Southampton company develops hovertrailer
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• A hovertrailer with a payload capacity of 7 tons which can negotiate terrain where a conventional wheeled or tracked vehicle could not move when loaded, if at all, has been developed by Air Cushion Equipment Ltd., of Southampton.
The trailer can increase the drawbar capability of a tracked or wheeled towing vehicle many times and over a tidal marsh, for instance, the trailer can be winched along.
The hovertrailer is 34ft long and has been designed to a width of 8ft to enable it to be transported on road vehicles. It consists of a steel platform around which is fitted a flexible segmented skirt. Its lift power is generated by centrifugal fans driven by two Ford 95 bhp petrol engines. Diesel engines are available and will normally be fitted in production units. Side-loading ramps give access to the deck which, when the vehicle is at rest. is only 10in. above the ground and the unit can also be supplied with end-loading ramps when it is used for carrying vehicles.