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DAMAGE 1.11111 TATION

12th February 2004
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Page 48, 12th February 2004 — DAMAGE 1.11111 TATION
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Now the seasonal rush for deliveries is over, trailer repairers' parking lots resemble a physio's waiting room. Broken legs, whack-backs, shunts... But what's it going to cost? CM searches for the answer.

Throughout any year, there is never a steady flow of trailer repair and refurbishment work: it's either feast or famine, which is frustrating for both operators and repairers. In the long lead-up to Christmas.many fleets bring in extra trailers and drivers.As the weather deteriorates, the repair backlog grows as the pressure to get goods delivered takes precedence.The key task is to get a damaged trailer back on the road, and the aesthetics can wait.

Now, with these demands out of the way, there is enough trailer repair, refiirb and rebuilding work outstanding to run well into March and beyond.And judging by the amount of investment in the aftermarket, these repair programmes are probably more lucrative than new-builds.

However.there's no question as to the most expensive form of trailer abuse in the land: it's bridge-bashing. During the 2002-03 financial year, no fewer than 2.061 bridges were struck by HGVs.That cost Railtrack, and ultimately all of us taxpayers, around /22m in payouts to rail operators for delays, which doesn't include the cost of bridge repairs.

Bearing in mind that the average whackback costs a cool £5,000, the total cost to the nation's road hauliers and insurers is well over fl 0m, simply to rebuild damaged vehicles and trailers. In a damage-limitation exercise, Network Rail is shortly going to issue pamphlets for drivers and fleet managers on how to avoid such problems in the first place.

While bridge-bashing gets the most publicity, more trailer damage results from road accidents, including the inevitable rear-end shunts particularly from December onwards, as schedules tighten.routes and drivers change and the weather closes in. High winds and icy conditions are an obvious recipe for rollovers and side-swipes.

Unaccompanied trailers taken on and off ferries can also incur pretty horrendous damage if they are crammed onto crowded decks by clock-watching dock spotters, who 'shunt' and nudge them into place, breaking lights and scraping side raves, curtains, straps and buckles in the process. Drivers can get careless, too, and forget to retract landing legs which are subsequently either bent or broken off Indeed, one large Scottish ferry operator recently replaced 15 leg sets in a single month.

Vulnerability

Normal RDC and high-street deliveries bring their own brand of damage too, especially when manoeuvring in confined areas. Reefer builder Gray & Adams' Fraserborough factory is kept busy with aftermarket work, as are its three other plants and Andover and Ashford agencies.According to sales director Peter Gray, much of the work arises out of reversing into walls, gate posts and even loading bays.

"As many vehicles are loading anything up to eight times a day, the back-end is always going to be vulnerable," reckons Gray."That's why we designed in our rear compression member." Instead of the usual buffer pads, the G&A assembly has four rubber cushions designed to absorb impact energy and protect the body and chassis in an unplanned bump.

Reefer body sides are often punctured. Gray recommends sealing the damaged area immediately, using patches of GRP skin held in place with double-sided adhesive tape. The split can be repaired properly later on its next inspection or major service. Most reefer owners, especially supermarkets, keep such materials handy to apply them straight away. They also record the event.

Trailer specialist Tnicktec South (formerly Al Schmitz Cargobufl) is approved by all the main manufacturers, and receives an average of two 'bridging jobs' a month. Last December,it had fivelhe task in hand isn't pretty, especially if a laid-back trailer has been pulled straight through. It can cost anywhere from £3,000 to £10,000 to put right.

However, loading-bay damage remains the most common reason for a visit,and a momentary break in a driver's concentration can prove costly. Damaged trailers are initially assessed at its Malden workshop or on site, and if the price is acceptable to the customer and insurer,a repair is scheduled.

"If there's been heavy rear-end impact, the frame may be pushed back.The sides and inner stiffeners are often damaged too,"says sales manager Adam Mills."Add a new door assembly at around £1,600, and the final bill for a second's careless reversing could be anywhere from £4,000 to £5,000."

Mills feels that owner-drivers are generally more conscientious; much of the damage originates from large fleets, especially those rental companies approaching the end of long contracts. He recently assessed a batch of 20 returned reefers and on average. Mills reckons it will take £4.000 apiece to bring them up to a reasonable standard. "And that's serious lolly," he observes.

Overhanging greenery Branches can be a serious problem for drivers in a hurry. If the foliage clouts the fridge unit, access doors or the outer panels, you could end up with a heavy outlay. Doors alone cost £300 each.then there's the panel beater and painter's time. Should the product be affected, there could be an insurance claim as well. Rear door panels, hinges and seals are bumped regularly, but the longer they're left, the tattier they become, until in the end you have to replace entire doors.The moral of the story is to tackle trailer damage immediately.

