Vehicle Weights

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Looking at Riged 6x2 tippers.

Just a question that I can’t get my head…

6x2 mid lift axle plated at 23500 (Roughly, for example)

then you get get a 6x2 tag axle, which in some case are plated 25000 up to 26000?

Why are the plated weights different for the same amount of axle, only different way around, and which would be best?

Thanks…

2

if you are thinking of having a tag make sure you have twin wheels otherwise it might get unstable at full tip

do you do much off road work? having an un-driven rear axle may give you traction issues.

it’s a shame we can’t get the rear-lift driven axle i saw in one of the truck mags a few months ago. i think the company uses merc cabs but i can’t remember who they are called.

3

Some stuff is off road, and if it was a tag axle the wb from front centre tyre to drive axle would be about 3.00m as this is replacing a 10t vehicle, so needs to be short I can lift axle for better traction on slippery ground? also good point about the unsteady tip!

4

Freddie2112:
Some stuff is off road, and if it was a tag axle the wb from front centre tyre to drive axle would be about 3.00m as this is replacing a 10t vehicle, so needs to be short I can lift axle for better traction on slippery ground? also good point about the unsteady tip![/quote
The weight that a truck is plated for depends on the distance between the axle’s(as well as axle weights and tyre size),so if it’s s really short rigid,it might not plate up to 26 tonnes. The midlift in your op may have been downplated to save roadtax,our 6x4 scannies are plated at 23 tonnes to save a couple of hundred quid a year on the road tax. These trucks have a theoretical plate of 29 tonnes(26 legally in uk),so layout is not an indicator of plated weight.
For a very short wheelbase i would agree with the other poster and say a twin tyred tag was your best bet,as off road you can raise the tag to put some more weight on the drive axle to help with traction.

5

Skippy70:

Freddie2112:
Some stuff is off road, and if it was a tag axle the wb from front centre tyre to drive axle would be about 3.00m as this is replacing a 10t vehicle, so needs to be short I can lift axle for better traction on slippery ground? also good point about the unsteady tip!
[/quote
The weight that a truck is plated for depends on the distance between the axle’s(as well as axle weights and tyre size),so if it’s s really short rigid,it might not plate up to 26 tonnes. The midlift in your op may have been downplated to save roadtax,our 6x4 scannies are plated at 23 tonnes to save a couple of hundred quid a year on the road tax. These trucks have a theoretical plate of 29 tonnes(26 legally in uk),so layout is not an indicator of plated weight.
For a very short wheelbase i would agree with the other poster and say a twin tyred tag was your best bet,as off road you can raise the tag to put some more weight on the drive axle to help with traction.

Well a plated weight of 23000kg would give aprox 15t payload, which a body of that length, i doubt you would fit much more in there, unless it was a really heavy material. Whats the benefit of a twin tyre tag over a single tag?

6

A twin tyre tag,on a tipper is more stable than a single when tipping(especially on uneven ground) because when tipping all the weight is right at the back of the chassis-and the more wheels to spread theload the better.

7

yeah, what he said.

8

mucker85:
if you are thinking of having a tag make sure you have twin wheels otherwise it might get unstable at full tip

do you do much off road work? having an un-driven rear axle may give you traction issues.

it’s a shame we can’t get the rear-lift driven axle i saw in one of the truck mags a few months ago. i think the company uses merc cabs but i can’t remember who they are called.

Hills of Swindon?

9

15t payload at 23t gross? The tipping body must be flimsy? Ok mine’s a 6x4 with a steel body but I can only just carry 15.6t.

10

Muckaway:
15t payload at 23t gross? The tipping body must be flimsy? Ok mine’s a 6x4 with a steel body but I can only just carry 15.6t.

No its a sturdy tipping chassis with aluminum body. We currently have 2 four wheeled vehicles, a 12t mgw with a payload of 7.5t and a 18t mgw with a payload of 12t. Empty vehicle weight with airlift axle would be between 7 and 8 tonnes ( closer to 8 than 7 me thinks)

11

Freddie2112:
Looking at Riged 6x2 tippers.

Just a question that I can’t get my head…

6x2 mid lift axle plated at 23500 (Roughly, for example)

then you get get a 6x2 tag axle, which in some case are plated 25000 up to 26000?

Why are the plated weights different for the same amount of axle, only different way around, and which would be best?

Thanks…

It maybe because the midlift is single wheel and the tag is twin(if it is on twins).

12

Freddie2112:

Muckaway:
15t payload at 23t gross? The tipping body must be flimsy? Ok mine’s a 6x4 with a steel body but I can only just carry 15.6t.

