Vessels in the vanguard
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by Dan GiEkes • Leeds-based heavy haulage company Vanguard Vehicle Services has invested in two special vessel-carrying trailers to meet growing demand from within the UK and overseas. Though similar in design, and built to the same demanding specification, the trailers are built by two different companies, Nooteboom and Goldhofer.
Technical manager Mike Parkin explains: "We couldn't decide which manufacturer would be the test so we had one of each so that we can evaluate them. We got quotes from various other manufacturers but we felt that Goldhofer and Nooteboom were the market leaders in this type of trailer."
The trailers are tri-axle, lowbed units which have side beams for carrying the vessels but no central bed floor. Both trailers have hydraulically extending beams to increase the length and width of the carrying frame.
The hydraulics can be run directly from a tractor PTO system or by using the vehicle electrics to power a trailermounted hydraulic pump.
In the closed-up position the trailers have a 10m-long well, which extends to a maximum of 16m. Maximum width is 3.1m. Parkin has already ordered optional 5m-longer side beams from the manufacturers, which will offer an even larger carrying area.
The trailers cost around £140,000 each and weigh 21.5 tonnes unladen. They have a capacity of 54 tonnes in the UK and 30 tonnes on the Continent. Suspension is hydraulic, to prevent excessive roll during cornering. The wheels all steer, either following the line of the truck or, at lower speeds, on a wanderlead from the ground.
Both trailers arrived in January and are booked at least until the end of April. They are being used to ship eight 30tonne vessels from Burton-onTrent to Preston for Whitbread Brewery. Each vessel is 18m long and 6.08m in diameter.
"They're very delicate," says Parkin, "and can only be allowed to touch the trailer at two points." Without these trailers it would be impossible to transport the vessels as a standard trailer would not get under the 6.3m height restrictions along the way. As it is the suspension has to be lowered—to get under a couple of bridges— the trailer suspension units have 150mm of travel.
Because of transport restrictions along the way, particularly in Manchester, much of the work is being done at the weekend, and each journey takes around two weeks.
Vanguard is a family business owned by John and Alan Liversidge, with more than 25 years experience of heavy haulage.
The firm has recently bought a number of other companies in the haulage business, including TSL of Scunthorpe, SJ Keen of Ringwood, Fallon of Batley and Hallett Silbermann's depot in Rotherham. It has set up depots in Rotherham and Ringwood from these acquisitions.
Vanguard is also using one of the purchases as a basis for changing the company's name, adopting the TSL logo across its 30-strong tractor fleet. This has been done purely because of problems with customers assuming a connection between Vanguard Vehicle Services and west-London based Vanguard Engineering, which is a totally separate company.
Vanguard's tractor fleet is mainly Mercedes-Benz, Leyland Daf and Scania. Much as Parkin would like to use UK-built vehicles, he says: "We find that Continental trucks get a better breakdown service when we are working on the Continent."
He would also have looked at home-built trailers, but says: "For specialist steering equipment you've got to go on to the Continent at the moment." And overseas markets are providing an increasing amount of work for Vanguard, although Parkin adds: "But we're paying for it," The road tax, tolls and other hidden costs of overseas work certainly make it easier for Continental companies in the UK than for British hauliers to make the trip across the water. But you have to go where the work is: recently that has taken Vanguard's vehicles to Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium.
Vanguard already runs a number of Nooteboom trailers, bought through distributor HSE in Corby, but this was the first time the company had looked at Goldhofer, which supplies the UK via Andover Trailers. Both trailers have suffered minor teething problems but Parkin says: "We've had a very good response from the distributors."
He also applauds the response from the manufacturers to the firm's original request. "We went in with an idea of what we required," he says; the manufacturers then worked out how to meet those requirements.
The decision to take a trailer from each manufacturer has already shown that each has its plus points. The Nooteboom has a faster side-extension set-up, says Parkin, while the Goldhofer has the better beam system.
Time will tell which trailer performs better, and it seems that they will have plenty of opportunity to prove themselves over the years to come.