International HV is Newer Than It Looks

They followed up with a ride-and-drive event a month later at the Navistar Proving Grounds in northern Indiana. There we were re-briefed on the HV and its features, including the WorkStar hood and nose. They were retained because fleet customers told the company that they liked the assembly’s looks and functions, execs said. The nose includes the large, chrome-plated grille with its wide surround and vertical bars that, in various sizes and shapes, has been a hallmark of most International medium- and heavy-duty trucks since the mid-’00s. The hood’s forward edge is high, which somewhat restricts close-up visibility, though it didn’t bother me as I drove the truck. For applications requiring better forward views, such as snow plowing, there’s a Hi-Viz version with a more pronounced downward slope.

After the briefings we were bussed out to the driving areas: the 2.5-mile high-speed oval with a central pad, where several on-road models were available for tryouts, and the off-road course with various paved and gravel surfaces. For off-road testing, several trucks and one tractor (an HX with a newly available integral sleeper) were lined up. I drove many of them, but for this article sought out the red dump truck, which was the same one displayed at the Atlanta show. Did I say “red”? The color is actually called “sunrise orange pearl,” not to be confused with undesirable “orange peel,” in auto body talk, because the paint on this truck was smooth and glossy. It’s eye catching, for sure.

I had to wait a while for the HV. But when I had it, I hogged it to get as much wheel time as possible. The sprawling grounds, originally built by the old Studebaker Corp. in the mid-1920s, allows simulated running on highways and trails, but not work sites or urban streets on which dump trucks, mixers, and the like spend a lot of their time. Still, it’s an almost risk-free place for a truck builder to allow guests to sample its products. And on the off-road course, there are enough tight turns to test maneuverability, which was very good on this HV 10-wheeler. I ran the off-road course four times, taking it slow over the most severe rough spots, but still observing considerable shaking of the cab and dashboard—to be expected, it seemed to me. And I got on the gas where there was room to run.

The best place for all-out running was the high-speed track, and my guide secured permission for us to venture onto it. I took three loops—not many miles, to be sure, but enough to observe the HV’s behavior at freeway speeds, up to about 70 mph. The truck rode well, and tire and wind noise was muted. The Navistar A26 engine’s growl was plainly heard and not unpleasant, but I wouldn’t call it quiet, at least not in this truck. It was more demure in a couple of LT highway tractors I had driven earlier on the track, so it appears that engineers had attained the goal of quietness. 

The A26 is Navistar’s latest diesel and one based on the European MAN D26. It’s a 12.4-liter inline 6-cylinder model with the latest in air-handling, combustion, exhaust aftertreatment, and electronic controls. Navistar says it’s simpler than the discontinued MaxxForce 13 and the N13 it will replace. The A26 uses a single variable geometry turbocharger and one EGR cooler instead of the MaxxForce’s double turbos and coolers; it also places items needing common maintenance in easier-to-access locations, execs said.

The A26, with up to 475 horsepower and 1,750 lb.-ft. of torque, is Navistar’s preferred engine on heavier HVs, while the 8.9-liter Cummins L9 is available for weight-sensitive applications, such as mixers. Cummins’ B6.7 will be used in lighter models. Navistar people emphasize the “valuable” partnership with Cummins, which supplies those engines and the heavy X15, and whose exhaust aftertreatment equipment Navistar began using when its all-EGR approach for MaxxForce motors failed. But Navistar is not listing Cummins’ lightweight X12 diesel as an option in the HV or any other heavy-duty truck model; neither are competitors because, while they all offer the X15 and the smaller Cummins diesels, they’d rather sell their own 11- and 13-liter-class engines. And Navistar’s alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus suggests more proprietary engines and fewer products from Cummins. That’s business.

Even so, an HV can be highly customized to suit any job. It can be had with three cab styles, “super single” frame rails as thick as one-half inch, and integral forward frame extensions for mounting special equipment ahead of the grille. For really rough-terrain operation, a 20,000-pound front-driving axle with an offset bowl allows the chassis to sit lower than with a centered differential. Many axle types and capacities are in the data book. Our test truck had an Allison 4500RDS fully automatic transmission, and Navistar also offers Eaton manual and automated gearboxes for the HV. Self-shifting trannies are controlled by a stalk selector, on the right side of the steering column. It’s easy and convenient to use.

By the way, you can “paint” a truck in something similar to sunrise orange pearl on a section of www.InternationalTrucks.com called Build Your Own HV Series. By clicking on buttons, you can configure a truck for various applications, including “construction dump,” “construction crane,” and “cement mixer” (yes, it should be “concrete”). For some reason, only single-rear-axle chassis show, though I did stumble on one tandem, then lost it. Anyway, you see the various 500 and 600 subseries, denoting hood length and steer-axle placement, within the HV lineup. The website is worth a look, and even more worthwhile will be an actual look and drive of an HV, which should be at dealers early this year.