I saw one of these new long trailer today on the m6 at stoke. It was a kellogs trailer and it was being pulled by one curries motors
curryfart
you bore the absolute [zb] into me
So this thing is a few feet longer than a normal 13.6m trailer then 
What’s the big deal
Before long everyone will be pulling one, just as things were when the length went up from 12.2m, as they did before that when the longest trailers were 33’ and before that when the biggest lorry was an 8 wheeler (with trailer) and way before that blokes pulled little trailers behind horses, it’s called progress and adding a few feet to a trailer is the logical way to do it, rather than making every tractor unit in Europe obsolete overnight as Carryfast (bless him) would have them do 
Only read the first of Carryfast’s posts and skipped to here as I lost the will to live, hope I’m not repeating anybody’s comments, although I can guarantee that I won’t be repeating the wisdom from dear old CF 
newmercman:
So this thing is a few feet longer than a normal 13.6m trailer thenWhat’s the big deal
it’s called progress and adding a few feet to a trailer isn’t the logical way to do it,it’s better to make every tractor unit in Europe obsolete overnight as Carryfast (bless him) would have them do
Fixed that. 
The Dutch are busy working on it. 
Carryfast wonder what part of allowed in UK you don`t understand,spout all you like about something from holland , Germany, Finland .USA, Australia, THIS is what allowed ON TRIAL HERE IN THE UK & that is whats happening with this & another trailer plus another 8 at 14.6metre
@ greek, have you been able to pull one of these trls; yet ? and if so what is your opinion ? I’m sure your real time experience and views will be greatly appreciated by us guy’s in the here and now world of UK Transport.
Thanks
Regards
Dave Penn;
Dave Penn Only had a brief spin to a sort of induction but no doubt will fill in when somebodys off on nightshift ( Im permanent nights). Never had chance to speak to anyone but not heard any complaints. I think the dodgy`st part of it being low ride has an in cab button to lift the suspenion on unit for short sharp undulations, for instance we have a dodgy mini rounabout built into the middle of a hill when leaving Prudhoe it would prob rip catwalk off if you forgot to use the suspension.
@ greek, cheers mate, looking forward to hearing your opinion. I reckon they will be losing them catwalks sooner rather than later 
Coz them front trailer corners look incredibly close to the unit and only a bit of upwards articulation from the unit will put them in very close proximity to the catwalk. Lost a saddle-tank full of diesel once when working on the boxe’s and we were pulling the gooseneck type trl’s where the box had a cut out in the floor and sat in the front of the trl; and the pins went in at right angles from the front rather than from underneath 
luckily I wasn’t the first to have done it and diesel wasn’t as expensive back then.
Regards
Dave Penn;
greek:
Carryfast wonder what part of allowed in UK you don`t understand,spout all you like about something from holland , Germany, Finland .USA, Australia, THIS is what allowed ON TRIAL HERE IN THE UK & that is whats happening with this & another trailer plus another 8 at 14.6metre
Meanwhile in euro land they seem to be well on the way to sorting out ‘all’ the options on an objective engineering basis not a politicised British one.It will be natural selection which decides the best option purely based on the best engineering solution not what the British rail freight interests find the least worst option from their point of view and even this British longer trailer idea is on their hit list,ironically for,at least one of,the right reasons this time for once,which I’ve raised.
freightonrail.org.uk/HotTopi … gerous.htm
In which case the road transport industry should be joining with other european operators in Holland and Germany in being able to test all the different options available including increasing weight capacity on the basis of it’s time to put the rail freight industry in it’s place.
Strange though how the government is all for so called increased growth and being at the forefront of european technology advances in making British industry more efficient when it suits it but not when it doesn’t.Ironically this issue would be the only one at present which would make european laws,taking precedent over British ones,worthwhile in helping to stop British industry being left behind yet again,in having domestic legislation,which stops it being able to be involved,in an obviously superior engineering solution, to moving freight by road.Whereas it’s continental competitors get the advantage of a headstart in the manufacture and use of that superior technology. 
Twice in 2 days can`t believe it agreeing with carryfast at least the last 2 paragraphs of your last post above
greek:
Twice in 2 days can`t believe it agreeing with carryfast at least the last 2 paragraphs of your last post above
He must have been hacked, I agreed with him about racism earlier FFS, something not quite right about that
Carryfast:
Not really but given the choice between driving this thing or a 25 m drawbar outfit drawbar outfit,let alone a standard length one,it would be no contest.It’s just IMHO.If anyone prefers the idea of hauling a 50 + foot semi trailer around on a regular basis with the extra length all put on the ends instead of the middle,that’s up to them.
Got there eventualy filled in for someone last night. My initial reaction pretty good follows you better than normal 13mtr trailer in fact felt a bit like the drag its replacing & no swing on back end front end needs watching more with it being deep pin same as all close coupled.Reversing no prob but must be straight line for rear steering axle to lock which does so automatic, independant lock switch on trailer for shunting etc, Al in al seems a good design & works well only prob with this one is low ride & has a seperate cab switch for rear axle suspension on the unit to stop you ripping catwalk off on rough ground or severe undalations
Axle setup
Not much clearance
Outward load
Return load only 60plts not 90 this time
Only my opinion but don`t think it wiil be long before there in common use I would not have a prob going anywhere with them, maybe one or two loading bays & yards not designed for these lengths but that wiil change, looking forward to having a run with the normal height long trailer when it arrives. Sorry to disapoint carryfast but it does work
I would love to get it round some of the counrty roads ib cornwall it can be bad anouth with a normall one.
