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THE RULE
Tippermen need to take advantage of every opportunity to boost profits. We've checked out four axles against six, but with an added
twist which could make you more flexible.
The equation for running a tight ship in the tipper market is pretty straightforward: a bigger payload equates to fewer trips, which saves money overall on fuel, vehicles and driverslhe maths of using a six-axle artic instead of a four-axle rigid is also unambiguous: an extra 12 tonnes GVVV on six axles will immediately boost your payload by about nine tonnes — more than 40%.
The equation for running a tight ship in the tipper market is pretty straightforward: a bigger payload equates to fewer trips, which saves money overall on fuel, vehicles and driverslhe maths of using a six-axle artic instead of a four-axle rigid is also unambiguous: an extra 12 tonnes GVVV on six axles will immediately boost your payload by about nine tonnes — more than 40%.
The equation for running a tight ship in the tipper market is pretty straightforward: a bigger payload equates to fewer trips, which saves money overall on fuel, vehicles and driverslhe maths of using a six-axle artic instead of a four-axle rigid is also unambiguous: an extra 12 tonnes GVVV on six axles will immediately boost your payload by about nine tonnes — more than 40%.
As always, you won't get ought for nought. The VED rates are pretty similar for 32 and 44 tonnes but extra money is needed for C+E licensed drivers, and for running and maintaining all that extra kit in place of a conventional 8x4 chassis-cab and tipper body.
Journey times and the extra time it will take to load and tip will have an obvious effect on overall running costs, too, but with a bigger payload you'll be loading and tipping less often. In any case, not all operations are the same — simply getting a bigger vehicle with a bigger payload may not make your operation any more competitive, flexible or profitable. But what if you could have a truck as competitive, flexible and profitable as a 44-tonner, while retaining the versatility and economy of an 8x4 tipper? Dennison Trailers believes
it has created a rig that does just that — an artic tipper with a sliding triaxle bogie.
Put simply, Dennison has transferred its proven sliding-bogie concept from the skeletal trailer to the tipper. The Sliding Bogie Tipping Trailer was initially developed as an alternative to the 8x4 tipper after Ireland introduced its consignor liability rules on overloading in 1999. It's surprising what steps companies that load trucks will take when threatened with fines on overloading.
There are two positions for the rear bogie: extended for running and closed for tipping. The difference in length is 1.02m.The 'extended and running' configuration pushes the bogie out past the rear doors and gives an 8.02m wheelbase to the kingpin.
Shortening the rear bogie to 'closed and tipping' reduces the wheelbase to the kingpin to 6.99m.To extend or shorten the bogie you need to be on level ground with the rig in a straight line. By pressing the button controlling the air-over-electric mechanism the truck simply pulls or pushes the body along rollers on the bogie until the right position is reached. The driver then locks the pins. The Dennison body supplied for this test ■
complete in 10 trips the artic could do the job in seven.This equates to a productivity benefit of 18.9% in favour of the six-axle artic with its sliding-bogie trailer. While the physical results proved what we already knew (CM,11 September 2003) there is an added advantage in terms of manoeuvrability.
By shortening the rear bogie the driver can get this rig into places drivers of traditional artic tippers could only dream of. On site is where we found the greatest difference: turning through the kingpin on an artic with a shortened wheelbase gave us significantly better control, too.
And when we loaded, the rigid needed to make a three-point-turn out of the area, while the artic was able to simply U-turn back on itself before leaving the site.
The overall length of the tractor/trailer combination in the closed position is 12.51m; 3.51m longer than the 8x4 tipper.The overall wheelbase of the tractor/trailer is still longer but its ability to bend around the kingpin makes it more versatile than the rigid.
On the road the 8x4 tipper certainly has the advantage in terms of stability and road holding and it was a little quicker too, with a 380hp engine hauling 32 tonnes (11.9hp/tonne). The artic, at 44 tonnes, had a 420hp engine giving it a 9.54hp/tonne power-to-weight ratio.
When we delivered our cargo, the yard was packed with trucks and forklifts delivering and loading. The rigid tipper needed more room to get into the bay than the artic and took a little longer to get into position. However, with a smaller load it was, as you'd expect, discharged more quickly.
The artic backed in quickly but had to move forward to cater for the gravel when it hit the ground. The most important difference between the two is the weight we were able to carry — a payload of 28.5 tonnes compared with 19.7 tonnes and without compromising on manoeuvrability.
The venue and drop site
Lafarge Aggregates has an annual turnover of more than £300m and provides raw materials such as asphalt, rock, sand and gravel to the construction industry. Based in Leicestershire it has more than 200 sites and quarries across the UK including 20 rock quarries, 50 sand and gravel pits, 20 recycling centres,100 readymixed concrete plants and 25 asphalt plants. We picked up two trucks-worth of scalpings from the Lafarge Aggregates' Dry Rigg Quarry.The site is south of the Ingjeborough Hill peak off the B6479 north of Settle and produces asphalt and crushed rock. We tipped at builders' merchants C&C Supplies Collinson in Garstang, Lancashire. im CM'S thanks to Lafarge Aggregatesfor use of the site and to quarry manager Mick Lambert