Ideas in the Swiss role
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by Bryan Jarvis
• There was plenty of glitz at Geneva's bi-annual truck show but fewer of the innovations usually associated with this centre of affluence.
It's a reflection of the shrink ing truck sales in Switzerland.They were nearly 10% down on last year's total of 2,200 units above 3.5 tonnes.
Nevertheless the gnomes have been busy turning new ideas into reality for the Swiss market with its low top weight and width limitations.
Frauenfeld-based Tuschmid has developed a system of waste containers for road/rail movement that is interesting several Swiss Cantons. Once the laden box returns from its collection round, hydraulic locks are released enabling the packer unit to be detached.
This is then fitted to an empty unit to resume collections while the container of waste goes to a rail depot for transfer using leased wagons. Such a system could equally work with a new hook-loader developed by Umwelt Transport of Ruggell.
Based on any eight-wheeler chassis it can load and unload 6.1m (20ft) containers up to 25 tonnes from railcars to trucks and vice-versa.
Waste is also the prime interest of specialist manufacturer J Ochsner of Urdorf which showed its latest offering; a computerised on-board weighing system for wheelie bins that links to the local council's system. It was shown on a Steyr 17-tonner. The system relies on householders having DIN-type bins with special data strips which are read by the in-cab computer before the bins empty.
Once emptied the amount is recorded and once the totals are downloaded at the depot, a charge is made to the householder.
Geser of Littau claims that its all-aluminium livestock drawbar is the Rolls Royce of its class. At a0,000-plus it certainly has the price tag.
Based on an Iveco 240E38 6x2 rigid with full air suspension its secondary floor lifts on four hydraulically driven screw-jacks. Waste and liquids are removed via four under-floor extractors and side vents open hydraulically using switches on the tailpost or in the cab.
A Frech-Hoch GRP-bodied MAN L2000 rigid for carrying roll cages or trolleys abounded with good ideas. A flush-fit block of switches on the rear post illuminates when power is turned on in the cab.
They control air suspension height (it adjusts to allow load ing), interior lights and rear shutters. Here the standard pneumatic device is replaced by an electric one, to conserve air.
Trolley locking posts spring from the floor and securing frames release from wall-mounted magnetic clips; a Panasonic TV monitor helps when reversing.