Calor Gas goes all-Cartwright with 88 trailer order 10 July 2013

LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) distributor Calor Gas has ordered 88 new trailers from Cartwright for its 2013 replacement programme, along with eight rigid trucks.

The deal makes Calor's a Cartwright-only fleet, with 437 trailers and 234 cylinder rigid vehicles, ranging from 5—18 tonnes gvw.

The Warwickshire based distributor's partnership with Cartwright began in 1999, when engineers from the body and trailer manufacturer began working with Calor to redesign its cylinder trailers.

Calor's cylinder rigid fleet, which is based predominantly on DAF chassis (85%), is all fitted with Cartwright bodies incorporating a combination of side lifts and/or tail lifts.

The new trailer order is split across four specifications. Most (56) are Cartwright tandem-axle 13.22 metre cylinder trailers, specified to 35 tonnes.

These are designed to maximise load capacity and provide all-round access to the deck for loading and unloading cylinders. They are based on a flat trailer fitted with a fixed framework and mounted with removable gates and adjustable bars that optimise access, flexibility and load security.

A further 22 shorter 10.97-metre tandem-axle trailers are for deliveries to locations with restricted access – again designed for all-round access, and with five also having tail lifts and central access walkways.

This allows the driver to gain access to the various cylinders, along the full length of the trailer and still use the tail lift to unload/load.

The final 10 units are 12.31 metre step frame trailers, again plated at 35 tonnes, but specifically built to accommodate loading requirements at Calor's Grangemouth cylinder filling plant.

Iain Carr, national vehicle engineering manager for Calor, says that the central walkway on the multi-drop trailers and the full-length side lift on all his 15 tonne rigids are major benefits in terms of safety and efficiency.

"We now have more than 60 vehicles fitted with the full-length side lifts, which were first introduced into the fleet in 2007. They are now a standard feature on the 15 tonne rigids, due to the benefits they offer," he says.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
DAF Trucks Ltd
The Cartwright Group

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