Paris stages a varlet) eview
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by Bryan Jarvis
• Last week's Paris bodywork show is almost a mirror image of the IRTE's annual event; it looks like becoming a regular stop on the exhibition circuit.
Immaculate hand-painted reefer trailers took centre stage but there was a strong flavour of versatility among the multi-use body and trailer systems.
Among trailer maker J Bizien's
exhibits was an all-aluminium front tipping semi for a German scrap metal haulier. To accommodate palletised loads on return trips the body has GRP-pannelled sliding side doors. The 13.6m trailer has 80m3 of load space and weighs 9.0 tonnes. It runs on three SAF axles with an aluminium chassis
Bizien also showed a reefer with an insulated fold-open roof together with a twinskinned roof system that chills the air inside with minimal air movement keeping vegetables or fruit fresh throughout a journey. The company has patented a fogproducing body system that can keep shrimps, crabs and other seafood alive Joloda was at Paris with its vehicle loading systems and there were several others, including a neat bolt-down rolling floor from Space of Italy.
Faramans manufacturer J Gilibert showed a somewhat less sophisticated moving-floor trailer, made to shift bulk or palletised goods.
With a 2.6m-high aluminium sided 13.6m body on a steel chassis and a full-length chain-driven conveyor floor, the trailer tares out at 9.41 tonnes but is rated for up to 44 tonnes.
Canvas liner
Gilibert also offers a Polyvant canvas liner that allows a standard tilt trailer to carry and tip off grain or granulated fertiliser under a roof without having to elevate the body.
The show featured several examples of Morice air-suspended 6x2 chassis conversions, including one on a Jige Lahr Portair car recovery vehicle.
Fitted with twin 155/70R 12in wheels, the GVINT is beefed up to carry 1.8 tonnes at 3.5 tonnes gross: depending on the chassis used it will go up to 5.0 tonnes.
Livestock carrying trailers also came under the spotlight with Tremeur-based Guitton's latest elevating tailramp that converts to a single, left or right-sided loading ramp. The 13.6m triple decker with its three hydraulically steered axles has two extra floors that elevate using eight hydraulic cylinders. These are powered by a Hatz diesel engine under the body side.
Hydraulic taillifts at Paris ranged from Erhal's latest 3.0tonne model to a prototype 1.5tonne retractable from MEC of Rungis.
Shown on one of Aubinau's Latest reefers with sliding side doors, the MIC Retracter lift moves along internal extrusions located within the chassis rails. It moves via an electro-hydraulic motor driving a gearcog that meshes with a toothed rack on the near-underside. As the lift comes pre-assembled, it can be fitted up in less than two hours, says MIC. and can readily be swapped between vehicles. The model will be available in 1.5,2.0 and 3.0-tonne sizes from June, complete with a printed circuit control box. MIC, which has a supply agreement with Ray Smith, is also developing foot control switches linked to pneumatic relays in the control box.