At present we have an advantage in the variety of cubic capacities of our trailers. This means that we can carry loads that the foreigners can’t. If we all have the same size trailers then we lose that advantage and we will once again be undercut by the foreigners. Any additional jobs created will go to them not us.
waddy640:
At present we have an advantage in the variety of cubic capacities of our trailers. This means that we can carry loads that the foreigners can’t.
Like hauling cream cakes 100 miles up the road while they get on with doing the real work you mean. 
Carryfast:
waddy640:
At present we have an advantage in the variety of cubic capacities of our trailers. This means that we can carry loads that the foreigners can’t.Like hauling cream cakes 100 miles up the road while they get on with doing the real work you mean.
Carryfast:
waddy640:
At present we have an advantage in the variety of cubic capacities of our trailers. This means that we can carry loads that the foreigners can’t.Like hauling cream cakes 100 miles up the road while they get on with doing the real work you mean.
That’s one possibility.
Carryfast:
hipsway:
Not that i’m in favour of harmonisation with europe over max.trailer heights, but as a trunk driver pulling nothing but curtain sider deckers for the last 8 years and seeing an ever increasing number on our roads, i have often asked why we Brits with historically the highest fuel duties continue with these, well lets say aerodynamically challenged trailers… Instead of harmonsisation i would be inclined to look more at our european counterparts equipment with their low ride combos and more wagon-drags(with longer permitted length) being a more interesting proposition to max out cubic capacity but keeping overall running heights lower with a positive contribution to fuel returns… Attitudes need to change in an effort to best counter escalating costs especially fuel, which continue to spiral out of control…
Trunk drivers obviously think alike but we’ve had the LHV discussion lots of times but the Brit government will never let them on our roads to protect rail freight.The wagon and drag idea also allows for much higher weights in addition to cubic capacity increases and that’s the bit that scares the rail interests.[/quot
I wouldn’t claim to know what any group of people collectively think, but its our very own politicians that can’t seem to see how LHV would benefit the haulage industry… Your observations are probably correct with reference to the pro rail lobby group, but its the dogged determination not to embrace trialing of LHV for certain sectors of our industry, for example the movements of goods through the night when our motorways as least congested…
hipsway:
Carryfast:
hipsway:
Not that i’m in favour of harmonisation with europe over max.trailer heights, but as a trunk driver pulling nothing but curtain sider deckers for the last 8 years and seeing an ever increasing number on our roads, i have often asked why we Brits with historically the highest fuel duties continue with these, well lets say aerodynamically challenged trailersTrunk drivers obviously think alike but we’ve had the LHV discussion lots of times but the Brit government will never let them on our roads to protect rail freight.The wagon and drag idea also allows for much higher weights in addition to cubic capacity increases and that’s the bit that scares the rail interests.[/quot
I wouldn’t claim to know what any group of people collectively think, but its our very own politicians that can’t seem to see how LHV would benefit the haulage industry… Your observations are probably correct with reference to the pro rail lobby group, but its the dogged determination not to embrace trialing of LHV for certain sectors of our industry, for example the movements of goods through the night when our motorways as least congested…
It does’nt seem to make much sense to have fleets of unproductive tractor units running around when a dolly or an A frame drawbar can do the same job of pulling a 40t gross 45 footer coupled up behind either another 45 footer or a six wheeler rigid.I used both artics and drawbars on night trunking and it would have been no problem to have used a 45 footer coupled up to the six wheeler rigid instead of the short drawbar trailers which have to be used by law.But a five axled drawbar trailer can carry a lot more payload than a five axled artic outfit,not including the load also carried on the prime mover,all for around similar fuel consumption.