BigLorryBlog

Via Biglorryblog's good mate Gerald Woodgate, editor of Transport News Network which also co-hosts BLB, I have received word of a monster off-road dump-truck roadtrain being developed by the Emirates Truck Factory . Indeed ETF boss Eddy de Jongh has written to me to say: "We have designed something special which might be something for your weblog...." Are you kidding Eddy?

Whay you see above, proposed by ETF, is a mega off-road dumper roadtrain capable of hauling payloads of between 815 to 1465 metric tonnes. Eat your heart out Cat and Liebherr! Eddy tells me it works like a nomal train in so far as it can be driven in two directions (forward and reverse). This enables it to be used in narrow causeways and prevents complicated turning. And by having two "locomotives" the haul road-distance can be reduced as well.

He goes on to say: "ETF Road Trains can be used on the same haul roads where current large haul trucks are operating with standard inclines and curves. Two-way side-tippers are also possible depending on the products to be transported."

Moreover, ETF has come up with some clever ideas on how to solve the problem of tyre wear and punctures on its dumper roadtrain. The ETF road trains, which will have all-wheel-drive and all-wheel-steering-by-wire, will also be equipped with a Central Tyre Inflation System which keeps the tyre pressure at the right level during driving. If the driver gets a flat, he's alerted to the problem via his in-cab display and the axle is automatically lifted to prevent total-loss of the tyre. Neat eh? And when running empty, 50% of all the tyres are lifted to reduce tyre wear. Even better.