The Roman 19.215 was the heavy 6×4 lorry of the Brașov range. It was built from 1977 to 1986 as a tipper, a box-body truck and a tractor unit, and it shared the 215 hp MAN-licence diesel with the rest of the Roman range.
Roman 19.215 at a glance
| Maker | Roman works, Brașov (Steagul Roșu) |
|---|---|
| Production | 1977–1986 |
| Type | heavy lorry |
| Drive | 6×4 |
| Tipper | 19.215 DFK, 1977–1982, 24,390 kg gross |
| Box body and tractor unit | 19.215 DF/DFS, 1979–1986, 24,390 kg gross |
| Engine | 215 hp diesel, MAN licence |
| Successor | 19.256 DFS tractor unit, 1987–1989 |
Only German Wikipedia has an article on the Roman works; the 19.215 is described there in the model list, and this page is based on that single source.
History of the Roman 19.215
The Brașov works built lorries under a MAN licence taken out in 1969, and the 215 hp diesel of MAN design became the standard engine of its range. Part of the output was sold as DAC (Diesel Auto Camion), a name also used for the military trucks of the same factory.
The 19.215 appeared in 1977 as the tipper version DFK, which stayed in production until 1982. From 1979 it was offered as a box-body truck and a tractor unit under the DF and DFS designations, and that pair remained in the catalogue until 1986. All versions were 6×4 and were listed with a gross weight of 24,390 kg.
Roman lorries went to East Germany from 1977, mainly tippers and tractor units, along with concrete mixers and complete refrigerated tractor-trailer outfits; by 1989 more than 2,800 had been delivered there. Turbocharged engines of 256 hp arrived in tractor units in 1987, and the 19.256 DFS replaced the 19.215 in that role until 1989. Almost all parts of the trucks were made in Romania. The plant had built the SR-101 from 1954, a copy of the Soviet ZIS-150 of which about 54,000 were made by 1965, followed by the Carpați and Bucegi models. The 1987 Brașov uprising, in which some 20,000 workers took part, began at this factory. The 750,000th lorry was completed in 2000, Euro 3 engines arrived from 2002, and in 2015 a court opened insolvency proceedings against the company.
Design and features
- 6×4 chassis: the heavy layout of the range.
- 24,390 kg gross: the weight listed for all 19.215 versions.
- Three bodies: tipper, box-body truck and tractor unit.
- 215 hp MAN-licence diesel: the standard engine of the range.
- Export role: tippers and tractor units among the lorries sent to East Germany.
Roman 19.215 versions
- 19.215 DFK: tipper, 1977–1982.
- 19.215 DF: box-body truck, from 1979.
- 19.215 DFS: tractor unit, from 1979.
- 19.256 DFS: 256 hp turbocharged tractor unit, 1987–1989.
The 4×2 lorry of the same range was the Roman 10.215, and the smallest model was the Roman 8.135. More in our Roman collection.
Sources
- Roman (Nutzfahrzeughersteller), German Wikipedia: production years, bodies, weights, engines, exports, works history
