Heavyweight trailer for Estonian oil shale mine
Andover Trailers’ 152-tonne capacity step frame trailer represents a success for British manufacturing
HEAVY-haulage equipment manufacturers Andover Trailers say the completion of their largest trailer yet in 26 years of business marks a success story for British manufacturing.
Measuring 16.7m by 4m and with a gross weight capacity of 152 tonnes, the four-axle step frame with beavertail will be used by international energy company Eesti Energia to transport mining machines across an expansive oil shale mine in Narva, Estonia.
Operating with a heavy-duty 600hp 8x8 Mercedes-Benz Actros SLT 4160 AS Titan tractor unit and reinforced with steel plating on the ramps and deck, the trailer has been custom-built to carry loads of up to 120 tonnes, including Cat D11R bulldozers, Wirtgen 2500 SM surface miners and Ingersoll Rand DM 45 drilling rigs.
The 32-wheel trailer’s design, which features a sophisticated load-compensating rocker-beam suspension system, was chosen from among several offered by competitors across Europe.
‘This is a great success story for British manufacturing,’ said Andover Trailers’ sales director, Ivan Collins. ‘We were one of a number of European companies tendering for the Eesti Energia order – and in the end we were the successful bidders, with a trailer designed and manufactured entirely in Andover.’
The 32-tonne frame is fitted with four sets of SAF walking-beam bogies, each attached to two swing axles rated at 15 tonnes apiece and mounted through four Andover-designed pivoting suspension beams. These provide load compensation between each bogie, preventing wheels from lifting while traversing slopes and uneven ground.
The hydraulic ramps, which measuring 4m in length by 1.5m in width, are each decked with two sets of grouser bars, customized respectively to support the Cat and Wirtgen machines during loading and unloading. Two rear hydraulic steady legs under the beavertail are each equipped with twin cylinders and load-control valves to prevent over-loading.
Supplied jointly through the Mercedes-Benz dealer for the Baltic States, AS Silberauto, and Andover Trailers’ Estonian distributor, Warren Equipment, the tractor-trailer combination was shipped from Harwich to Paldiski in March. It is the second Andover Trailers-supplied asset to join the Narva operation, which comprises four mines and produces up to 15 million tonnes of oil shale each year.
HEAVY-haulage equipment manufacturers Andover Trailers say the completion of their largest trailer yet in 26 years of business marks a success story for British manufacturing.
Measuring 16.7m by 4m and with a gross weight capacity of 152 tonnes, the four-axle step frame with beavertail will be used by international energy company Eesti Energia to transport mining machines across an expansive oil shale mine in Narva, Estonia.
Operating with a heavy-duty 600hp 8x8 Mercedes-Benz Actros SLT 4160 AS Titan tractor unit and reinforced with steel plating on the ramps and deck, the trailer has been custom-built to carry loads of up to 120 tonnes, including Cat D11R bulldozers, Wirtgen 2500 SM surface miners and Ingersoll Rand DM 45 drilling rigs.
The 32-wheel trailer’s design, which features a sophisticated load-compensating rocker-beam suspension system, was chosen from among several offered by competitors across Europe.
‘This is a great success story for British manufacturing,’ said Andover Trailers’ sales director, Ivan Collins. ‘We were one of a number of European companies tendering for the Eesti Energia order – and in the end we were the successful bidders, with a trailer designed and manufactured entirely in Andover.’
The 32-tonne frame is fitted with four sets of SAF walking-beam bogies, each attached to two swing axles rated at 15 tonnes apiece and mounted through four Andover-designed pivoting suspension beams. These provide load compensation between each bogie, preventing wheels from lifting while traversing slopes and uneven ground.
The hydraulic ramps, which measuring 4m in length by 1.5m in width, are each decked with two sets of grouser bars, customized respectively to support the Cat and Wirtgen machines during loading and unloading. Two rear hydraulic steady legs under the beavertail are each equipped with twin cylinders and load-control valves to prevent over-loading.
Supplied jointly through the Mercedes-Benz dealer for the Baltic States, AS Silberauto, and Andover Trailers’ Estonian distributor, Warren Equipment, the tractor-trailer combination was shipped from Harwich to Paldiski in March. It is the second Andover Trailers-supplied asset to join the Narva operation, which comprises four mines and produces up to 15 million tonnes of oil shale each year.
