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Tipping at the right angle

14th September 1995
Page 56
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Page 56, 14th September 1995 — Tipping at the right angle
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Bodiam, East Sussex haulier John Burgess has a tipping drawbar rig based on a Volvo F57. It has one extraordinary feature—it unloads on a dog-leg!

There's an attractive-looking Volvo FS7 tipping drawbar currently plying the leafy lanes of Fast Sussex. The versatile 32-tonne gross outfit is the latest addition to the 17-strong fleet of Bodiam haulier John Burgess and calls for extraordinary unloading procedures.

It's based on a 4.3m wheelbase 260hp Volvo FS718 chassis with 6.7-litre D713 Euro-2 engine and eight-speed R1000 gearbox. Using a standard Rockinger pin and eye hitch, it pulls a centre-axled Truckmate trailer.

Whereas the prime mover uses twin 315/80R 22.5 tyres on its drive axle, the trailer's air-sprung tandem Hendrickson axles have 385/65 22.5 wide singles. Yet despite a somewhat oblique outline it's certainly an eyecatching, highly functional rig. The trailer looks beautifully balanced too.

Compared with the VED rates of eight-leggers, the £1,650 Burgess pays is certainly attractive considering the 21.5 tonne payload that his new drawbar carries. But he's not the first to realise this saving nor to have such an unusual outfit.

Redlands Distribution runs 21 drawbars with non-tipping Truckmate trailers while Bridgewater block and brick supplier Kenny & Murphy has an ERF-drawn rig with Atlas 3006D crane that is also a side tipper.

Another using a standard tipping outfit is North Devon contractor TJ Corner which carries agricultural lime. All seem delighted with their acquisitions.

Burgess's drawbar has a pair of sleek aluminium 5.0m tipping bodies from Wisbech bodybuilder PPG. Both are double drop-sided but use two different types of tip gear.

How the rig evolved is best left to the operator to explain. It began earlier in the year as a standard FL6 replacement for an elderly Volvo I 7-tonne rigid. However, it was upgracl

ed to the FS7 after Burgess's son Dean suggested adding a drop-side trailer with which to deliver bagged building materials (Burgess also runs its own bagging plant).

The unit and trailer were supplied by local Volvo dealer MC Truck and Bus of Maidstone to PPG for bodying and while the build was in midstream, John Burgess (right) decided on an important change. His gut feeling was that if both truck and trailer were able to tip, there would be even greater benefits for CJ Burgess & Sons.

For absolute versatility the trailer would have double drop-sides like the Volvo. All uprights are removable to leave clear edges should flat floors be needed and there are cover caps for the side's over-centre locking pins to prevent snagging on bags.

PPG had few problems fitting Harsh's F60 underfloor gear to the prime mover but the Truckmate's main rails were too wide for underbody hydraulics so an alternative Edbro front end system was used instead.

Both hydraulic types work with high pressures but operate from a single oil supply on the Volvo's offside chassis rail.

This leaves the F,dbro 4LNC's integral tank empty to function only as a mounting frame for the cylinder.

To control tipping there are two operating levers in the cab although before tipping either body, the Harsh PT-0 is engaged.

The new drawbar has been entrusted to driver Toby Cross to make dedicated deliveries to builders' yards and stockists. With split loads the trailer can be uncoupled first but when the entire 21.5 tonne load is going to one builder there's a quicker, easier way.

Although he'd only had the Volvo rig a couple of weeks, Cross skillfully demonstrated how to reverse the trailer to one side to tip a truckload.

To empty the trailer, the outfit is backed into position and tipped in the normal manner, But to tip the unit, the trailer is reversed at 90°-plus to one side and the load of sand or aggregate discharged over the coupling. A rubber sheet prevents sand or dust clogging the hitch and the hydraulic hose is routed through the drawbeam for protection. So adept is Cross that he can get both heaps close together and not run over them as he drives away.

The Volvo FS7 is an unusual addition to the cl Burgess fleet which includes a pair of new Volvo FH 380 artic units and two Scania R143s. There's also a new EuroTech 380 about to go on the road. "The price was damn good and it carries a five-year warranty All I take care of is the glass and tyres and you can't sniff at that" he says His semi-trailers are another mix. A glance across his yard on the day of CMs visit showed three-from Fruehauf, Don-Bur and Weightlifter—but usually they are all out.

Burgess was one of the first to use on-board weighers and fits them to all of his vehicles, as well as aluminium wheels. Several of Burgess's Weightlifter semis have rear steer axles, which he swears extends the life of the tyres.

Family business

The firm was set up by Cyril Burgess in 1945 but for the past 12 years it's been run by his son John who began at 17 years old with a Thames Trader. And just to show there's no easy path in a family haulage business, grandson Dean drives one of the firm's oldest trucks. Not the restored 1965 Atkinson Defender with 6LX150 Gardner but a D-reg Volvo F6 and will do so for some time yet.

In a corner of East Sussex where transport companies are feeling the pinch hauliers like Burgess need to specialise. "Down here many will tell you that the recession has never really gone away". Fortunately there's still some growth in supplying the building trade with a range of aggregates and some materials are even exported.

Lately there has been considerable increase in the use of bagged sand for smaller sites hence the development of his special drawbar.

There's no real secret, says Burgess. You simply ensure your unladen running' is kept to a bare minimum. Invariably his vehicles carry aggregates one way and return with some other material. He adds: "We won't run anywhere empty if we can help it".

Under such basic ground rules the company has seen a steady growth in its fortunes and despite several recessions currently has a turnover of just under £3 million.

"The new Volvo drawbar? Well it's certainly eye-catching but it's also ideal for what we want. I'm so pleased that I may well order another" by Bryan Jarvis


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