Kompensator cuts out chassis twist
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Tucked away among the new trailer hitches at the Birmingham Motor Show was a novel pivoting fifth wheel from Holland Hitch of the United States, designed to reduce torque and twist transfer damage when cornering or travelling across uneven ground.
The Kompensator is being sold in the UK by Eurohitch of Brockenhurt, Hampshire, and it allows the trailer body to twist by as much as 5° either side of vertical on a concave bed, cushioned by springs and rubber bushes.
Holland Hitch says that the twisting fifth wheel is especially popular on tankers in the United States, and that it can be used where the centre of gravity is no higher than 990mm.
The Kompensator is about 70kg heavier than a standard fifth wheel and it costs about double the normal price of a comparable fifth wheel.
The wheel has an 18-tonne maximum vertical load rating and is capable of pulling up to 68 tonnes.
There are around 450 Kompensators in use with NATO forces and the Royal Corp of Transport has one on trial among its Bicester-based contract-hire fleet.
Holland Hitch produces around 120,000 fifth wheels (al cast) in the US, of which 55% are for the home market, but expects to begin making them in West Germany next year.
The Kompensator pivotting fifth wheel is designed to reduce twis, transfer damage when cornerinA