Gross weights up to 150 tonnes spread over 11 axles, four of them belonging to the tractor - it's all part of the everyday routine for the two latest low-loaders commissioned by Newark, Notts-based quarry equipment specialist Hutchinson Engineering Services.
Each of the specially ordered 8x4 Volvo FH tractors has the world's highest-powered truck engine currently in volume production: the Swedish com-pany's 16.2-litre D16 Euro 4 diesel on its top 660hp rating.
John Paine, Hutchinson's
transport manager, the company acquired its first FH tractor in 1994. Today, around a third of the 20-vehicle fleet are Volvos, and there are seven more on order, ranging from a 26-tonne rigid six-wheeler to another four-axled FH16. As with the two newcomers, the latter has been specified with an I-Shift automated gearbox, as well as Volvo's T-ride heavy-duty rear suspension.
The sliding fifth wheel allows coupling to a range of trailers, mostly supplied by Nooteboom, including the seven-axled unit with steering tandem front bogie seen in the photograph. Hutchinson's new Volvos are being supplied by local dealer Hartshorne from its Alfreton, Derbyshire branch.
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