offer allows you to choose a car whose fuel consumption and service life are optimal.


The manufacturer is also ready to optionally equip the machine with a special lift for loading/unloading particularly heavy objects, materials, and equipment. Any superstructure of suitable dimensions can be installed on the chassis: for example, a tank, platform, body, refrigerator or van, including an isothermal one. The customer can, like a computer buyer, create his own configuration.

Engine and gearbox

The origin of the power unit is not advertised, however, if we assume that the “double” from China has a Cummins, then most likely it’s the same here (this is indirectly indicated by the bright red color of the engine). The volume of 6,69 liters allows the six-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine to develop 261 hp. With. with a torque of 956 N*m. As for the transmission, there is an eight-speed manual transmission, also from the Chinese manufacturer Fast Gear. The front suspension is spring, all brakes are drum, driven by pneumatics.

Cabin

As already mentioned, it was taken from Foton with a similar carrying capacity - it can be two- or three-seater, with or without a “sleeping bag”. To be fair, it’s worth adding: the structure is partially localized. Today the cabin frame is welded and painted at GAZ. However, everything inside, including electronics, is made in China. Nevertheless, the Gorky Automobile Plant gives a three-year warranty on the truck: even the Chinese “Photons” cannot “boast” of this.


We can only hope that over time the localization will become larger, and the box and engine will be selected from the Russian “assortment”. On this topic, the manufacturer noted that in the future they will use components produced in the Russian Federation. First of all, this concerns the engine (presumably YaMZ). The younger “brothers” of the Valdai 18, which also have a Chinese cabin, by the way, are already equipped with Russian power units. For example, a twelve-ton truck of the same brand is equipped with a 170-horsepower YaMZ-530.