The long and short of it
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Despite fears of recession, Raven Trailers is targeting its new sliding flatbed machine at the construction market. Steve Banner reports.
• A sliding flatbed trailer aimed at the brick and block industry has been launched by Raven Trailers. Developed from the Conqueror trailer, the Drop & Go closes up from a maximum length of 12.1m to 9.1m, using Raven's Double-C sliding system. In its shortened position it gives drivers access to sites previously considered too tight for a conventional artic, says managing director Paul Raven.
Built to Tarmac Topblock's requirements—Tarmac is taking the first example—it has a bed length of 11.98m when extended and can carry 22 palletised loads. The rear bed, which slides beneath the main bed, is 3.1m long, but the trailer dimensions can be customised to operator requirements.
Fitted with alloy side raves, wheels and bumper, but with a fabricated steel I-beam mainframe, the Drop & Go weighs 5.9 tonnes. "We should he able to reduce that by 200kg when we build the next batch," says Raven .
The demonstration Drop & Go has been equipped with a Hiab R100 F2 Rolloader self. powered loader which can traverse 5.22m of the main bed, allowing it to reach the entire cargo. It can lift 3,980kg at an outreach of 2.5m, and 1,550kg at 6.3m. According to Hiab sales manager David Earle, the Rolloader operates twice as fast as a fixed loader; about 15 have been sold in Britain over the past 12 months. • The standard model weighs 2,190kg minus the legs and grab, but closer to three tonnes with them fitted. The demonstrator was equipped with a Kinshofer grab to lift packs of bricks.
Drop & Go offers a 17m turning circle when closed, and can run legally at 32 tonnes, says Raven. It is, however, engineered to run at 41 tonnes at full stretch. It takes just 60 seconds to extend or retract it, says Raven.
Sensors
The sliding system, which can be operated from the cab, relies on two small Jost fifth wheels and a kingpin that engages with them. Sensors ensure that the brakes are released only when the system is locked in place. "We use a lot of standard parts, but we use them in a different way," says Raven. This makes the trailer inexpensive to maintain: "A fifth-wheel repair kit, for example, will cost only £25."
The trailer has 10 rollers, and all the bearings and rollers are self-lubricating. Air-suspension has been fitted, along with an ROR lifting front axle.
Raven is wary of discussing price. "But it will be comparable with what you might pay for a wagon-and-drag package," says company chairman Robert Williamson.
Raven has four other Drop and Go units going through the factory. "If we sell 100 next year we will be happy," says Williamson. Surprisingly, Raven estimates that the brick and block market may be bigger than the skeletal market, and seems unworried by the possibility of a downturn in the construction industry.
Working around the clock seven days a week, the Ipswich factory and its 40 staff are turning out 30-40 trailers a month. It is expected to produce a total of 500 next year.
The company believes there is export potential for Drop & Go in Benelux, Germany and Switzerland. "Over there some operators prefer wagon-anddrag combinations because they do not think artics are manoeuvrable enough," says Raven. "We reckon we can prove them wrong."
The company also has export ambitions for the US and New Zealand.
Formed by brothers Paul and Kevin Raven in 1994, the firm moved from designing the machines to making them early last year, and so far has built and sold 150 Conquerors. It moved to its current plant, a former NCK crane factory on the Whitehouse Industrial Estate, early this year.
Several hundred more of its designs are on the road, thanks to a licensing agreement with Fruehauf.
Raven is also a Renault truck dealership. "We have a good working relationship with Renault, and it is going well for us," says Paul Raven. It has given us another income stream and brought us into contact with all the hauliers in the Felixstowe area. We have sold at least 40 trailers as a result."