Few photos from Finland. I’m not sure if drag is correct word for these trailers but I suppose you correct me if it’s wrong word.
This one is what I drove whole summer as a “summer job”. Now I’m studying but we had exam-week in school so I got on to road for few days (and remembered to took camera with me). FH12 420hp 6x2 running at 53t on six axles. Total lenght is 23.20m. Collecting eggs from farms and now unloading in packing department. Annoying place to reverse in bay becouse road is so close that can’t reverse straight, have to reverse “around corner”. You can see black marks in asphalt Rigid has last axle liftable (for extra grip when it’s slippery) and trailer has liftable middle axle to reduce tyre wear when running empty.
Same Volvo unloading in Oripää.
Same place as in last picture. Nice Scania 124 with 470hp giving smooth ride for 60t. Trailer has 5 axles to eliminate possibility of axle overload (sorry about bad picture). Little too small yard as you can see from position of rigid.
Sisu E11 6x2, not Renault Premium altought it looks much like it. Truck is made by Sisu, small finnish truck manufacturer. Sisu uses cabs from Renault Premium and some Renault Engines also. Sisu makes very robust trucks for difficult conditions, most Sisus are sold to tipper or lumber trucks. This Sisu has 11 litre ■■■■■■■ with 416hp and running at 60 t on seven axles. Diffenrent engines Sisu offers are 11 litre ■■■■■■■ 350-420hp and Renault 320-420hp, 12 litre Mack 440 and 480hp and in top of range is 18 litre Caterpillar with 630hp with 18 speed Fuller gearbox and 6x4 chassis
Here is new FH12 operated by Kauko Mäkinen Oy loading “full load”, about 150m^3 stone wool. Carrying 3500kg in combination which can take more than 40t of cargo ensures that 460hp are not overdone. Loading is done by hand, hot and dirty no matter what kind of weather it is.
If trailer is looked closely you may notice that it is done from two parts. These pics may help: Trailer and doll Front view Yes, it’s like artic and trailer.
You can get trailer and put it to ship and have some more cargo in rigid. New trailers which are made for finnish roads only have quite often same axle configuration but are made without doll. Like this trailer is made.
edit 1: filename changes
edit 2: added still few photos
edit 3: and fixed some badly spelled url adress
Not so awkward as you might think. Yellow Volvo in first pic needs much less space in curves than artic despite it being quite much longer (23.20m against 16.5m or was it 16m). Having big rear overhang in rigid makes trailer to follow quite nicely. When reversing that same overhang makes problems combined with short wheelbase trailer. Maybe problem is too strong word but trailer turn quite quickly especially when reversing with rigid rear axle lifted. Silver scanny and red volvo with long trailers behave much better when reversing but need also little more room becouse longer wheelbase in trailer. When going forward these require little more room than artic becouse trailer has such long wheelbase. I’m still quite sure that these are not so awkward that you probably think.
Reversing these is also much easier than seems to be opinion in here forums. It might take up to two or three months to learn reversing to bay smoothly when you can learn artic in a week. You just need to think trailer as a rigid which you are reversing and look positions of trailers body, bay and trailers first (or two first) axles. Generally when reversing these trailer turns to same direction than rigid. If you turn wheel left trailer also turns left. Of course there is little lag and this is not always valid rule. For me reversing an artic is much more difficult becouse I tend to turn wheel in wrong direction Despite that habit artic is much easier to reverse.
But I gues that in ten years you can try this kind of combinations yourself when they come legal even in UK I’m quite sure that sooner or later 25.25m long and 60t vehicles come legal in most parts of EU. Signs are allready quite clear.
Good info Kyrbo, very interesting stuff, I would like to have a go at driving one thats for sure! Good to see stuff from other countries too, I hope you can post some more!
Back when I used to run in Quebec, there was a company that we rented parking space from which ran similar units into the rural northern parts of the province, with both bodies being curtainsides (taughtliners). They had 2 axle dollies, 3 axle trailers with a drop axle, ant were pulled by a 6x4 lead unit.
It never ceased to amaze me when these guys would back up to the dock at this terminal. Often, drivers would raise the drop axle on the trailer, wait until they were close to straight, then they’d drop the axle back dow, so that the trailer wouldn’t wander off.
I have driven shorter wagon and drag rigs (17.5 metre) with A-Frame trailers. They take a bit of getting used to in reverse, but then I’ve been driving them on and off for 30 odd years (mainly off unfortunately), so its mainly just getting my eye back in again and fine tuning my reactions to what the trailer does . ( I was driving farm tractors with two trailers hitched on from the age of 13)
Kyrbo:
For me reversing an artic is much more difficult because I tend to turn wheel in wrong direction
I also have the same problem, when getting back into an artic, after being in a wagon and drag for a few weeks.
Lucy:
Nice one, Kyrbo…any chance of snapping us a few of Containerships’ wagons out there if you spot any?
Just curious to know what our fellow drivers are getting these days…
Sorry but probably that’s not possible before next summer. As I said earlier I’m currently studying in technical university and driving only as “a summer job” or if there is some other vacation from school. I can try to get some shots but probably you have to wait till May. Here Containerships operates fleet of artics with Iveco Eurotech tractors. There are also some newer Stralis tractors and at least one rigid + drag combination. That rigid + drag carries 20ft (not sure if it’s 20 or 30ft) and 45ft containers at same time.
<<Few photos from Finland. I’m not sure if drag is correct word for these trailers but I suppose you correct me if it’s wrong word>>
Drag is definitely the right word, anything else is a ‘caravan’
Nice pictures, although for some reason I couldn’t download them all, but the first FH12 is a good honest ‘working’ truck. No poncy paint job there. Just road dirt.
I have driven wagons & drags for many years and you are quite right; think of the trailer as a seperate rigid with yourself as the driver sitting over the steering axle, then work out which way to shove the A-frame and shove the back of the wagon the other way. Simple That’s how I taught myself anyway.
By the way, I live in France and there are several SISUs running here, mainly logging trucks. They used to use Leyland engines years ago and maybe cab derivatives too.
Rigid has last axle liftable (for extra grip when it’s slippery) and trailer has liftable middle axle to reduce tyre wear when running empty.
Despite that habit artic is much easier to reverse.
I’m quite sure that sooner or later 25.25m long and 60t vehicles come legal in most parts of EU. Signs are allready quite clear.
. ( I was driving farm tractors with two trailers hitched on from the age of 13)
That’s how I taught myself anyway.
