The Roman 8.135 was the lightest lorry of the range built at the Brașov works. It was offered as a box-body truck, a tipper and a tractor unit, and it sat below the 10.215 and 19.215 models in the Roman catalogue.
Roman 8.135 at a glance
| Maker | Roman works, Brașov (Steagul Roșu) |
|---|---|
| Type | lorry, smallest model of the range |
| Box body | 8.135 F/FK/FS box body, 12,800 kg gross |
| Tipper | 12,000 kg gross |
| Tractor unit | 20,320 kg gross |
| Position in range | below the 10.215 and the 19.215 |
| Brand | Roman, also sold under the DAC name |
The Romanian Wikipedia page under the 8.135 name is a one-line stub about the Roman-98051, so the body types and weights here come from the model list of the German Wikipedia article on the works; one real source.
History of the Roman 8.135
The Brașov works, known for most of its life as Steagul Roșu, began building lorries in 1954 with the SR-101, a copy of the Soviet ZIS-150 of which about 54,000 were made by 1965. The Carpați and Bucegi models followed in the early 1960s, and in 1969 the factory took a licence for MAN commercial vehicles. From then on its trucks used MAN-designed diesel engines made in Romania, and part of the production was sold under the DAC (Diesel Auto Camion) name.
The 8.135 was the smallest model in the range that grew around that licence. It was listed with a box body of 12,800 kg gross weight, a tipper of 12,000 kg and a tractor unit of 20,320 kg, the tractor unit being the heaviest form because it was rated for the trailer it could pull. The model sat below the 4×2 10.215 and the 6×4 19.215 in the catalogue.
Roman lorries, mainly tippers and tractor units, were exported to East Germany from 1977; by 1989 more than 2,800 had been delivered. The 750,000th lorry left the works in 2000, Euro 3 engines were introduced from 2002, and in 2015 a court in Brașov opened insolvency proceedings against the company. The only Romanian Wikipedia entry under the 8.135 name is a one-line stub on the Roman-98051, so the figures here come from the model list of the German article on the works.
Design and features
- Smallest Roman: the lightest model of the Brașov range.
- Three bodies: box truck, tipper and tractor unit.
- MAN-licence engineering: part of the range built after the 1969 agreement.
- Export range: the works sent tippers and tractor units to East Germany.
Roman 8.135 versions
- 8.135 F box body: 12,800 kg gross.
- 8.135 FK tipper: 12,000 kg gross.
- 8.135 FS tractor unit: 20,320 kg gross.
The bigger lorries of the range were the Roman 10.215 and the Roman 19.215. More in our Roman collection.
Sources
- Roman (Nutzfahrzeughersteller), German Wikipedia: bodies and weights of the 8.135, works history
- ROMAN 8135, Romanian Wikipedia: confirms the model name; page is a stub
