Recovery at its best
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THE DELICATE and skilful operation of righting an overturned tanker was demonstrated last week for the benefit of police traffic divisions from all over the country and for the public. TIM COBB reports.
The demonstration took place at the Kent County Constabulary headquarters in Maidstone, Kent, and gave spectators a chance of seeing the latest techniques employed by recovery operators and the opportunity for police to talk with them about the hazards involved.
The demonstration tanker had been laid on its side by a Scammelt Crusader fitted with a Holmes 750 rigging.
Once on its side, water was poured into the empty tank to a capacity of about eight tonnes to simulate an average capacity load. Then four workers, employed by Wreckers International of Hertfordshire, placed small air bags under the side of the tanker which was then filled slowly with air via a compressor.
With the tanker raised about 10in above the ground, two nylon-polyester strops were placed around the tanker and attached to the recovery vehicle. Larger air bags were then placed under the tanker to raise the tanker to a higher level and wood stops were used to stop the wheels on the tanker from slipping away, As the bags were filled, the weight of the tanker was taken up by the strops until, after 50 minutes of intricate work, the tanker was once more the right way up, Robert Boggis, chairman of tank operptor Saracen attended the demonstration and was also displaying one of his tankers. He said: "When you are paying around £45,000 for a new tanker, an overturned vehicle can be very expensive. You therefore have to have competent people dealing with its recovery."
Recovery prices can cost between £500 and £1,000, Mr Boggis said, but if a good job is done and the tanker needs only minor repairs after its ordeal then there are no complaints.