English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 4 - 2017 | Page 47
HISTORY
THE 100-TONNE NETWORK MANOOVR BALLAST TRAILER
In the Netherlands until 2016 the maximum legal axle loads
allowed on the motorways and the rest of the road network was
diff erent. Aft er several years of negotiations a new regulation came
into force. Th e axle load was reduced to 10 tonnes but at the same
time the road network for abnormal transport up to 100 tonnes
gross weight was expanded signifi cantly. Transport operators
can check on the Digital Road Map Exemptions (Wegenkaart
Ontheffi ngen - DWO) which roads are approved for transports
with a GVW of 100 tonnes. Based on the new regulation the
OVB-95-07(CS) was developed. Th e aim was to achieve maximum
load capacity with a GVW of 100 tonnes. Th e load capacity of the
new 7-axle ballast trailer is with approx. 71 tonnes – due to clever
calculations – almost similar to the old 6-axle version. Quite an
achievement because, in spite of the axle load being reduced from
12 to 10 tonnes per axle, the new ballast trailer still off ers the same
load capacity. And as for complying with the German regulations:
here too this 7-axle ballast trailer is the perfect transport solution. Th e latest addition to the ballast trailer programme is the MPL-97-06
with pendle axles. Th is Manoovr semi low-loader with fi xed load fl oor
has a rated load capacity of 12 tonnes/axle and is therefore interna-
tionally an important alternative for the transport of crane ballast on
the 100-tonne road network. Th e Manoovr is shorter than the 7-axle
ballast trailer and the load fl oor is with 780 mm quite a bit lower. In the
crane business the height of the load fl oor is becoming more and more
important. With a view to safely work at height various crane companies
have already invested in the latest Manoovr ballast trailer. Modern
mobile telescopic cranes, depending on their confi guration, can need up
to 9 trailers to carry all the ballast and boom sections. When using the
Manoovr the number of transport movements can be brought down. ■
COUNTERSTEERING
With the arrival of the 7-axle ballast trailer countersteering
was introduced. Only for the 7-axle trailers at fi rst, but by now
also introduced for 5-axle and 6-axle ballast trailers. In order to
improve the manoeuvrability when reversing, on versions with
more than 4 axles the front axle steers in the opposite direction
to the rear axles. With this countersteering it is easy to drive the
ballast trailer up to the crane on the lift ing loca