Lift is fast on the flat
Page 13
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• A lifting fifth wheel is saving BOC Transhield more than an hour per delivery at Marks & Spencer's Durham branch.
As the store is on a steep hill it was impossible to unload the pallets with a hand-operated truck against the slope.
The Firbank fifth wheel raises the front of the refrigerated trailer by a metre making the floor level; unloading now takes 35 minutes.
Air suspension keeps the axle loads equal while the trailer is elevated. Previously the load was trans-shipped 450m away into a 7.5-tonner which shuttled down a narrow lane to the back of the store where the access is level. This system was difficult to manage with chilled and frozen food, took lhr 45min, and involved extra vehicles and staff.
The elevating fifth wheel is about 50mm higher than a standard coupling and adds under 500kg including the PT-0 and hydraulics. Manufactured for Firbank by Boughtons International, the fifth wheel can lift up to 40 tonnes and can be retrofitted to any tractive unit.