Strength in depth comes for McGee’s tippers, with bespoke additions 26 September 2013

London-based McGee Group believes that its latest fleet additions – five Volvo FMX eight-wheelers with full-spec Thompsons Loadmaster bodies – are among the strongest, most robust tippers ever seen in the UK.

"We want tippers that can easily and safely handle any load whatsoever," says McGee's group transport manager John Kelly. "To me, there's only one chassis and one body that are each fully up to the job. Put them together, and you have the ultimate heavy duty tipper."

His Loadmaster tippers, he says, are Hardox floored, double-skinned and with four corner posts for extra strength and rigidity. The vehicle also has improved ground clearance from straight-beam front axles on the FMX's chassis.

Additionally, McGee's Loadmasters have been fitted with detachable bespoke, full-length steel bodyside extensions that sit between the body's raised headboard at the front and the tailgate hinge at the rear. The principal purpose of these, says the company, is to provide extra load retention and security, although additional payload volume is also available for lighter and less dense cargoes.

For McGee, these bodies also come with an illuminated 'traffic light' weight indicator system at the rear offside of the body and on the cab roof. Fitted by Thompsons, a green lamp tells a loading machine driver to keep working, an orange lamp that the truck is nearly full, and then a red, which means 'stop' as the vehicle has now reached its maximum weight.

With an unladen weight of around 13,500kg, McGee's new trucks are that bit heavier than an average eight wheeler, but Kelly believes the trade-off will be the very highest levels of in-service reliability and minimal cost of upkeep.

"What matters most is having trucks available for work, and on any type of job," he insists, also pointing out that the operation of McGee's trucks is often only a small cog in a much larger picture. "We can't have other people or equipment standing idle because our trucks are off the road or otherwise haven't shown up."

Author
John Challen

Related Companies
Thompsons Group
Volvo Group UK Ltd

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