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Chris Graham considers some of

24th June 1999, Page 44
24th June 1999
Page 44
Page 45
Page 44, 24th June 1999 — Chris Graham considers some of
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the finer points to be considered when living with a "skellie".

Trailers lead a hard life—often they are abused, under -maintained and left unrepaired after damage has

occurred. This misguided attitude costs operators a lot of money and yet the practice continues.

The biggest fleets set the standards to which the rest must aspire. Regular and effective maintenance is the key to reliable operation—true for tractors and trailers alike and yet many smaller operators continue to lavish a disproportionate amount of attention on the front end of the outfit.

Sliding-bogie skeletal trailers, with their capacity to accommodate containers of varying sizes, are specialist products which require careful looking after if operational efficiency is to be maintained.

To discover more about this, Commercial Motor visited trailer manufacturer Dennison, where aftersales service and quality control manager Martin Atkinson provided a practical insight.

The pictures below describe the basics involved.

When closing the trailer to allow loading or unloading of a centrally mounted 20ft container, the rear swing bolsters must be in the down position. They must be raised to accommodate 40ft and intermodal containers.

Dennison supplies electrical cable 100mm overlength. clipped in a coil close to the junction box. If damage occurs and repairs to a connection are needed, there will be sufficient original cable available. This eliminates the need to splice in an extra length.

The sliding bogie roller pins are fitted with grease nipples and should be lubricated at normal sixweekly inspections with a good quality, general-purpose grease.

It is important that the top flange on the rear section is kept free from grease as the rollers pass over this surface. The presence ot grease in this area will cause the rollers to slide, creating flats and resulting in premature wear and difficulty in sliding. • Replacement of rollers and pins is made simple by the presence of double spacers. The roller can be removed without the need to separate the two parts of the trailer. • The security and condition of the slider mechanism lock stops need to be checked at service intervals. Constant aggressive misuse when sliding the trailer can result in damage to this area. The lock-nut on the clevis for the slider mechanism locking pin must be checked at each inspection. The locking pins, which are stainless steel, locate into a lock boss and require occasional greasing.

USEFUL CONTACTS

Dennison Trailers: 01524 381808.

Fruehauf: 01362 654200, Martrans: 01652 648958.

Montracort

01302 739292.

SDC: 01648 50765.


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