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CLOSE-COUPLED TO EFFICIENCY
Page 151
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British operators with bulky consumer xis to shift should take a serious look irawbar outfits because there are mite road tax savings to be made, as El as operational benefits — especially en used with demountable bodies. 'otential users would be well advised ake advantage of the abundance of hnical advice on offer before putting ir hands into their pockets.
'railer manufacturers such as Crane ehauf, Craven Tasker, Don-Bur and rk all provide advisory services, as do systems specialists like Adcliffe gineers, T. Cartright, McDonald Kane Ray Smith.
a mainland Europe and the Irish )ublic where gross train weights are :h higher than in the UK, most ibinations are waggon and drag uvbars.
a the UK, however, where 18m xbar outfits are pinned down to 32.52 les, the heavier artic rigs Jominate.
'onetheless, where light bulky loads e to be moved drawbars offer a ier cubic capacity than 15.5m artics, although they will gain an extra re in the new year the 32.52-tonne shold will remain for some time to e. along with the non-restriction on .all height below that mark.
elgian, Dutch, French and West man hauliers are all heavily into tr-volume combinations so it is little der that the Brussells Eurocrats are issing an 18.35m limit, and at least one Dutch operator wants 18.75m.
The use of close-coupled drawbar combinations began over a decade ago with Ackermann Freuhaff's GLZ design. Since then a succession of devices have been developed to allow the truck and trailer to run close up on the straight, then to separate on twisty or undulating roads.
Of the 11,000 drawbars operating in Europe, the Pietz-Pal system marketed in Britain by York) is said to be the most popular.
Others on the much smaller UK market include the Contar (chain and cranked) and Decker (inclined sensing frames) systems, both of which are offered by Ray Smith of Peterborough. Adcliffe Engineers market Bulthuis' Pivot device (which can also be used on semi-trailers and Orthaus Adcliffe Pantographic system.
BURG DESIGN
Crane Fruehauf applies the GLZ arrangement, Wilson Truck Service of Bingley offers the Belgian Burg design, and Altrincham-based S Cartwright uses the Pietz-Pal assembly, which like the Pivot, is a geared arrangement.
Whatever close-coupling system is used, the vehicles are usually connected via conventional 40 or 50mm couplers and eye bars.
Here in the UK there is a more limited choice, principally because of the small size of our market.
Ringfeder, for instance, which is developing a dampened automatic coupling for liquid tanker trailers in Europe, sells very few units in the UK, and as a result is minimising activities here. Other manufacturers offer a fuller range of products and back-up services, however.
The most recent addition to VBG's West German-made range is the 622 automatic coupling for centre-axled trailers of 20 tonnes and above, where extreme drawbar geometry results in high dynamic forces. The VBG 622, has only two major moving parts, both held in a quickly exchangeable mechanism. It is designed to minimise trailer rack, and has electronic sensors to warn of extreme turn angles. Train length and truck/trailer clearance can be adjusted from the cab using push button controls.
VBG produces a range of drawbars on a modular system for easy replacement of worn or damaged parts.
Where trailers connect far beneath the prime mover's tail end, VBG's RMS remote coupling system allows the electrics and air-lines to be installed neatly and without the driver having to scramble underneath to reach the coupler.
It also keeps the air-lines tangle free and is especially useful on short couple and variable-length combinations where the length can vary by up to 600mm.
Users of VBG systems include Laura Ashley, which operates a fleet of Scaniabased outfits trunking 7.09m demount bodies from London to its