CRT picks up a Fassi crane
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by Bryan Jarvis • Machinery delivery specialist Charles Russell Transport is the first UK operator to take one of Fassi's latest 80-tonne/metre F800 loading cranes.
The loader is mounted over the rear of a specially developed drop deck low-loader from King Trailers and coupled to a Scania R143M 500 6x2. The Coombe Hill, near Gloucester-based company will use the outfit to haul plant or machinery between the UK and Europe.
The 152m long trailer is the latest £100,000 addition to a small fleet of eight self-loading vehicles; these include two Mercedes-Benz 814s with rearmounted Palfinger cranes, a Scania P112-380 drawbar with a PM crane on the tail end and five heavy-haulage 500hp Scanias. The two latest are lefthand-drive 6x2s with integrated hydraulic retarders but CRT is considering moving to doubledrive bogies for better traction.
This latest crane, supplied by Fassi UK of Warwick, can go through 360° lifting 8.0 tonnes at 10rn outreach or 20 tonnes at 4.0m. Power is supplied by a Hatz four-cylinder diesel engine with VOAC hydraulic pump and Danfoss controls.
Like CRT's other low-loaders, the new trailer will carry loads up to STGO Cat 2 but this one has a 4.34m neck platform, a 6.1m centre deck and 4.75m rear bridge section over the air-suspended triaxles.
The running gear is by SAF on 19.5in tyre equipment and includes a self-steering axle at the rear. For extra manoeuvrability, CRT will convert this to hydraulic positive steer so the driver can reverse more easily into difficult factory sites.
To carry the crane's weight and take the high operating stresses, King has beefed up the chassis rails with extra wide flanges at the rear and 20mm webs. Axle spacings are 1.36m between first and centre and 1.61m between the rear-most
pair—this to accept the rear support legs.
The crane and power pack are mounted above the latter two with the front outriggers built deep into the neck section. Between the wide centre spine and outer frame is standard hardwood decking, but there are stake holes down the sides to take stools when extra large loads are carried.
There are ISO twistlocks in the bottom deck to take the occasional 20ft container and a box frame will be added to the 5.0-tonne neck for carrying loose items.
With its 8.0 tonnes of added equipment the entire trailer weighs in at 18.5 tonnes but its carrying potential is considerable. For its inaugural showing at Coombe Hill the trailer carried 12 tonnes of ancient lathe in the centre while the Fassi crane lifted a 5.0-tonne Mercedes 814 to 14 metres.
CRT also had a new Nooteboom trailer on view, an SAF triaxle tilt-bodied plant carrier with Edscha opening roof. The rear entry of the Tilt Techniek body includes special 457mm side openings and a fullheight hydraulic rear ramp. "Our speciality is moving machinery, from single items to entire factory production lines," says owner Charles Russell. "From as far afield as Italy. Germany and Switzerland."