I’ve never had any direct involvement with wag & drags although potentially in my area of work I feel that it could be a very useful niche worth exploiting at some future point.
I’ve always thought of a drag as being a bit of extra load space or capacity, secondary to the prime mover but I’ve started to wonder if that thinking could be reversed.
Let me explain,
I’m using a 6 wheel rigid currently GVW 25,700Kg with a payload of 14,300Kg that’s a handy figure but unfortunately not quite enough to move a 14t excavator legally as the actual weight varies and will probably be more like 15,500Kg plus you need buckets making it weigh potentially approx 17t.
If I had a triaxle drag would I be able to load the machine on the trailer and the buckets on the rigid, would this be legal assuming all axle weights were OK and would it be safe with the trailer heavy.
IIRC the design weight on my wagon is 41,000Kg (stretch unit conversion) and I’m guessing a triaxle drag trailer would be about 5t so my unladen weight would be about 16,500Kg with a potential payload of 24,500Kg
I saw something along these lines today and it seemed unusual but did make me give this thought some more consideration.
And finally…has anyone ever done a post on coupling and uncoupling like the artic ones.
The ridged always has to weigh more than the drag, loaded or not. At least that’s what I’ve always been told.
Coupling up is a pain in the arse if your on your own but before you pull away always make sure the safty pin has returned fully, if not connect your red line as the slight movement of the trailer breaks coming off my rock the pin fully into place. Either way, it’s a pain in the arse.
Coupling up is a doddle .When you unhitch just make sure you leave the A bar in a straight line then when you want to couple up make sure the body of the truck is in line with the body of the trailer & it will click in . For reversing ,the ideal length of the A bar should be 2mtrs ;the shorter the A bar the more difficult to maneuver in reverse ,except for the caravan type combo’s . I think you should give Richard Long a call ( If he’s still going ) he has state of the art low loader wagon & drag equipment .
berewic: if you thought a little about what you stated you’d realize that it can not be true (you could not pull a fully laden 3axle trailer (24t) by a fully laden 2axle truck (16t)).
I have to say that I am not 100% sure about UK rules as there always seem to be a special arrangement, but as of standard European wag&drag combos:
instantaneous trailer weight can not exceed 1.5x instantaneous weight of towing vehicle.
So, as you said, your truck has ~11.5t kerb weight, with buckets or whatever 14.5t i.e. you can tow 22t trailer. A 3axle lowloader will be around 6t, so you can move ~16t load with it.
You can put some ballast onto your truck to make weigh more and pull heavier trailer/load - as long as you fit into GVWs of both the truck and the trialer, GCW, truck’s max trailer weight, axle loads etc.
Distance between last axle of the truck and the first axle of the trailer must be at least 3m - this is usually OK as standard A bar alone is 2.25m or so.
In Europe it’s relatively common to see a 3axle tipper with some building supplies or ballast blocks towing 3axle trailer with an excavator or roller or something. (mind you, in some countries this combo can gross at 50t provided some extra conditions are met)
Wheel Nut:
As mentioned Richard Long already runs a clever drawbar rig with a proper truck at the front. or you can go ex army equipment with a King like this.
Interesting towing eye on that trailer - is that normal for the UK?
The ones here are are sleeved with something like a bearing shell pressed into the actual eye. The maximum play allowed is 2mm. I’ll try and remember to photograph mine tonight.
Wheel Nut:
As mentioned Richard Long already runs a clever drawbar rig with a proper truck at the front. or you can go ex army equipment with a King like this.
Interesting towing eye on that trailer - is that normal for the UK?
The ones here are are sleeved with something like a bearing shell pressed into the actual eye. The maximum play allowed is 2mm. I’ll try and remember to photograph mine tonight.
Wheel Nut mentioned that it was an ex army trailer, Zetorpilot, so was probably not subject to the same rules as everyone else
Our towing eyes in Germany are also as you describe, with a bearing shell lining in the eye.
This is just my natural curiosity coupled with storing information for possible future use.
In the current setup, it is one way we could make a more flexible outfit without having to replace the wagon with an 8 wheeler. I’ve also this idea about one day setting up myself on plant movement and figure an 8 wheeler with crane would be a potential earner, obviously the crane could rob quite a bit of payload so it’d be a way of getting it back again.
I’d think a centre balance trailer would be better for my sort of work, this sort of setup would be OK
Andover do a setup where you can load straight through on to the rigid without uncoupling.
Just realised in finding this picture, I have answered my own question in a way as the combine is obviously going to be a fair weight making the trailer I suspect weigh more than the rigid. Nice motor too.
That’s why I’d prefer that option, I can just about manage our lowloader but I think an A frame would be horrendous for some of the places I have to go.
that trailer is the one to get yer hands on
actually sod the trailer, I’d settle for that wagon.
8wheels:
Ah Ok Denis that makes some sense, very similar to a fifth wheel jobby then except for the pin. I just thought I’d ask as one day it may crop up.
I’ve been meaning to post those pics for ages, your question reminded me
just to add, don’t forget there could be two sets of legs - one set at the front and an extra set at the back to stop the trailer tipping up while unhitching loaded
A small point to add to Denis F’s post: with an A-frame supported by a spring, it is worth thinking about how the wagon is loaded when re-coupling. With a bit of experimentation it is usually possible to find a ‘sweet spot’ height for the drawbar where it will almost always go back together without adjustment.
Someone I know sliced the airlines once reversing over the top of the A-frame
Edited to add: @ 8wheels: your basic idea is something that I’ve seen here a lot - I hope you can find a way of getting it to work within UK weight limits.
Also to comment about the relative weights of the wagon and drag, it is usual for the trailer to weigh more than the prime mover. A typical general haulage outfit would be a 26t rigid pulling a 38t trailer, with the whole rig however limited to 60t.
