Toll Group has deployed four new Vawdrey Performance-Based Standards (PBS) A-doubles in Dangerous Goods (DG) spec for its Gases division.
The 30m drop deck skel trailers themselves were designed last year to support Toll’s ISO tanker CO₂ movements as part of its contract with major customer, BOC Gases Australia.
With gross payloads of 60 tonnes (equating to net payloads of up to 41 tonnes of CO₂), the A-doubles have achieved a significant improvement over the fleet’s B-double tanker sets which have payloads of 32 tonnes of CO₂.
Toll Group National Manager – Gases, Cameron Taylor, told Trailer the combinations have been a “huge success” from a productivity and sustainability point of view.
“Our net payload has increased by over 25 per cent compared to our current B-doubles,” he said.
“In terms of sustainability, we’ve done some calculations on CO₂ offset and fuel burn, and just by running these high productivity combinations between Kooragang, New South Wales, and Bulwer Island, Brisbane, we’ve estimated that our annual CO₂ offset is about 226 tonnes which is significant.”
According to Taylor, moving 160 tonnes of CO₂ between Kooragang and BOC’s terminal in Bulwer Island would previously require five B-double movements.
Yet with the A-double combinations, Toll is now able to do it in four.
“They’ve been phenomenal,” Taylor said.
“This is a game changer for BOC’s network and they certainly acknowledge that. The feedback has been outstanding.”
The A-doubles are operating on Higher Mass Limits (HML), each with a Gross Combination Mass (GCM) of 85.5 tonnes.
According to Taylor, they have performed flawlessly in their first few deliveries for BOC.
“There are some pretty good climbs on the way up to Brisbane,” he said.
“We are up on weight at 85 tonnes and coming back we’re 40 tonnes lighter, but they are fantastic combinations and they do it really well.”
In terms of their on-road handling, Taylor said the way the A-doubles track is fantastic.
“We’re finding that the combinations work really well,” he said.
“With the steering axle technology, sweep path and turning radius, these things track better than our current 25-metre B-doubles.”
“If you’re going through roundabouts, from a turning point of view your turning footprint is pretty much the same as a 25-metre B-double which is outstanding.”
For quite some time, Vawdrey has been Toll’s trailer manufacturer of choice.
In this instance, he explained that Vawdrey was chosen for their “expertise in A-doubles”.
“We specifically gave them the build and the design brief that we wanted,” Taylor said.
“What really became key on that design was to get maximum payloads – a 60-tonne gross payload which allows for two 30-tonne ISO tankers.
“That was sought as very ambitious, and it needed a lot of a lot of work, but Vawdrey were able to come up with a combination.”
According to Taylor, there will be more additions from Vawdrey in a similar spec in the near future.
“Between Vawdrey and our equipment team, we commissioned build on those and they’ve now come to fruition,” he said.
“And there’s more to come.”
