1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 
RECOVERY POSITION
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
When your HGV needs to be rescued, no ordinary recovery vehicle will do. Tim
Maughan discovers
what it takes to get a truck off the road.
Aside from the residents' muted morning bustle, Noney View Drive in Billericay. Essex, is a peaceful place. Parked-up family saloons shimmer in the autumn sunshine.., as does a broken-down Daf 75CF refuse truck.
Meanwhile, a Daf XP95 HGV recovery vehicle, driven by Cohn Goodwin, is nearing the stricken CF.The XF95 is operated by Ontime, a vehicle recovery specialist organisation which operates 17 depots throughout the south-east.The noise and presence of the refuse truck have already caused quite a stir and, with our arrival, there's enough commotion to merit plenty of curtain-twitching in nearby houses. "It's the gearbox," the council driver explains. Goodwin dons reflective clothing, opens the hatches on the side of his truck,selects a range of weighty tools and gets to work.
in the clear
Other than major incidents, which require vehicle-correcting devices such as air bags, it's easy to assume that truck recovery simply entails hooking up a CV and hauling it away.
But, as is quickly apparent, that's far from the truth. With the aid of a remote control unit. Goodwin directs a heavy hydraulic boom on his truck and positions it under the stricken vehicle's axle.The boom effortlessly lifts the CF's front and, satisfied that the council truck is secure, Goodwin connects the two vehicles with a suzie."I need to feed air into the council truck so that its brakes are released." he explains. As he does so.a passenger car edges through the narrow gap between the trucks and the kerb.
There are inches to spare, hut the motorist takes a moment to scowl at us."If we don't collect the rubbish, people get angry with us," the truck driver points out. "And when we send the trucks out to do the job, they still get angry!" Undeterred, Goodwin removes the propshaft before attaching trade plates across the back of the vehicle.Then we're away.The Daf XF95 is capable of pulling a fully loaded 44-tonner,so it makes easy work of the CF.
Thanks to his 13 years' experience as a recovery driver,Goodwin is familiar with removing propshafts, positioning the boom accurately and reading the road, which requires total concentration on a quiet residential street,never mind a busy motorway in poor weather. "I work a 12-hour shift and generally expect to have about nine separate jobs during that time," he says.
With the recovery truck now towing the refuse vehicle, the scene resembles a drawbar combination,albeit an unusual one. Goodwin carefully drives the vehicles through the little streets of Billericay. aided by a small camera attached to his dashboard,which transmits live coverage of the boom and disabled truck.
At the council depot. Goodwin expertly reverses the combination into the workshop —a manoeuvre which would defeat a less experienced operator. Before long, we're heading fora packaging factory in Shoeburyness, where a clutch has gone on a Daf 85.At the scene, Goodwin reverses his truck in front of the Oaf. The factory director's red BMW is parked close. and I would err on the side of caution by getting it moved... but with something approaching a sixth sense, Goodwin positions the XF confidently. and leaves the car unscathed.
"The boom will extend 20ft, and when it is fully extended it will lift eight tonnes."
he explains.The XF is surprisingly quiet in 110. operation. too. "There are special safety valves which stop the hydraulics from failing if things go wrong." Goodwin adds as the boom raises the Dat As an added precaution. Goodwin places jacks under the elevated wheels. He gets underneath and after a few minutes' metallic clattering, emerges with the propshaft cradled in his arms. "It has to be removed, even for a short tow," he reveals. "If it's left in place. it can damage a gearbox in only 500 yards." He drops the Daf 85 at a local HGV workshop.
It has been a quiet motning.Throughout. Goodwin has been good humoured and on days like this, he clearly enjoys his work. From time to time, however, he has to deal with the consequences of road traffic accidents such as drivers trapped in their cabs, or pile-ups where fatalities are only to be expected. •