Tipping message
Page 35
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As a tipper operator I would like to give a message to all tipping gear manufacturers. If I saw one of my drivers attempting to tip one my eight-wheelers at
an angle of two degrees, let alone eight degrees, he would get the biggest kick up the backside and be down the road so quick his feet would not touch the ground.
I operate eight-wheelers with all the well known makes of tipping gear, up front and underfloor, and I have listened to all the manufacturers' claims that their gear is the best.
Let's start with the
Iunderfloor gear. How many manufacturers will admit that when a sticky load of muck is stuck halfway up the body the gear cannot cope? It is then up to the driver to show his bottle by shunting the vehicle back trying to shift the load.
What do the makers say ? The reason why Drum Engineering demonslraled a tilt the body will not tip of up to 9.9° with Cobra underfloor fully (with a sticky load) tipping gear (CM 27April-3 May). is because the material
is not moving at normal response angles.
Now front end gear: how many makers will admit that they have got their fitting angles wrong ? I won't go into so-called weight-saving and axle-loading nonsense that looks good on a computer but does not work in reality
Manufacturers, please concentrate on making the front end gear even better, make them thicker, add taps to hydraulic pipes, make the fitting more accessible or better still keep all tanks to the side (Hyva have got it right).
Why not go back to an underfloor stabiliser with built-in props? This adds weight but I'm sure if the Health and Safety Executive got involved something could be worked out involving the extra weight AM Spain, AGS Haulage, Sheerness, Kent,
Euro regs
If Neil Kinnock can do what he says he will do (CM 27 April-3 May) and make sure that European regulations are enforced even-handedly in all the countries, then he will be doing us all a great favour.
At least he seems to have grasped the point that it is not the regulations themselves that many of us object to but inconsistent (or non-existent) enforcement.
Having said that, I suppose it remains to be seen if he is as good as his word. Time will tell.
J Houlihan, Petersjield, Hants.