MAN TGS

The TGS is part of the MAN Truck Generation the company introduced on 10 February 2020. MAN assigns the TGX to long-haul transport; its launch release aims the TGS at “the heavy-duty construction vehicle, distribution and municipal services sectors” and says it is characterised by narrow cabs, because in its typical applications low unladen weight and good visibility are what matter.

MAN’s launch release says the company invested so that it could offer the previous models alongside the new generation during a transition phase until the end of 2020, and in November 2020 MAN said that by mid-2021 it would have updated its entire product portfolio to the new model series.

Axle configurations and body types

MAN’s chassis table has eleven rows: 4x2, 4x4, 6x2-, 6x2, 6x4, 6x4-, 6x6, 8x2-, 8x4, one headed “8x4/ 8x4-” and one headed “8x6 / 8x8”. The last two name two wheel formulae apiece in a single cell against a single set of marks, so eleven rows cover thirteen formulae — and both of those counts are ours, because MAN publishes no count at all. Each row is marked against three body types — semitrailer tractor, chassis and tipper — and the marks do not all line up. The 8x2- is a chassis only, the 8x6 / 8x8 row is a tipper only, and the 6x4- is a chassis or a tipper but not a tractor.

The formulae are explained in axle configurations. Besides the all-wheel-drive layouts — 4x4, 6x6, 8x6 and 8x8 — the launch release offers MAN HydroDrive, a hydrostatic front-wheel drive, on two-, three- and four-axle TGS. MAN’s equipment page states a payload advantage for HydroDrive of 400 to 750 kg against what it calls a common all-wheel drive.

Cab

MAN’s equipment page names three cabs for the TGS and gives each a stated application: the TM for national long-haul transport, described as a compact, weight-saving design with a slatted-frame bed; the TN, in normal height, for payload-optimised special trucks such as silo and refrigerated vehicles or vehicles for building materials, also with a slatted-frame bed; and the NN, for local and distribution transport, construction and municipal use, with storage space behind the seats in place of a bed. The launch release calls the NN the most frequently chosen TGS cab, typically for tippers and mixers. MAN’s cab dimensions table gives all three cabs the same external width, 2,240 mm; external length is 2,280 mm for the TM and TN and 1,880 mm for the NN. The same table publishes interior dimensions: interior length 2,145 mm for the TM and TN, 1,770 mm for the NN; interior width 2,070 mm for all three; engine tunnel height 280 mm for all three; and standing height on the engine tunnel 1,690 mm for the TM against 1,410 mm for the TN and NN. No page gives an overall cab height.

Three engine families and the D30 restriction

MAN lists three engine series for the TGS, where the TGX table lists four. The D15, at 9 litres, runs 243–294 kW. The D26, at 12.4 litres, runs 324–397 kW. The D30, at 12.7 litres, runs 279–412 kW with 2,100–2,800 Nm.

The D3066 row in MAN’s specification table carries a footnote, and the footnote resolves in the page footer as: only 4x2 semitrailer tractors in standard or low-height configuration. The same restriction sits under the same table on the global, German, Austrian and Spanish MAN sites — the Spanish wording reads medium rather than standard height — and again under the same footnote marker on the TGS equipment page. A tipper, a mixer, an 8x4 or any all-wheel-drive TGS cannot be ordered with the D30 at all.

The 412 kW and the 2,100–2,800 Nm above therefore describe a 4x2 semitrailer tractor. The range table does not say which engines a four-axle rigid may be ordered with: that footnote is the only engine-by-configuration statement MAN publishes, and the only MAN documents that pair an engine step with an 8x4 chassis are the May 2022 UK tipper and tridem sheets, which stop at 510 PS — a rating MAN has since replaced.

MAN’s equipment page describes the D15 as having less engine weight and consequently more payload. The UK sheets plate the four-axle tippers at 32,000 kg. The D26’s steps are 440, 480, 520 and 540 PS today, where the 2022 MAN UK sheets describe the same engine at 430, 470 and 510 PS.

