Our maintenance guide to tipper components, offers some advice about keeping them running in good form. And in terms of safe operations, IRTE’s technical guidance on tipper stability and safety for open-topped tippers is worth a read: https://is.gd/afotep and https://is.gd/ajohiy
Loved though they may be, tippers – and the chassis that they are based on – are not standing still. Their designs continue to change with the times. One of the most significant drivers of change, both now and over the next decade, is the Direct Vision Standard imposed by Transport for London. We discuss the rules and how they are affecting tippers, https://is.gd/ozeteb.
Understandably, Direct Vision remains controversial in industry. In response, research commissioned by OEM organisation ACEA and carried out by TRL and others is making at least a partial rebuttal (https://is.gd/abacal).
Still, some OEMs have moved very quickly to react to the new regulatory pressures. Our review of what it’s like to be behind the wheel of two new low-cab variants, the Scania ‘P’ and ‘L’ cabs, starts https://is.gd/jawuge.
That driving theme continues elsewhere, as Ian Norwell reports on some of the gearshifting options fitted in DAF’s new CF rigid chassis (https://is.gd/umesuw).
Elsewhere, we drop our gaze to consider the wheels underneath the tipper body, with two articles on wheel security and alignment. The former (https://is.gd/otilev) remains an important issue, about which the IRTE has also published useful guidance (https://is.gd/hadiwe). The latter (https://is.gd/atohek) is just one of many areas where technicians’ competence really makes a difference.
Speaking of competence, here’s a personal shout to all of those hidden heroes out there: consider entering IRTE’s Fleet Engineer of the Year awards, which are open for entries until 20 July (details: https://is.gd/yanude). Not only are they free to enter, but also the awards offer something unique in this industry: a chance to be recognised as the top of the road transport engineering profession. Let’s celebrate the best of us.