With all the talk about longer trailers, this one here seems to tick all the right boxes and yet does not seem to have been given the publicity is deserves. This trailer is the first and only longer trailer which has been granted a special order within the UK for any such trials and has been monitored closely by the Department for Transport.
At 15.65m in length and fitted with a Sidewinder Steer System, (Muldoon Transport Systems - Sidewinder Positive Rear Steer System), this trailer seems to be able to deal with all the concerns with regards to having longer trailers on the road.
With advantages such as a 15% payload increase, fewer vehicles on the road (estimated up to 10%), reduction of CO2 emissions, the advantages seem to make this trailer development a real possibility for the future on our roads.
Have a look at the video below showing how the longer trailer performs negotiating a busy urban roundabout where space is limited and see also how other combinations undertake the same manoeuvre. It certainly does not look out of place on the road in comparison to others which maybe could take advantages of a rear steer system.
if i where cynical i’d say that the “busy urban roundabout where space is limited” was specifically chosen because overhang kick out is not an issue!!! lets see it making a tight turn from a car lined road into a side road.
stevie - off to go look on youtube for tin opened cars!!
and unless all the axles steer it wont help it get round corners, it would handle the same if the 3 axles where together with the middle axle in the position as the middle of the 1st an 2nd axles. it’ll help on axle position if needed for axle weights and tyres.
I believe you will find other LHV’s with special dispensation.
Certainly, Don-Bur developed the “Donny Rear Steer” about 9-10 years ago (Brian Weatherley will remember it well). At 16m long, it had a tri-axle rear steer bogie developed in conjunction with Silertip Design. It was also displayed at the CV Show at that time.
Unfortunately, we were a bit ahead of our time, but we are now re-developing LHV’s for some of the major operators. The current thinking is to use steering axles - potentially supplied by a manufacturer such as Tri-Deck. In addition, it is rumoured that the overall length may be set at the current overall length allowed for draw-bar combinations (load length).
LHV’s are the obvious route forward. We already know the benefits of Double Decking and having a longer deck length simply adds to that.
We do not believe manoeuvrability to be a problem as we can get a 16m trailer well within the >5.3 <12.5m swing radius regulations currently in force - moreso even than a standard 13.7m tri-axle with fixed axles.
Unfortunately, we suspect that this discussion may drag for some time to come, despite the obvious fuel-saving/ CO2/ cost benefits.
one option used by drilling rig movers here in Canada where we dont have the problems of turning you have is a steerable rear tamdem unit used to move the derricks.
That is a picture of a single axle unit, the tandems fit under the top of the derrick, which provides steerability, but greatly increases the height of the load.
Old school been there done that.
The unit on the back under the srown of the derrick is the remote turning tandem they also are made in tridem for the larger heavier derricks.
Have any of the trailer companies there started to build longer with a ring gear and hyd motor to turn the whole tandem or tridem assembly ? Works similar to a excavator. Seen something like that used for moving oil rig equipment around real tight corners. You can turn the rear tandem sideways to move the rear end of the trailer over, or steer around corners.
Brentanna:
Have any of the trailer companies there started to build longer with a ring gear and hyd motor to turn the whole tandem or tridem assembly ? Works similar to a excavator. Seen something like that used for moving oil rig equipment around real tight corners. You can turn the rear tandem sideways to move the rear end of the trailer over, or steer around corners.
Some trailer manufacturing companies did that many years ago, 50’s or 60’s, i remember lots on the docks going for export, maybe they are the ones you used! since then technology has much improved the way heavy/long loads are moved.
I hope, with all my heart, that trl lengths stay the same, all it will mean for the average haulier, is customers wanting the new longer trls, and not wanting to pay any more for them, along with the fact that i would then need 20 brand new trailers along with the fact that the trailers that i have got now, would all be worthless, i should imagine, that the trailer manufacturers are praying that it does happen as nobody is buying new trailers at the minute, when we went from forty to fortyfive foot the same thing happened and from two to three axles it was the same…
