Volvo, Fontaine Modification to offer reduced-height day cab

The Volvo Auto Hauler (VAH) 300 is now available for order at an unladen 94.5-in. height. Volvo says this reduced-height cab option is currently the lowest in the industry by 1.5 inches, offering auto haulers best-in-class versatility for local and regional automobile transport applications.

“At Volvo Trucks, we pride ourselves on building strong partnerships to solve our customers’ business needs,” says John Felder, product marketing manager at Volvo Trucks North America. “Through extensive research, testing and engineering in collaboration with Fontaine Modification, the new VAH 300 model with a 94.5-in. height represents a new standard of excellence for trucks in the highly specialized auto hauler market.”

Over the last 10 years, the height of vehicles hauled has significantly increased as the demand for more SUVs versus sedans rises. As a result, auto haulers are now in need of a solution that maximizes freight capacity, while also delivering optimal efficiency. The lower overall height of the VAH 300 offers the flexibility to position a larger vehicle over the truck’s cab to maximize payload. A clean top-of-frame behind the cab also allows for easier body mounting and trailer hookup.

“At Fontaine, we are proud of our recent changes that will provide about three more critical inches of room for hauling larger vehicles above the VAH 300 day cab,” says Paul Kokalis, president, Fontaine Modification Company. “We’re pleased to help Volvo Trucks deliver this best-in-class, reduced-height cab option to meet the demands of the North American auto hauler market.”

In addition to this new model, Fontaine also modifies a full range of Volvo Trucks models to service the needs of all customers for any auto hauling application or load size:

• VAH 300 (available as Fontaine model 94 or 97)
• VAH 400 (available as Fontaine model 97 or 102)
• VAH 600 (available as Fontaine model 97 or 102)

Consistent with the rest of the VAH family, the new, reduced-height VAH 300 model features deep-drop front axles and low-height Volvo Air Ride rear suspensions. The model is available with Volvo’s D11 and D13 engines. The D11 features 325 to 425 hp and 1250 to 1550 lb.-ft. of torque, while the D13 features 405 to 500 hp and 1450 to 1850 lb.-ft. of torque. The Volvo VAH 300 is also available with the Volvo I-Shift automated manual transmission Volvo says.