BTE: The short story
- From the June 2011 issue.
Since being established almost 60 years ago, Ross Chapman Cartage and Earthmoving Contractors has continued to implement quality equipment designed to increase operating efficiencies. And the latest purchase, an 18m PBS approved truck and quad dog by Bulk Transport Equipment (BTE), is achieving the highest payload of any vehicle in the fleet.
Based in South Gippsland, Ross Chapman Cartage and Earthmoving Contractors operates a fleet of eight truck and dogs, and also employs the services of three permanent sub-contractors. The new truck and quad dog is the company’s largest vehicle yet and the first to be approved under PBS guidelines.
“We came up with the idea that we could build a 18m long combination, sacrifice some of the gross weight and tare weight, and still pick up good net weight – so we decided to go down the PBS path,” explains company owner Nick. “And because the overall length is shorter, it still has general access. Once you go over 19 metres you lose that general access so there are a lot of places you can’t take it. By having the combination built to a length of 18 metres, it can be taken on every road without the need for any permits, and that’s very important.”
With a gross weight of 55 tonne, the new combination is achieving payloads of up to 38.5 tonne – 8.5 tonnes more payload than any of the truck and three axle dogs in the fleet, without any added length. “Because it’s so short, you can go anywhere but still carry the extra weight,” says Nick. “All the others in the fleet are three axle dogs, but in terms of length, this one is still comparable to a three axle dog because of the way we’ve built it. It is basically a direct alternative to a three axle dog. Quite a few people who have seen out on the road have commented on what a great set-up it is, it’s just so versatile.”
BTE has developed this latest design concept which is endorsed by Kenworth engineers, to eliminate the need for the body subframe from the rigid tipper. Instead, BTE incorporates the rear pivot and hoist mounting into the truck chassis, thus eliminating excess weight and also lowering the centre of gravity.
The trailer chassis, designed and manufactured exclusively by BTE, utilises a full Domex construction which offers increased structural integrity whilst significantly reducing the weight that would be incurred through the use of a traditional chassis rail. The elimination of body support pedestals, which can be prone to cracking, is also a key feature of this design. In addition, the rear pivot arrangement of the dog trailer has also seen a major redesign. Utilising a lowered 90mm pivot bar which assists with bracing up the rear end of the trailer, whilst offering a considerably larger bearing area, increases the life of the pivot bar assembly.
Ross Chapman Cartage and Earthmoving Contractors provides services in earthmoving, road construction and general cartage throughout Victoria. Now in its third generation of Chapmans, the company was started by Nick’s grandfather Les Chapman in 1952, then later taken over by his father Ross, then in 2008 the company was taken over by Nick himself.
Over the last few years, Nick has developed a strong business relationship with BTE, having purchased several combinations from the Seaford based manufacturer. “A lot of our equipment is built by BTE but this is the first PBS approved one they have built for us, and they were very accommodating of our needs. We did a lot of mucking around which took a long time – changing axle spacings, changing this and changing that, before we actually got to the point that everyone was happy with,” says Nick.
The combination has now been on the road for over a month, predominantly carting quarry products. “It has been brilliant, absolutely marvelous. This is the first combination BTE has built like this and it is doing everything we want it to. The shorter length also adds to the combination’s stability when tipping which is an added bonus.
“Although the process of obtaining PBS approval was quite a drawn out process, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, given the substantial payload advantages we are achieving. It was a little bit of a learning curve, but now that I know how to go about it, I’m onto it. We had a brand new blueprint so we expected it to take some time to get the approval, but once we got that approval, everything happened fairly quickly,” explains Nick, as he looks to the future. “We don’t have too much in the pipeline for the short term, but in the long term, if this works out to be as good as it is at the moment, we’ll look at replacing all of our three axle dogs with the short 18 metre four axle combinations.”
Although Nick admits it is still early days, he remains very optimistic of the new combination’s future. “You need to invest a lot of money with PBS so you need to make sure that it the combination is sustainable and useable – but so far, we haven’t had a job that the new truck and four axle dog hasn’t been able to work on.”