No its a sturdy tipping chassis with aluminum body. We currently have 2 four wheeled vehicles, a 12t mgw with a payload of 7.5t and a 18t mgw with a payload of 12t. Empty vehicle weight with airlift axle would be between 7 and 8 tonnes ( closer to 8 than 7 me thinks)

What motors do you run? Our 2 18tonners are Volvo FEs with ribbed alloy bodies and floor liners that will only carry 11t. Got a 12t mgw Daf dropside tipper that carries just under 7.5 aswell but our 6wheelers are a little obese and new Dafs can only carry 15.2.
Our lot wont entertain mid lift or tag axle rigids.

13

For tipper work then surely a double drive is pretty much a must? I don’t think there’s any 6x2 or 8x2s left in any of the quarries round here these days, just not worth having.

14

dew:
For tipper work then surely a double drive is pretty much a must? I don’t think there’s any 6x2 or 8x2s left in any of the quarries round here these days, just not worth having.

I’ve heard a lot of quarries don’t know how to use them; Can they go where 6wheelers ie normal length 6x4s at 26t are banned due to length? If so will they be too long for 4w only jobs? Most of the few I’ve seen carry tarmac, I suppose where a certain amount say 6m3 wont go on a 4w but would be “part load” for 6x4s?

15

Back when we were surfacing the M40 from the M42 to Shrewley there was a Volvo with a ‘dead’ mid axle which was pretty hopeless on rough ground. He was delivering tarmac but you needed to negotiate a lot of virgin ground to access the site and it often got stuck. He didn’t keep it long, carried about 14 tonnes I think, but until a couple of years ago there were a couple locally on the TARMAC contract and they seemed ok with them.

Pete.

16

Muckaway:

mucker85:
if you are thinking of having a tag make sure you have twin wheels otherwise it might get unstable at full tip

do you do much off road work? having an un-driven rear axle may give you traction issues.

it’s a shame we can’t get the rear-lift driven axle i saw in one of the truck mags a few months ago. i think the company uses merc cabs but i can’t remember who they are called.

Hills of Swindon?

Not what I mean.

There was an article in either ‘trucking’ or ‘truck and driver’ a few months ago about one of the commercial vehicle shows.
At this show was a stand from a truck manufacturer (i can’t remember if it was Swedish, Norwegian, German or Russian, somewhere snowy most of the time) who had developed a driven rear axle that you can raise when running light, when in the raised position the drive disengages. I think the article also said the company had signed a deal with Merc to supply cabs and they would trade other components BUT the company is NOT owned by Merc. I’m having a look through my old mag’s to try and find it.

17

Muckaway:

Freddie2112:

Muckaway:
15t payload at 23t gross? The tipping body must be flimsy? Ok mine’s a 6x4 with a steel body but I can only just carry 15.6t.

No its a sturdy tipping chassis with aluminum body. We currently have 2 four wheeled vehicles, a 12t mgw with a payload of 7.5t and a 18t mgw with a payload of 12t. Empty vehicle weight with airlift axle would be between 7 and 8 tonnes ( closer to 8 than 7 me thinks)

What motors do you run? Our 2 18tonners are Volvo FEs with ribbed alloy bodies and floor liners that will only carry 11t. Got a 12t mgw Daf dropside tipper that carries just under 7.5 aswell but our 6wheelers are a little obese and new Dafs can only carry 15.2.
Our lot wont entertain mid lift or tag axle rigids.

We got a Volvo FL 18t which is almost the same as the FE but even smaller/lighter cab! and our 12t is a DAF LF too Carrying dead on 7.5t

Just looking to have a 6x2 which is the same length as a 4wheeler but to carry more weight when needed. most of my jobs are small building sites and customers houses.

The company does not run any 6 wheelers just 8’s and 4s so a 6x2 seems like we could cover 6 legged work aswell as 4 with the same lorry when needed…

18

Afraid I’ve not had much dealings with 6 Wheelers for a while now (Last was a Leyland Constructor :open_mouth: ) but I’m pretty sure we were getting 16 tonnes on them back then (Insulated Tarmac bodies), suppose with modern “safety gear” they’ll be a bit heavier now. Tippers are always going to be a little heavy due to construction, Our 8 Legged DAF tips the scales at around 11 tonnes unloaded but it comes with the territory and a decent body.

19

I’d say 11t is a godsend; Our new Mans have 18m3 steelite bodies and can only carry 18.8t.

20

That in 8 wheeler? Does sound a bit lardy. We used to get 21.6T in an 8x4 Volvo FL10, DAF came in slightly heavier (about 20.9 IIRC)