On a 4x2 semitrailer tractor in standard or low-height configuration the power step alone does not name the engine: MAN’s TGS specification table lists 440, 480 and 520 PS under both the D26 and the D30, and its footnote confines the D30 to that build. The 2022 UK sheets pair each engine code with one step — D1556LF18 at 360 PS, D1556LF17 at 400, D2676LFAJ at 430, D2676LFAI at 470 and D26LFAF at 510 — but only for the steps they cover; the D26’s current 440 to 540 PS steps and the D30 appear on none of them. Every sheet that lists a D1556 lists the D2676 under optional equipment, adding 230 kg to the unladen weights it gives for the standard specification; reading the D15 as the base engine on those sheets is our step.

Gearbox, axles and braking

The 2022 MAN UK chassis sheets specify a 12-speed TipMatic on every TGS variant they cover, and a road speed limiter at 89 km/h on every one of them — but they publish two different ratio sets. The two 8x4 tippers, the 8x4 tridem and the 6x4 rigid give an overdrive twelve, 12.92 down to 0.77 with reverse gears of 12.03 and 9.92; the 4x2 and 6x2 rigids and the four tractor sheets give a direct-drive twelve, 16.69 down to 1.00 with reverse gears of 15.54 and 12.03. Final drives diverge with them: 3.70:1 on the two tippers and the tridem, 3.08:1 on both 6x4 sheets, 2.53:1 on the 4x2 and 6x2 rigids, and 2.31:1 on the 6x2 midlift tractors, with the 4x2 tractor sheet showing 2.53:1 and 2.31:1 both. These are the ratio sets MAN UK documented for the variants it covers; neither is given as the range’s.

MAN’s press release of 19 September 2024 then announced the TipMatic 14, with 14 forward and 2 reverse gears plus six further reverse gears activated over the air, around 60 kg lighter than the TipMatic 12 it replaces. That release says the new box replaces the TipMatic 12 in MAN’s standard semitrailer tractors in the heavy series, and it is always paired with the D30 — the engine restricted to 4x2 tractors. No MAN document lists it on a tipper chassis; the two automated gearboxes are recorded here from two documents of different dates.

Braking splits the same way. The UK sheets list an exhaust brake as standard on the construction chassis; the compression release brake rated to up to 355 kW and the retarder to up to 4,700 Nm are published for the D30 driveline, which is to say for the tractor.

Both 8x4 tipper sheets specify single-reduction drive axles with cross-axle and inter-axle differential locks, and list hub-reduction rear axles as optional equipment that adds 410 kg; no other 2022 sheet offers hub reduction. What separates the two axle types is set out in axle ratios and final drive.

Weights

The two weights in the table above belong to one named vehicle: the 8x4-4 tridem of MAN UK sheet TGS 8x4TRI/01, plated at 32,000 kg gross vehicle and 44,000 kg gross train, design and UK legal alike. Other configurations are plated differently: the 4x2 tractor and rigid at 18,000 kg gross vehicle against 40,000 kg gross train; the 6x2 rigid, 6x4 rigid and 6x4 tractor at 26,000 kg against 44,000 kg. Across the range the launch release quotes gross vehicle weight as 18 to 41 tonnes.

The two tipper sheets separate what the chassis is built for from what a member state will licence. The normal-height 8x4 tipper reads 34,000 kg design against 32,000 kg UK legal, on a rear bogie of 21,000 kg design against 19,000 kg legal; the medium-height tipper reads 35,000 kg design against the same 32,000 kg legal, on a 23,000 kg design bogie. Neither publishes a gross train weight at all. Both plate the front axle pair at 14,200 kg with an upgrade to 15,000 kg, and both warn that tyre changes can affect legal weights; load indices are covered in tyre labelling and load indices. How plated weights relate to what the driveline is approved to pull is set out in gross vehicle and gross combination weight.

