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Drawbar outfits: mind the gap

28th August 1997, Page 12
28th August 1997
Page 12
Page 12, 28th August 1997 — Drawbar outfits: mind the gap
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

New overall length regulations for drawbar outfits could mean operators reworking body dimensions downwards although the overall length of the rigs will increase from 18.35 to 18.75m.

And extendable drawbar couplings could be history.

by Steve Banner • The death knell for automatically extendable drawbar couplings has been sounded by new length regulations, due next month.

Measurements These increase overall drawbar length from I8.35m to 18.75m, but the length of the two bodies when added together remains at 15.65m. The distance from the foremost point of the loading area behind the cab to the back of the trailer, including the gap between the trailer and the truck, must not be more than 16.4m. This compares with a previous limit of 16m at an overall 18.35m, and means that if the haulier runs maximumlength bodies, the maximum permitted gap will be 750mm.

The regulations will make automatically extendable drawbars much less appealing.

The rules apply to new drawbar combinations—they are referred to as roadtrains—registered on or after 17 September.

They are enforced under EC Directive 96/53 which is being incorporated in the Construction & Use Regulations. The measurements must be taken parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roadtrain.

Drawbar operators carrying lightweight bulky goods will be disappointed by the change, says Nick Smith, homologat ion and legislation manager at Leyland Daf, "As the rules stand today you can get two 8.1-metre bodies on an 18-metre drawbar with a daycab, but you won't be able to do that on an 18.75m combination, any more than you can on an 18.35m one," he says.

"One or two customers have expressed annoyance, but most have taken the view that if they have to comply, they'll just have to get used to it."

Furthermore, 18-metre drawbars first registered after 17 September will also have to comply with the 15.65m/ 16.4m ruling.

Those currently in service can remain in operation, but must be withdrawn by 2006 if they breach regulations.

Abel Demountable Systems sales director Malcolm Brown says it is difficult to achieve a 750mm gap with tall maximum length bodies because of the danger of them clashing on a steep incline.

"We allow a 6° angle of inclination, but a 750mm gap can reduce this to 4° and that is too tight," he says. "To get a sufficiently wide gap you would probably have to reduce the length of each body by 50mm."

He foresees particular problems for operators running with tall 7.82m standard length boxes. "With a 2.35m sleeper cab, the 750mm gap is unlikely to be sufficient, and they could find themselves having to run illegally," he warns.

Solutions

If problems are likely to occur going up and down ferry ramps, the answer may be to fit a powered coupling which can be lengthened before embarking or disembarking. The driver will have to ensure the coupling is retracted to its original setting before leaving the docks.

Most operators favour centre axle combinations because of difficulties when manoeuvring the turntable-type, wheel-ateach-corner drawbar trailer, The latter are preferable if you regularly carry loads which are not uniform, says Brown, but if anything they offer less scope for achieving a legally acceptable gap than a centre axle road train, He believes it would have been better to set the maximum overall length at 19,25m, allowing for a 2.35m cab, two 8m boxes capable of accommodating 32 pallets in total, and enough of a gap (900mm) to prevent fouling problems. "As things stand, it looks as though there's going to be a lot of confusion," he observes. "It really isn't good enough."

Ray Smith's Mick Allen warns that to achieve a 750mm gap, the drawbar hitch will have to be placed a long way beneath the chassis.

"If you're running at maximum weight and you've fitted a tail lift too, then you've got to specify a long wheelbase to get the axle loadings correct," he observes. "And that's going to give you problems with your hitch position."

Side-effects

Leyland Oaf's Nick Smith points out that apart from being expensive, the demise of automatically extendable couplings will bring weight and maintenance savings. They can cause vertical clearance problems on low-height trailers because at a typical 250mm they are deeper than the usual 150mm deep fixed couplings.

Mick Allen is annoyed that the Government has left inclusion of the Directive in Construction & Use to the last possible moment.

"It's dragged its feet because of pressure from the environment lobby," he contends. "But that's the politics of road haulage for you."


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