English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 3 - 2016 | Page 47

HISTORY ■  This ADBAN-96 – year of manufacture 1991 – is still used daily by Van Santen Transport This made it possible to change an inside wheel of the Pendel-X low-loader without having to remove the knee bearing first. At the same time the knee bearing was made bigger to lengthen its lifespan, the air reservoirs were moved to the central beam and the location of the hydraulic hoses was changed. Another important change, which enhanced the safety and reliability of the vehicle, was the installation of hose rupture safety valves. These were fitted on every pendle axle, but also between the load surface and the rear axle assembly. Even if the cable guide in the load surface gets damaged, the hydraulic suspension system won’t be emptied. From 2010 onwards the PX-2 technology has also been used on the Interdolly at the front of the low-loader. In addition to 285 tyres Nooteboom introduced 245 tyres for the PX2, which makes the bogie 9 centimetres lower. 2005 THE INTRODUCTION OF THE PENDEL-X The Pendel-X low-loader with a deep, wide excavator trough was a revolution in low-loader manufacturing in 2005. It was the first time that a deep excavator trough was combined with pendle axles. Nooteboom applied for – and was granted – a patent for this unique construction. The construction of the Pendel-X was extremely compact and, owing to the application of a turntable, was built to last. axles and a long, low load floor - due to the compact construction of the axle assemblies. The ODBAN/ADBAN series was manufactured up to the nineties. Big improvements were made in that period of more than 20 years. The steering, which initially operated with rods and chains, was already replaced by hydraulic steering in 1969, only one year after the introduction. Followed in 1976 by fitting hydropneumatic suspension instead of leaf springs. With this novelty the low-loader could be raised when negotiating an embankment or railway level crossing. This is commonplace now, but up to 1975 nearly all trailers had leaf-spring suspension and it was not unusual for a low-loader to get stuck on a level crossing. 1953 OPEN SWIVELLING AXLES Before the introduction of the detachable gooseneck, Nooteboom produced a low-loader with detachable axles. The open swivelling rear axles made the driver’s job a lot easier. The pendle axles from 1953 can in no way be compared with the pendle axles of the Manoovr. An example of the technological lead that Nooteboom had in the fifties: in 1957(!) they built a 6-axle pendle axle drawbar low-loader for Van Twist with a load capacity of 100 tonnes at 30km/h. In 2016 you would need a 7-axle Manoovr to do the same. ■ 1996 THE INTERDOLLY In 1984 Nooteboom introduced the Euro low-loader with hydraulically steered axles. In order to meet the demand for more load capacity and better weight distribution the Interdolly was launched in 1996. The 1996 version of the Interdolly had pendle axles – for a larger steering angle – and steered rear axles. Up till 2010 the concept of this Interdolly has hardly changed, although improvements have been made regularly. Today this Interdolly is still in being used at dozens of transport companies. 1968 THE ODBAN/ADBAN At the BedrijfsautoRAI RAI in 1968 Nooteboom surprised friend and foe alike with the ODBAN/ADBAN series. Low-loaders with pendle ■  Open swivelling axles: the first pendle axles from the fifties 47