Drawbar rigs supersede artics
Page 13
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Specialist brick haulier Swales Haulage of Aldermaston, is replacing its artics with 40-tonne Mercedes-Benz Actros drawbar outfits for construction site deliveries. They will run in the colours of its biggest customer. Chehvood Bricks.
Swales has already taken eight and plans to acquire another eight. The Actros 2540s, fitted with the Fleet sleeper cab, are powered by RPC-eligible 400hp charge-cooled V6 engines.
They are fitted with 10.5-tonne Atlas cranes and haul close-coupled tandem-axle trailers. The dropside bodywork on the trucks and trailers is by Mackworth; payload is more than 25 tonnes, representing nearly 13,000 bricks.
Managing director Barrie Swales cites improved accessibility to difficult sites and good fuel economy as the main reasons for the change.
Some examples are getting better than 0.5mpg more than the 32-tonne artics they are replacing. Swales says: ''The whole-life package on the Actros beats the competition hands down."