On every one of the ten 2022 MAN UK sheets the number after the dot in the chassis designation matches the power step — TGS 35.470 stands against a 470 PS engine — but the number before it lines up with a different figure from sheet to sheet. On the medium-height tipper it matches the design gross weight: TGS 35.400 to 35.470 against 35,000 kg design. On the normal-height tipper it matches the UK legal weight instead: TGS 32.400 to 32.510 against 34,000 kg design and 32,000 kg legal. On the tridem it matches neither: TGS 36.430 to 36.510 against 32,000 kg gross vehicle weight, design and legal alike, on design axle loads of 9,000 kg front and 27,000 kg rear. Those two do add to 36,000 kg, but the addition is ours, and the sheet does not say that is where the 36 comes from. Within one sheet the designations also differ: the chassis list on the medium-height tipper’s first page names a TGS 32.510 where the technical pages that follow read TGS 35.510.

Safety and driver-assistance systems

MAN’s TGS equipment page lists a wide set of named assistance systems without stating, item by item, whether each is standard or optional; two carry their own footnote instead. MAN SAFESTOP ASSIST, which brakes the truck to a standstill if the driver stops actively steering — for example through loss of consciousness — and then unlocks the doors and switches on the interior lighting, and MAN CruiseAssist, a motorway assistant that keeps distance and lane and can brake to a stop and move off again, are both marked as available for the TGX, TGS and TGM from a gross weight of 18 tonnes. MAN ACC Stop & Go, adaptive cruise control that brakes and restarts the truck in slow traffic, carries its own footnote reading “within the limits of the system.”

The rest of the list: MAN Emergency Brake Assist (EBA Plus) warns of and can automatically brake for collisions with crossing pedestrians and cyclists; the more capable EBA Advanced adds detection of crossing vehicles and vulnerable road users by fusing radar and camera data, with gaze detection for driver distraction. MAN Front Detection, or Front Detection Plus, combines a front radar sensor, side radar sensors and a front camera in three selectable modes — off, warning only, or warning with automatic braking — and MAN says it can prevent the vehicle moving off in a hazard even with the accelerator pressed. MAN EfficientCruise with PredictiveDrive is GPS-based cruise control that reads the route’s topography in advance to set speed and gearshift strategy. MAN Traffic Jam Assist controls drive, brake and steering together in stationary or slow-moving traffic, keeping distance and lane, braking to a stop and moving off again after short stops. MAN Distance Warning System, Lane Departure Warning with Lane Return Assist, and Lane Change Support (a two-stage warning through LED bands in the A-pillars) cover following distance and lane-keeping; MAN Turn-off Assistant uses radar and a front camera to cover the area on the right that is hard to see, warning and braking independently of the direction indicator. MAN AttentionGuard reads gaze direction and eye opening to flag fatigue or distraction, which MAN describes as a closed, real-time system that stores no video. MAN Traffic Sign Detection is a camera-based speed alert. On cameras: the MAN Reversing Motion System and MAN Rear-view Camera cover what is behind the vehicle, the latter for solo trucks and trailer or semitrailer combinations; the MAN Side Camera System adds ultrasonic sensors with a real-time video feed for the blind spot beside the vehicle; and MAN BirdView gives a 360° bird’s-eye view, with an optional recorder for documenting damage. MAN OptiView, MAN’s digital mirror-replacement system, uses 12.8-inch and 15.6-inch A-pillar displays; MAN OptiView with front mirror substitutes a conventional front mirror as a lower-cost alternative. MAN ComfortSteering is an electronically controlled steering system that varies assist by driving situation.

