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enuity makes for flexible fleet
Page 75
Page 76
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Nan Cnalmers-Hunt investigates --ne increasing use of skip-loaders in a more flexible role for all sorts of operation
Again the hard economic facts of life have caused bodybuilders to exercise imagination and ingenuity in producing bodies that are strong, durable, flexible in use yet light in weight.
Steel and alloy bodies are the most popular materials used and for general use where strength and durability are of paramount importance, steel still offers most advantages.
A solid body with a top-andbottom-hinged back door and an all-welded frame with robust mudguards welded on withstands the rigours of most loading points. Hopper systems and mechanical loading equipment always play havoc with the body floor, side capes and corner pillars so for a robust construction, a rigid steel box is desirable.
Dropsides are obviously not sufficiently strong for this t/pe of loading and soon the centre and corner posts will require renewal.
Productivity
Aluminium alloy has an impact strength three times greater than that of steel; it is lighter but far more expensive. The weight factor becomes more important when a dropside body is used because the driver does not have to manipulate such heavy sides.
Alloy bodies are now available with fold-in sides, so that a tipper can be quickly converted into a flat, so increasing the versatility and productivity of the vehicle_ For instance it can carry timber or bricks to a building site and return with a load of spoil.
When considering ordering a conventional tipper it is beneficial to consider "cab protectors" and tarpaulin attachment points. On the latter point, overloading is still too common among tipper operators caused by traffic clerks unaware of the vast differences in weight between wet and dry loads. In the case of clay, the difference can be as much as three tonnes on a 10 cubic yard load' Skip loaders can present an interesting challenge to opera tors because with a little thought, the use of the system is immense, besides the conven tional function of removal of waste. Local authorities object to building aggregates being dumped on or beside the roadways because when it rains, they can be washed into the drainage system causing seriou's blockages.
Why not deliver in a skip where it can be stored until used? Pilferage is also a problem on building sites — bags of cement or expensive fittings dis appear. Orders could be made up by the merchants and loaded directly into lockable skips, then delivered to the site and stored until required.
Contractors' plant such as concrete mixers and compressors can be mounted on frames .
compatible with the skip system in use and transported to the site. With the conventional touring wheels removed, the possibility of theft is reduced.
By the very nature of a skip system, operators engaged in
waste disposal do not have their lorries waiting to be loaded for long periods of time but can keep them mobile the majority of a working day.
However, it is not possit just to dump a skip on the side the road, because the H i g hwa Act demands that the custom contact the local authority al obtain permission to leave ti skip first. A permit can be issui for periods from one week two months, depending ( requirements.
Operators must ensure th at night any skips left by tl roadside must be suitably lit. well as being painted yellow each end. Each skip must I identified with the owner name address and telephol number.
Quality
There is a wide range of ski on the market but it pays purchase good quality. The will last for 10 years or mo whereas others can be scr within a year. Because of t very nature of their functic skips must be rigidly built, sti being the universal material use, and provision must made for covering a load in container while on site or motion.
The main disadvantage using a skip vehicle is the cc paratively low payload that . system can carry. Very few s vehicles are capable of be overloaded because it is vii ally impossible to overfill a s unless with steel billets building blocks.
Loss of skips due to hap zard records used to be a 1: blem with many operators, now logging systems a positive skip identificati marks are in use, so that n loss is no longer a serious r blem.
Tipper and skip operati have a healthy future provic that they are able to adE themselves to a changing rr ket by the correct selection equipment and most efficii use of their resources.