Dual role for new DAF 18 tonners at St Helens Council 27 January 2011
St Helens Council has come up with a solution to gritters left idle for more months than they're working – in the shape of two new dual-role DAF trucks that are also gully emptiers.
Its LF55 18-tonners have been designed to take either a gritter body or a gully emptying tank. When snow and ice are predicted, the trucks can be prepared for gritting and ploughing in about half an hour. Then, when conditions ease, they can quickly be returned to normal operations.
"When you add together the cost of both the equipment and the truck, these are expensive pieces of kit," comments council transport manager Colin Smith.
"We needed to find a way to optimise their use and help deliver better value, particularly with the present squeeze on the council's budgets," he adds.
Smith says that successful trials with vehicles in a road surface 'quick repair' role showed that having the ability to swap bodies would be a good way to go. "Now we can optimise the use of the vehicles throughout the year and make significant savings," he states.
With a wheelbase of 4.75 metres, the DAFs can take an eight cubic metre Econ gritter body and snowplough or a Whale gully emptying tank. To change a body it is first raised off the chassis hydraulically, using controls inside the cab.
Support legs are then manually inserted, enabling the chassis to be driven away. Power for the hydraulic lift system and to operate the equipment comes from an engine-mounted PTO, which was fitted on line during build at Leyland.
The front axles on the LF55s have also been uprated to 7.5 tonnes, to avoid axle overloads when the Econ bodies are fully loaded. And, as these bodies require the DAFs to be slightly longer than required for gully emptying equipment, Whale was able to make the tanks lower and longer, resulting in a lower centre of gravity and improved stability.
Power for the LF55s comes from the 6.7 litre GR184 engine, rated at 250bhp and delivering 950Nm of torque between 1,200 rpm and 1,700 rpm to enable the trucks to move off easily in all road conditions. Each has a six-speed manual gearbox and a single reduction rear axle rated at 11.5 tonnes.
As for other detail, green tinted and heated windscreens have been fitted, which helps to keep the cab interior cooler in the summer while enabling fast clearing of ice in winter. Safety features include two hazard beacons and a reverse bleeper. Meanwhile, to reduce the corrosive effects of salt, vertical exhaust stacks were specified.
"We run a number of DAFs in our 180-strong fleet," comments Smith, "and we have found them to be reliable vehicles. These new LF55s came at a competitive price and we get good support from the local DAF dealer, North West Trucks.
"With 300 miles of main roads to grit on each run and 34,000 surface water drains to be emptied across the borough, they're going to be fully utilised."
Power for the LF55s comes from the 6.7 litre GR184 engine, rated at 250bhp and delivering 950Nm of torque between 1,200 rpm and 1,700 rpm to enable the trucks to move off easily in all road conditions. Each has a sixspeed manual gearbox and a single reduction rear axle rated at 11.5 tonnes.
As for other detail, green tinted and heated windscreens have been fitted, which helps to keep the cab interior cooler in the summer while enabling fast clearing of ice in winter. Safety features include two hazard beacons and a reverse bleeper. Meanwhile, to reduce the corrosive effects of salt, vertical exhaust stacks were specified.
"We run a number of DAFs in our 180-strong fleet," comments Smith, "and we have found them to be reliable vehicles. These new LF55s came at a competitive price and we get good support from the local DAF dealer, North West Trucks.
"With 300 miles of main roads to grit on each run and 34,000 surface water drains to be emptied across the borough, they're going to be fully utilised."
Author
Brian Tinham
Related Companies
DAF Trucks Ltd
Whale Tankers Ltd
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