Source notes

MAN restricts the D3066 to one variant. Its row in the TGS specification table carries a footnote that the page footer resolves as “Only 4x2 semitrailer tractors in standard or low-height configuration”, so the D30’s 279–412 kW and 2,100–2,800 Nm above describe a 4x2 semitrailer tractor and cannot be ordered on a tipper, a mixer or any all-wheel-drive TGS. Both weights above belong to one named vehicle: the TGS 8x4-4 tridem of MAN UK sheet TGS 8x4TRI/01, plated at 32,000 kg gross vehicle and 44,000 kg gross train, design and UK legal alike, on design axle loads of 9,000 kg front and 27,000 kg rear. Every other configuration differs. The 4x2 tractor and 4x2 rigid are plated 18,000 kg gross vehicle against 40,000 kg gross train; the 6x2 rigid, 6x4 rigid and 6x4 tractor 26,000 kg against 44,000 kg. The two 8x4 tipper sheets publish no gross train weight and give design figures above the UK legal ones: the normal-height tipper reads 34,000 kg design against 32,000 kg UK legal, with a rear bogie of 21,000 kg design against 19,000 kg legal, and the medium-height tipper 35,000 kg design against the same 32,000 kg legal with a 23,000 kg design bogie. Both plate the front axle pair at 14,200 kg and offer a 15,000 kg front-axle upgrade, and both warn that tyre changes can affect legal weights. Across the whole range the February 2020 launch release quotes gross vehicle weight as 18 to 41 tonnes. Engine braking on the D3066: a Compression Release Brake rated to up to 355 kW, with a retarder to up to 4,700 Nm offered alongside it. The 2022 MAN UK sheets specify a 12-speed TipMatic and an 89 km/h road speed limiter on all ten TGS variants they cover, but publish two ratio sets: the three four-axle sheets and the 6x4 rigid give an overdrive twelve, 12.92 down to 0.77 with reverse gears of 12.03 and 9.92, while the 4x2 and 6x2 rigids and the four tractor sheets give a direct-drive twelve, 16.69 down to 1.00 with reverse gears of 15.54 and 12.03. Final drives diverge with them — 3.70:1 on the two tippers and the tridem, 3.08:1 on both 6x4 sheets, 2.53:1 on the 4x2 and 6x2 rigids and 2.31:1 on the 4x2 and 6x2 tractor sheets, of which the 4x2 tractor sheet shows 2.53:1 as well. All ten mark an exhaust brake, selective catalytic reduction and OBD-E as standard, and mark the chassis “Suitable for EN15940”. The tridem carries a 60-litre AdBlue tank against 35 litres on both tippers, runs 385/65R22.5 steer tyres with 315/80R22.5 on the drive axles, and has a bolted and riveted S500MC frame of 270 x 85 x 8 mm section, waisted from 942 to 762 mm. Its unladen weight is published as 9,858 to 9,960 kg depending on wheelbase, to a stated tolerance of 2.5 per cent. Hub-reduction rear axles are a priced option on the sheets that offer them; cross-axle and inter-axle differential locks are standard on the tridem. MAN HydroDrive, the hydrostatic front-wheel drive, is offered on two-, three- and four-axle TGS according to the 2020 launch release. The launch release characterises the TGS by narrow cabs: MAN gives all three cabs the same 2,240 mm external width, and the NN — which the launch release calls the most frequently chosen TGS cab, typically for tippers and mixers — the shortest external length, 1,880 mm against 2,280 mm for the TM and TN. On both 8x4 tipper sheets the D1556LF17 at 400 PS is the standard engine and the D2676 is listed under optional equipment as a change that adds 230 kg. Only the medium-height tipper sheet records N3G certification; its chassis designations are TGS 35.400, 35.430 and 35.470. On that sheet, its chassis specification list names a “TGS 32.510 8x4 BB CH” where the technical table beside it reads “TGS 35.510 8x4 BB CH”. The number before the dot matches a different weight from sheet to sheet: it is the design gross weight on the medium-height tipper (35,000 kg), the UK legal weight on the normal-height tipper (TGS 32.400 to 32.510 against 34,000 kg design and 32,000 kg legal) and neither on the tridem (TGS 36.430 to 36.510 against 32,000 kg design and legal; its 9,000 kg and 27,000 kg design axle loads add to 36,000 kg, which is this site’s arithmetic and not a rule MAN states).