Heavy haulage specialist Goldhofer has introduced the first flatbed semi-trailer designed to extend from 20 to 62 metres for carrying wind power turbine blades in their shipping frames.
Dubbed SPZ-P 3AAA, its deep extendable spine can take a 13-tonne load 10 metres from the front, where the frame's front bolster supports the blade. The rear bolster then runs at the extreme rear of the trailer, with the blade extending 10 metres behind.
Ivan Collins, sales director of Andover Trailers, the sole UK distributor of Goldhofer heavy haulage equipment in the UK and Ireland, says that this configuration increases manoeuvrability and reduces the trailer length to 52 metres.
"No one's seen anything as impressive as this over here," says Collins. "Its length is astounding enough – let alone all its special features."
The trailer's three rows of pendular axles give a steering angle of 60°, and its hydraulic suspension has an axle stroke of 600 mm, meaning any stress is taken off the blade during off-road transportation.
It has a gross weight of 62 tonnes and a payload of 38.3 tonnes, with a deck height of 1 metre when laden. At a loaded height of approximately 4.3 metres, it can pass through tunnels and under bridges – including through the Elbe tunnel in Hamburg.
