Three-axle tractors for French trailers
Page 38
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• To make sure of coupling to French semi-trailers without fear of exceeding legal limits on length and axle-loading, a London haulier, Titterell Transport International Ltd, Ness Street, London SE16, has bought a Scammell Trunker tandemsteer three-axle tractor with an lift 6in. wheelbase.
The relatively long wheelbase of the Trunker has enabled Titterell Transport to couple to French-made 11.8-metre TIR trailers without tractor-trailer fouling problems. Although the trailers have dual king-pin positions, they often project about 5ft ahead of the king-pin (about 2ft more than with most British trailers).
Another peculiarity of the French trailers, compared with British ones, is that they have close-coupled tandem-axle bogies. This plus the long front overhangs, imposes more weight than usual on the tractor. In France this is no problem because that country has a 13-ton rear-axle limit, but with the British axle-weight limit of 10 tons an ordinary two-axle tractor would be overloaded. Having an extra, air-sprung, steering axle immediately ahead of the driving axle to take some of the load the Trunker overcame this problem and. weighing no more than many two-axle tractors, there is no sacrifice of payload in practice.
Titterell Transport's fleet is engaged solely on shunting trailers for Andrea Merzario Ltd, European forwarding agents headquartered in Milan. The trailers cross France and Italy on the French Railways piggyback system, transit time from London to Milan being said to take only two days.