Bodies to tempt hauliers
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Toby Clark and Charles Young have taken another look at the recent CV
& Bodywork Show at the NEC, Birmingham, including three examples from the reefer area of the show— 'Cool 97'.
• GRP Leeds launched its ATP class C refrigerated conversion of a Mercedes Sprinter van which retains the original factory-fitted side loading door. Previously, to attain a classC certificate the original door had to be replaced. The refrigerating capacity is tested to -25°C although in practice it can go down to -30°C. The conversion is available to suit most makes of panel van.
• TCT-Chereau now offers the Eurogam 247 (winner of CM's award for Temperature-Controlled Trailer of the Year) with either a standard or hightensile steel chassis—supplied by Don-Bur—which saves around 200kg at an extra cost of about £300. Rokolcl's example, fitted with ROR aluminium hubs and alloy wheels, has a dry weight of 7,880kg. • Klege Europ has designed a Berlingo fridge conversion to be sold through Citroen dealers. The control panel is fitted to the roof of the spacious cab. The weight of the fridge bodywork and components is 75kg for the C class (rated to -25°C), and 65kg for the A class. The Thermo King unit runs off the battery at 710W at 0°C.
To:114 Abel was showing this 105m3 drawboF outfit on a low-height Volvo FH chassis. It's run by Hull Distribution & Forwarding for Bericap, which makes nine-million bottle caps a week. Deck height is lm, with a 2.8m-high side aperture within an overall height of 4.0m for ferry operations. The running gap between prime mover and trailer is 800mm, reducing to 200mm for through-loading.
• Dhollandia used the show for the UK launch of its cantilever lift which incorporates a neat under-run bar in three sections. The lights remain visible when the lift is in operation. Further changes required by recent CE regulations include a three-button control switch. Also new is a toggle switch with a simple "up for up, down for down" operation. • RVL was showing the H-0 Nilsson Energy Curtain—now offered as an option on reefers. The curtain closes automatically according to a preset time delay and seals via three magnets. The curtains can fit apertures of 2.29m to 2.53m wide and up to 3.3m high. RVL will retro-fit the Energy Curtain for about £900. • Left: Don-Bur's low-main tenance Palletmaster Compact body, one of 13 for Whitbread, is made of bolted aluminium and galvanised steel construction. The load-bearing curtains are fitted with the company's new snap-action rave clips. Don-Bur also showed its LiftMaster lifting module, designed to give any existing curtainsider or box a second deck. Each hydraulic lift module can be up to 6.0m long with a 4,000kg capacity. The deck is 150mm deep, and up to three modules can be fitted to provide a trailer with a full-length deck.
• Another lightweight curtainsider, this time from Overlander. The Voyager 6000's chassis is made entirely of high-yield steel—only the air-tanks, sideguards and underrun bar are aluminium—but this 4m-high example weighs in at just 5,986kg on steel wheels. • This Montracon Euroliner trailer was built for Aylesford Newsprint, with an extra kingpin at the rear for the Trancel Loadmate mechanised loading system, which shifts up to 22 tonnes of newsprint in a single movement. The trailer is also used for general haulage: it has alloy floor infills and a sliding roof. The slim rear pillars allow a 2.49m rear aperture width.
• While other firms concentrated on niche markets, JCP's "Bowline" production system lets it make bread-and-butter bodies profitably. JCP's curtainsider has anodised, galvanised, powder-coated and resin-coated components that need no painting and are easy to repair: the firm reckons it will make around 1,400 bodies this year.