nth-driving Stratos
Page 16
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• The first two Seddon Atkinson Strato/Multidrive artics with driven trailers are now being built in the UK and should be on the road by the middle of next month.
The conversion is being handled by Seddon Atkinson dealer Mainline Trucks of Oldham and Multidrive of County Durham. The two Strato Multidrive rigs will be based on Cummins LTAA-325 10-litreengined 17.33 tractors which will be converted to 6x2s with the addition of air-suspended second pusher axles from London-based Vehicle Systems Engineering.
According to Mainline's general manager Brian Schumacker, the Seddon Atkinson Strato is particularly suited to the Multidrive conversion, which takes a propshaft from the rear of the tractor's back axle to drive the trailer's selfsteering tandem bogie. "It lends itself very well, because of the Rockwell back axle and very clean chassis." Once converted the Multidrives will each have three driven axles. Schumacker says that the Multidrive concept provides the operator with a vehicle that can go anywhere an eight-wheeler can go, "but where there are manouverability problems it will out manoeuvre an eight wheeler."
The two rigs will operate under special approval at 38 tonnes carrying aggregates.
The Pegaso Troner 4x2 tractive unit will also be getting the Multidrive treatment and will he sold through Spanish
dealers if the current talks between the two companies are successful. The Multidrive Pegaso may also be exported to the UK, but "not in the immediate future," according to Pegaso-owned Seddon Atkinson (see pages 10-11).
Pegaso's international operations director Roger Dougherty and Multidrive have both confirmed that talks are taking place on whether to fit the 4x2x2 rear-driven and steered articulated system to the 12litre charge-cooled 265kW (360hp) Pegaso Troner.