Lighter semis from CF
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by Colin Sowman • Crane Fruehauf has revised the way it makes curtainsiders and platform trailers, and its customer ordering system. Two weight ranges are now offered: Standard, with a maximum design weight of 44 tonnes and a 15-tonne kingpin; and Lightweight, 42 tonnes with 12 tonnes through the kingpin.
Around 50kg has been taken out of the Lightweight range by using aluminium decking and hightensile aluminium crossmembers. The interlocking decking "planks" which cover the I-beams are made of 32mm-deep extruded aluminium section. They can be ribbed or flat-topped and weigh 88kg less than a hardwood bed. The aluminium I loadbed is 40% stronger than the 29mm hardwood it replaces, allowing a five-tonne fork-lift to operate on the deck with 400mm crossmember spacing. For ultra-lightweight operation there are options of aluminium side guards, raves and bump bars, giving a triaxle trailer weight of just 4.92 tonnes.
The Standard range retains the wooden floor and steel cross-members; it is around 100kg lighter and can be specified as an Ultracube with an 80mm neck height for max cube operation. With ruee haul's dual-ride suspension this gives a deck height of just over a metre, increasing load volume by 13.8m3.
Thinner high-tensile cross-members are spaced at 400mm (rather than 600mm) without a weight penalty. Tandem-axle trailers in both ranges get a 1.3-tonne boost to the bogie weight (to 19.3 tonnes) by using a 1.5m axle spread .
They have 425/65x22.5 tyres.
Fruehauf has initiated a mix-and-match system using an order form detailing all the options and showing the "standard". Having put the specification together, the customer will know the trailer's unladen weight before it is built.