Fork-truck strikes

Careless fork-lifters regularly inflict body damage, especially when loading bays and trailer floors are not level. Fork-truck wheels, pallets, crates and stillages all play havoc with floors.sides and door frames, despite the normally durable materials.And as the forktnick operator tries to squeeze in that last stillage. they often ding cant rails,curtain tracking and pelmets.

Speccing for survival

In the past, the average curtainsider trailers have had widely spaced (600nun-plus) cross bearers at the rear. and floors were forever being replaced. However. Boalloy and its subsidiary M&G learned long ago that if a trailer is to survive fleet duty, rear cross bearers need pitching at 300mm right up to the axles; sidewalls need reinforcing; and a metre or so of steel chequer plate is a must over the inner manoeuvring area if excessive damage is to he avoided.

Lawrence David's popular pillarless curtainsider has a similar robust spec for fleet customers. It's also worth considering the cost of repairing a trailer's side valances against any fuel saving they may provide. Big fleet operators such as James Irlam have recently specced their Boalloy curtainsiders with unadorned side-guards simply to reduce the risk of damage.

Driver beware

Of course, the one person with the greatest influence on trailer damage is the driver. Trying to drop the trailers without having wound the legs down, or driving away when the fifth wheel hasn't fully locked on to the king pin are frequent errors. If you're lucky, only the wheels or feet will get broken. But if the trailer is fully laden, legs usually collapse, and the neck end will need repairing.

Refurbishing work represents around 25% of Boalloy's entire workload. Many fleets want their live-year-old trailers tidied, shot-blasted and repainted, and given a new set of curtains. Surprisingly, there are still a good few operators putting in old 12.2m trailers for stretching and uprating to 44 tonnes.Their roofs can be lifted from4m to 4.6m for new, UK-only contracts, or vice versa for Continental use.

-There's still a lot of over-capacity for newbuilds, and we're all continually cutting costs to compete for the same contracts," says Boalloy managing director Gerry Brown."But if anything, there's an under-capacity where repairs are concerned, and not that many firms do it seriously:" It's good business for Boalloy and. having brought it in-house to Congleton. Brown adds:" We're very well equipped to handle it" When it comes to speedy repairs, Lawrence David's (LD) bolted structures were designed with precisely that in mind. LD Subsidiary ABR handles its aftermarket work, which is mainly on dry freight and curtainsiders. With 14 full-size bays., £500,000-worth of paint and shot-blasting shops and 72 tradesmen, it alters superstructures, turns tilts into megas, and stretches, raises and even shortens chassis.The work is lucrative, turning over around £7m a year, with bolted frames the vital key. Sales director Chris Curzon explains:"They're sturdy, make repair and rebuild work easier and tend to reduce repair times."

And just in case anyone thinks the business is marginal,trailer maker and bodybuilder Don-Bur carries out up to 80 full refurbs per month. plus 150 full re-liveries, as well as normal vehicle repairs. Out of last year's £29m group turnover,more than 8% came from renovation, conversion and general service work.The percentage is growing,so the return on its investment in recent new facilities should be lucrative.

Doubling up

Big trailers have big footprints, which is why Clayton Commercials intends to double the size of its Burscough repair. tank wash and parking facility by this summer. As well as the regular tank repairs, 44-tonne conversions and refurbishing work amounts to around 25% of its gross turnover. "It could reach a third by the year-end," reports general manager and director Peter Norris.

Typically, tankers cost around £40,000£45,000 and, with a 25 year-plus road life. they're an expensive initial investment."A standard refurb costs £10.00D-£18,000 to stretch and upgrade to 44 tonnes, including the addition of a new road-friendly bogie, so shrewd hauliers are naturally interested." says Norris."It's a worthwhile investment with a decent capital saving."

Recently, two badly damaged bitumen tankers arrived from Southampton and Dublin. By being completely rebuilt the owners made huge savings against buying new replacements. Being valuable earners, any tanker downtime is potentially costly. so owners like damage to be rectified straight away. Clayton's 24/7 accident repair service is staffed by six mobile engineers. So if a hazardous product tanker is involved in a rear-end shunt. one will attend to examine its discharge system and check tank integrity. If anything in the 'wetted' areas is remotely suspect, it's repaired immediately. Otherwise, providing it's legal to run, any casual damage to sideguards,bumpers or fittings can be deferred to its next periodic service. •


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