RE: Mr Big Stuff News: Go Green With Big Trucks
Discussion
You are right about Oz but I have never seen any in NZ,come to think of it I have not seen anything bigger than you see over here.
Same size truck - bigger trailer.
Anyway, at least that is a decent truck - the ones in Oz and NZ seem to make sense (B doubles, B triples and road trains), and actually follow very well considering how big they are. Running B doubles (ie 2 trailers) between motorway linked depots should be feasible, the axle weights are the same or less than the current artic's and there is no more power up front than what they use currently. Only trouble would be when there was a diversion, you wouldnt get them through Ipswich city centre for example.
There is nothing which compares to settling into a nice Kenworth cab and doing a bit of road train driving.... the luxary of the seat, the wood dash, the smell.....mmmm.
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Same size truck - bigger trailer.
Anyway, at least that is a decent truck - the ones in Oz and NZ seem to make sense (B doubles, B triples and road trains), and actually follow very well considering how big they are. Running B doubles (ie 2 trailers) between motorway linked depots should be feasible, the axle weights are the same or less than the current artic's and there is no more power up front than what they use currently. Only trouble would be when there was a diversion, you wouldnt get them through Ipswich city centre for example.
There is nothing which compares to settling into a nice Kenworth cab and doing a bit of road train driving.... the luxary of the seat, the wood dash, the smell.....mmmm.
[/quote]
PhilJames said:
robinessex said:
If UK motorways were built properly, we wouldn't have 'tramlines'. Cheap surfaceing materials. German motorways are twice as thick as the UK's.
They were built properly, then axle weight was increased by the government which fu@ked all the roads and bridges up. 
Every time the weight limits go up, the industry claims fewer trucks on the road, the reality is they just all got bigger (all claiming the same road loading or less but the roads continue to break up)
what you also have to remember here is that proportionally, the motorways are not where all the trucks are, the use of 40+ tonne trucks doing multi-drop deliveries in towns etc is ever increasing, god help us if we allow B-Doubles etc on the UK roads.
edit - can you imagine this trying to deliver to your local Tesco?
Edited by Scuffers on Tuesday 4th October 17:41
chilistrucker said:
with regards to people wanting more freight moved by rail, sounds a great idea, but its been tried before, and thus far, hasn't really worked, lets face it, alot of new trains get delivered, and moved around by road, on the backs of lorries because its more practical and cost effective. you have to remember, that at some point all goods will have to spend time on the back of a lorry. a train is great for long distant freight journeys, but it will still end up at a big rail hub somewhere, where the lorry will then take over.
when was the last time you saw a train delivering your bread to your local, tescos etc.
Tesco and Eddie Stobart move a huge amount of goods between Daventry and Grangemouth and Grangemouth to Inverness. Works well, and yes, trucks with skeletal trailers to collect and deliver the containers (into store or warehouse) are needed at both end. Stobart / Tesco run a daily service Monday - Friday between these points.when was the last time you saw a train delivering your bread to your local, tescos etc.
Scuffers said:
PhilJames said:
robinessex said:
If UK motorways were built properly, we wouldn't have 'tramlines'. Cheap surfaceing materials. German motorways are twice as thick as the UK's.
They were built properly, then axle weight was increased by the government which fu@ked all the roads and bridges up. Every time the weight limits go up, the industry claims fewer trucks on the road, the reality is they just all got bigger (all claiming the same road loading or less but the roads continue to break up)
what you also have to remember here is that proportionally, the motorways are not where all the trucks are, the use of 40+ tonne trucks doing multi-drop deliveries in towns etc is ever increasing, god help us if we allow B-Doubles etc on the UK roads.
edit - can you imagine this trying to deliver to your local Tesco?
Edited by Scuffers on Tuesday 4th October 17:41
If it means only one trip per night as opposed to two or three... that is a big saving in terms of fuel.
As an operator of over 100 trucks in the retail distribution sector the benefits of larger capacity vehicles (GTW and volume dimension) are easily quantifiable. However there are many challenges as have correctly been alluded to over the 3 pages of this thread- public perception being one and rightly so.
One thing to consider regarding a pertinent point to PHers- impact on road surface quality. A 2 axle vehicle can be plated at up to 18000kgs GVW giving a mean axle load of 9000kgs. A 6 axle tractor and semi trailer can be plated at 44000kgs (before special types regulations) giving a mean axle load of 7333kgs. This assumes equal weight distribution and ignores tyre scrub in tighter turning environments. Not all is exactly as it seems with vehicle size.
One thing to consider regarding a pertinent point to PHers- impact on road surface quality. A 2 axle vehicle can be plated at up to 18000kgs GVW giving a mean axle load of 9000kgs. A 6 axle tractor and semi trailer can be plated at 44000kgs (before special types regulations) giving a mean axle load of 7333kgs. This assumes equal weight distribution and ignores tyre scrub in tighter turning environments. Not all is exactly as it seems with vehicle size.
truck71 said:
As an operator of over 100 trucks in the retail distribution sector the benefits of larger capacity vehicles (GTW and volume dimension) are easily quantifiable. However there are many challenges as have correctly been alluded to over the 3 pages of this thread- public perception being one and rightly so.
One thing to consider regarding a pertinent point to PHers- impact on road surface quality. A 2 axle vehicle can be plated at up to 18000kgs GVW giving a mean axle load of 9000kgs. A 6 axle tractor and semi trailer can be plated at 44000kgs (before special types regulations) giving a mean axle load of 7333kgs. This assumes equal weight distribution and ignores tyre scrub in tighter turning environments. Not all is exactly as it seems with vehicle size.
quite right, but individual axle loading is only one part of the equation of how roads get 'worn' and 'damaged'One thing to consider regarding a pertinent point to PHers- impact on road surface quality. A 2 axle vehicle can be plated at up to 18000kgs GVW giving a mean axle load of 9000kgs. A 6 axle tractor and semi trailer can be plated at 44000kgs (before special types regulations) giving a mean axle load of 7333kgs. This assumes equal weight distribution and ignores tyre scrub in tighter turning environments. Not all is exactly as it seems with vehicle size.
Scuffers said:
jbi said:
considering most supermarkets are situated at the edge of town and served from massive rural distribution centres... It should not be a problem
like to see the backup to that sweeping assumption...jbi said:
Scuffers said:
jbi said:
considering most supermarkets are situated at the edge of town and served from massive rural distribution centres... It should not be a problem
like to see the backup to that sweeping assumption...leon9191 said:
We've got one of the new Volvo FH750's in the work shop now, as well as the brand new FMX, they are both being installed with recovery cranes for norway. Very nice trucks.
And a few very heavy trucks (Machine gun turrets are optional) if you like that sort of thing!
Err that's not an FH16 750And a few very heavy trucks (Machine gun turrets are optional) if you like that sort of thing!
For starters the FH16 range have dark smoked headlights, chrome door handles, and FH16 badge on the top r/h of the grill.
Also the FH16 750 isnt beginning production until the spring.
leon9191 said:
We've got one of the new Volvo FH750's in the work shop now, as well as the brand new FMX, they are both being installed with recovery cranes for norway. Very nice trucks.
Sweet! Ive driven one of those with 380bhp and it was quick enough - I wonder what itd be like with twice the power?
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