ore for drawbars
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Over half of Britain's drawbar operators would be likely to take advantage of an increase in drawbar gross weights, judging by a new survey on the potential use of 38-tonne drawbars, carried out by the Transport Studies Group of the Polytechnic of Central London (PCL).
The report, "An assessment of the market potential for 38tonne gross train weight drawbar combinations in the UK road freight industry", confirms that the majority of drawbar operators are currently carrying a greater proportion of high volume/low density products than non-drawbar users, but some 25% of drawbar operators surveyed are "experiencing weight constraints in their operation".
According to the PCL survey: "In the short term, 52% of drawbar operators would upgrade existing equipment to take advantage of a 38-tonne GTW." It also says: "The fifth axle would almost entirely be placed on the prime mover (rigid) in order to equalise the payloads between the prime mover and trailer."
• In the long term, however, "only 33% believe the 38-tonne limit would led to additional drawbar purchases". Most nondrawbar operators, says the survey, "still view the drawbar at any rate as a specialist vehicle". For the PCL survey questionaires were sent to both drawbar users and conventional artic fleet operators. The results are based on the responses of 97 drawbar users and 105 non-drawbar operators, with the drawbar respondents running 553 rigid trucks and 508 trailers — some 13% of the total UK drawbar vehicle parc.
While 56% of the non drawbar operators in the survey have considered running drawbars, they have rejected their use on the grounds of fleet incompatability, and the limitation of the current 32.5tonne GTW. A poor understanding of drawbar manoeuvrability, and operating costs are also contributing factors says the survey, which claims that only 27% of non-drawbar operators would re-consider using them if GTWs were raised.
The growth in dedicated distribution is continuing to en courage the use of drawbars says the survey, which reports: "While the 38-tonne drawbar can never match the payload potential of a 38-tonne artic, it would offer operators considerable volume capacity and operational flexibility."
The main market potential for 38-tonne drawbars, claims the Transport Studies Group, "lies in the substitution of existing 32-tonne semi-trailers".