Must admit not keen on the idea. IF going to increase max length make the units bigger to allow a larger living space I say drive
greek:
Got there eventualy filled in for someone last night. My initial reaction pretty good follows you better than normal 13mtr trailer in fact felt a bit like the drag its replacing & no swing on back end front end needs watching more with it being deep pin same as all close coupled.Reversing no prob but must be straight line for rear steering axle to lock which does so automatic, independant lock switch on trailer for shunting etc, Al in al seems a good design & works well only prob with this one is low ride & has a seperate cab switch for rear axle suspension on the unit to stop you ripping catwalk off on rough ground or severe undalations
Axle setup
Not much clearance
Outward load
Return load only 60plts not 90 this time
Only my opinion but don`t think it wiil be long before there in common use I would not have a prob going anywhere with them, maybe one or two loading bays & yards not designed for these lengths but that wiil change, looking forward to having a run with the normal height long trailer when it arrives. Sorry to disapoint carryfast but it does work
If I’ve read it right you’re saying that tail ‘sweep’ with that overhang past axles 1 and 2 wouldn’t be an issue ‘anywhere’ in common use and it follows ‘better’ than an ordinary 13.6 but there’s no difference between the pin to centre of axles 1 and 2 measurement which ‘should’ mean that it follows just the same as a 13.6 not ‘better’ .
The fact is it’s around a 50 ft semi trailer and you can’t just make the extra length disappear.It’s either on the overhangs,as in this case,so more sweep front and rear,or it’s in the middle so more cut in.If having loads of length on the overhangs was the way to go the North Americans would be running loads of 53 ft semi trailers with around Euro/UK type pin to axle measurements.But they know that having a lot of sweep is worse in most cases than having a lot of cut in instead.
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens if everyone takes that idea,that it’ll work ‘anywhere’,to it’s logical conclusion.Such as a right turn somewhere like here.
In which case if the extra length had all been put in the middle it would just have been a case of pull it over to the left and then turn right going wide as possible with the unit.Whereas with this idea it’s all about a balancing act,of keeping far enough to the right,to stop the tail sweep running over the pavement on the left.However that leaves enough room for an idiot biker or cyclist or maybe even a car to go through on the inside while you’re turning and in which case you can’t see it and you probably won’t even know if there’s a connection or not.
Carryfast if you ever get to drive an artic, you might get the idea how they work, there is no swing on the arse end because it steers round, Have you never followed a Low loader with steering axles if not try it sometime you might see how it works. Any turn left or right I found you did`nt have to move out as much to clear the turns so was actualy better than a normal 13mtr trailer, & whats america got to do with it its a UK TRIAL & have you seen some of there confrigirations , monstrosities, very practical for the UK
greek:
Carryfast if you ever get to drive an artic, you might get the idea how they work, there is no swing on the arse end because it steers round, Have you never followed a Low loader with steering axles if not try it sometime you might see how it works. Any turn left or right I found you did`nt have to move out as much to clear the turns so was actualy better than a normal 13mtr trailer, & whats america got to do with it its a UK TRIAL & have you seen some of there confrigirations , monstrosities, very practical for the UK
That is actually a right turn that I made every morning for years with an artic using both 40 and 45 ft trailers.
So you’re saying that you can make a 90 degree L shaped turn with a 50 ft semi trailer artic outfit v a standard 45 ft trailer one in which all the extra length has been put mostly on the rear overhang past the fixed axles 1 and 2 without that involving any extra sweep.
As I said to Rikki there’s a big difference between steering trailer axle/‘S’ in which the idea is to control the amount of cut in of a longer trailer in which all the extra length has been put in the middle compared to a steering rear axl/‘E’ which has been put there to support the weight loaded on the type of trailer which has been designed with it’s extra length on the overhangs.In this case we’re talking about the latter.The rear steer axl’E’ in this case is just there to follow the extra sweep.Which you’d find out if you had to make a 90 degree turn into or out of a side road etc because there’s no way that you can just make the extra length disappear although that idea of controlling ‘cut in’ using steering trailer axle/‘S’ is probably as good as that idea gets.
It’s ironic how you think that the US idea,of going for less sweep,at the expense of more cut in,isn’t better considering that it’s possible to see what the latter is doing far more than the former and if they really thought that the extra cut in,caused by putting the extra length of a 53 ft trailer in the middle,instead of on the overhangs of a trailer using Euro/UK type pin to axle measurements,was a monstrosity,as you’re saying,then you can bet that they’d have gone to all the extra expense of fitting their trailers with the idea of steering trailer axle/‘S’ which really do manage the job of effectively making the extra length disappear.Unlike a steering rear axl/‘e’ on a trailer,which has a relatively short pin to (fixed) axle measurement,with all the extra length put on the overhangs,can.
On reply to 2nd paragraph on 90degree turn, YES
greek:
On reply to 2nd paragraph on 90degree turn, YES
So where does/could the extra length on the rear overhang go assuming it doesn’t/couldn’t swing out to the left as the front of the trailer is pulled to the right by the unit,or vice versa on a left hand turn,remembering that axles 1 and 2 of the trailer are fixed .