Before moving to the topic of what is Hanuman Gear we should know who is Hanuman. ‘Hanuman’ is the name of a fictional character in the Indian epic “The Ramayana”, who is also worshiped as a lord in Hinduism. Lord Hanuman is often referred to as ‘Vira’, ‘Mahavira’, ‘Mahabala’, etc., signifying his unmatchable strength. He is said to be capable of lifting and carrying any burden for a cause. In fact, an incident in the epic war of ‘The Ramayana’ between Rama and Ravana adds evidence to his impeccable physical power.
The story narrates that when Lakshmana, Rama’s brother, gets hurt during the war and is in need of a rare herb that grows only the Himalayan ranges, it is Hanuman who brings Lakshmana the whole of a mountain scrapped out of the ground with dense herb growth, carrying it all the way across India to Lanka on a single hand. It is not possible for a mere mortal to be able to measure the strength of someone as mighty and indestructible as Lord Hanuman.
Now what is ‘Hanuman Gear’?
It simply refers to the Crawler Gear used in heavy-duty vehicles. It is a gear ratio that provides more torque to the driveline and ultimately to the wheels of the trucks that refuse to start off with copious loads or to climb up a hill at a steady pace stably. The Crawler Gear, is a low forward gear that enables vehicles to move at speeds as low as 0.5 km per hour and is a result of the large speed reduction ratio that the gear is made to produce. This provides power and extreme startability, which is crucial to heavy duty automobiles.
The gear ratio refers to the difference in the speed between the input shaft and the output shaft in the gearbox. With the highest gear engaged, the ratio is 1:1, which means the input shaft and the output shaft spin at the same pace. Whereas, in the lowest gear, the Crawler Gear, the gear ratio is as high as 32:1, that is, the shaft spins 32 times slower than the engine speed. Hence, the crawler gear is able to achieve speeds as low as 0.5 kilometers per hour, thus enabling the vehicle to move in a literal crawl.
The crawler gear also minimizes the engagement & disengagement of the clutch to a greater extent. With the usage Crawler Gear, there is no more of having to push down on the clutch for changing gears or maintaining the low pace, or starting a heavy duty vehicle.
To conclude, the Crawler Gear in heavy duty vehicles helps the driver in easy control over the vehicle. Not just that, the gear helps reduce the rapid or irregular wear and tear on the driveline and other systems.
