When it comes to road haulage equipment, tail-lifts tend to
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fall into the "fit it and forget it" category. But your choice of lift can have a major impact on productivity and, as Sharon Clancy reports, operators must comply with the latest EU safety regulations.
• SOME OPERATORS HAVE RE-EVALUATED the safety of their taillift operations following the introduction last December of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) which are designed to harmonise safety regulations across the European Union.
Many of LOLER's requirements are already part of the UK's health and safety at work legislation, but the specification of safety items such as side-gates and ramps, non-slip platforms and foot controls appears to be on the increase, as does tail-lift fitment to light vehicles, including drop-siders.
One new LO LER requirement that all operators need to be aware of is the introduction of mandatory maintenance periods. These are six months if the lift also carries people (as most tail-lifts do) or 12 months for goods-only lifts. On the design front, manufacturers are continually cutting weight and designing out the once distinct differences between cantilever and column style tail-lifts. FLAT-PLATFORM CANTILEVERS
• Sloping load platforms are a traditional part of the design of chassis-mounted cantilever lifts, whether the platform stows against the back, or tucks or retracts beneath the tail of the chassis.
Conventional cantilever lifts have wedge-shaped platforms with the pivot heel at the end of robust arms, close to the rear edge of the platform. In many cases the platform sits above the pivot heel, increasing the slope angle.
But cantilever lifts are now available with flat platforms. They not only have platforms of constant thickness; new pivot joint and lifting arm arrangements enable the whole length of the platform to rest flat on the ground.
Ray Smith offers flat platforms on two models. The RS15F is a standard cantilever with an 80mm-thick steel platform available in lengths from 1,2001,800mm plus 350mm lead-on ramps. It retains the cantilever advantage of acting as the rear closure, saving the weight and maintenance costs of doors or roller-shutters.
The Ray Smith Zoom flat-platform lift is designed to extend the appeal of retractable lifts to operations where roll-cages predominate, such as supermarket deliveries. Roll-cages have generally been avoided in this role because of the risk of cages rolling off the platform. Like all Ray Smith lifts, the flat-platformed models have a three-year warranty.
Dhollandia and Ross & Bonnyman have also developed flat-platform retractable lifts for this market. The Dhollandia DH-SK has a 60mm-thick steel/aluminium flat platform with depths from 1500-1700mm; capacities of 1500, 2000, and 2,500kg; and weights from 680-760kg.
WEIGHT SAVING
• Aluminium remains a favourite method of cutting weight in tail-lift designs, but cantilever rift manufacturers are also achieving savings by eliminating some hydraulic rams and by resorting to mechanical rather than powered platform tilting.
Four-ram cantilever designs (two for lifting, two for tilting the platform) have traditionally been preferred by tail-lift manufacturers because they ensure the platform remains stable, especially when lifting heavy loads. But on lighter vehicles they can impose unacceptable weight and cost penalties, so most manufacturers have developed models with one lifting ram and one tilt ram, with torsion-assisted platform closure.
Platform stability on Dhollandia's DH-LC is said to be retained by a combination of solid lift arms with double transverse torsion bars. It has one lift and one tit cylinder with spring-assisted platform opening. Capacities are 500, 750 and 1,000kg; weights range from 210 to just under 300kg for the tuck-away version.
Stability on Bar's new BC1000SX cantilever is achieved with an adjustable torsion bar that is designed to keep the platform balanced, even during one:sided loading. The bar also acts as the rear under-run bar, saving weight. The platform is steel with an aluminium facing panel which looks good and shaves 80kg off the weight of an all-steel platform.
Zepro's 750kg RZ range is an exception to this trend. It retains two lifting and two tilting rams, but with the standard aluminium platform it weighs in at just 180kg. Platforms can be 1,200mm or 1,450mm long.
Anteo's Practical range takes another route by eliminating tilt rams altogether. It has been developed to challenge aluminium column lifts on weight and price while offering larger platforms than are generally available on column lifts. The 1.500kg verticaldescent model weighs 380kg and with a 1,600mm platform costs £3,300. The Bar BC 1000SX has one lifting and one tilt ram, and the torsion beam acts as an under-run bumper.
Vertical-descent platforms are useful on loading-dock operations because they can be lowered out of the way in the upright position.
Standard cantilever platforms block access to the load—even when lowered they are often too wide to fit between loading bay doors. Tuck-aways or retractables weigh and cost more than aluminium column lifts with vertical descent platforms.
Weight is being cut, even on the steel platforms which some operators still prefer. Ratcliff, for example, has saved 50kg on a new steel platform for its 1,000kg Quickfit model.
REAR CLOSURE COLUMN LIFT
Conventional wisdom is that while column lifts are lighter than cantilevers, repair bills are higher because the columns are vulnerable to damage. In any case some of that weight advantage is lost because, unlike a cantilever, column lifts are not suitable as rear closures so a shutter or doors are also needed.
Ratcliff's Rear Closure system is designed to address this problem and maintain that crucial weight advantage. The 500kg model developed for Ryder features an all-aluminium corner frame formed from two interlocking sections; the outer section is easily removable for maintenance access. There is also a steel-frame version at 1,000kg and 1,500kg, based on Ratcliff.s overhead-beam range.
Another novel feature is that the columns do not extend below the floor frame, eliminating another damage-prone area.
Both models incorporate a brush seal around the platform; the top-hinged flap can be opened either manually or automatically Weight of the production version of the 500kg model is expected to be around 210kg, depending on platform size, and extra payload will be available as the lift serves as a rear closure.
LIGHTWEIGHT AND HEAVY-DUTY LIFTS
• Del reports healthy demand for lifts on light vehicles; not just to meet manual handling regulations, but also for speed and efficiency. It has introduced an all-aluminium platform for its DL range as an alternative to its aluminium/steel-frame platform. The 500kg-capacity lift is designed for 3.5-tonners and drop-siders with a saving of 114o despite the extra aluminium.
Ross & Bonnyman also reports burgeoning demand for light lifts. Its latest SB500 model has a platform of welded aluminium planks with a fixed leading edge; it weighs just 175kg. More than iookg has been saved from the Slim Line range by using a new aluminium platform and redesigned galvanised frame.
At the other end of the scale, demand is also strong for heavy-duty lifts, Zepro has developed a 2,5ookg version of its BZ range, available with an aluminium platform up to 2,240mm long. Its load-centre is 75omm rather than the more usual Goomm to give a more generous tolerance for loads placed at the edge of the platform. All steel parts on Zepro lifts are now zinc-phosphate dipped and powder coated.
Ross & Bonnyman has launched a 2,000kg version of its harsh-environment lift. As well as stronger aluminium extrusions, it features a three-way leading edge, travel lock to reduce damage to air seals and a battery isolator switch.
CONTACTS • Anteo: 01494 782795 M Bar: 01376 326820 m Del: 01993 708811 Dhollandia: 01371878008 Ratcliff: 01707 325571 Ray Smith: 01733 563936 II Ross & Bonnyman: 01307 469136 Zepro: 01744 22293