Why do so many Americans hate European trucks?

This is the interesting story of the transformation of a tipper to a bus.

In 2009 the company Pouw wanted to use the new regulations on long highway trucks to build a very big tipper. They ordered a 12x10 tipper with Ginaf. Legally it was a 60 tonne (132,000 lb) truck, technically it was a 75 tonne (165,000 lb) tonne truck. The first three axles and the last axle were steerable. The third axle could be lifted. This is a picture of this magnificent beast:



At one point it was allowed on the road, but later on it wasn't. Pouw used the truck for years on their own grounds, and then it was sold for export. It landed in Iceland, and there it was converted to a bus for serious off-roading. The third axle was removed as you can see:



This construction also demonstrates that it is possible to add a huge sleeper to a EU cabover.

 

Wait wait wait. What the hell do your fifth wheels look like? Do they lock in solid to the trailer and pivot inside the trailer instead? It just looks like a maintenance nightmare to me.

 

No, the fifth wheel rotates on the truck. The steering mechanism locks into the wedge shaped opening of the fifth wheel. Not everything you are not familiar with has to be a maintenance nightmare. These trailers are used every day to supply supermarkets for instance.

 

So I was correct. Sounds terrible.

 

You've never seen it, you have no idea about the actual construction, and yet you know it must be terrible. A clear case of the Not Invented Here syndrome.

 

How much do your euro trailers tare in at?

 

Depends on the materials used, steel or aluminium for instance. The maximum load on the axles of such a trailer in the Netherlands can be 3 x 9,000kg = 27,000kg (60,000lb) if the spacing between the axles is less then 6 feet (and more then 51 inch) , or 3 x 10,000kg = 30,000kg (66,000 lb) if the spacing is more.

 

Tare is unladen weight.

 

Depends which ones, most of trailers are curtainsider 3axle 45ft, on steel wheels spare wheel, 36 pallet box, rear doors sliding roof weight around 14-14.5k lbs, you can find heavy ones suitable for high point loads, coils, railcars (loafef by jack on railcar) for frequent ferry transport... they can weight up to 15.5k, lightest one is 10150lbs, before there were some lighter in market but were too weak.

 

Same as yours,mostly fitted with central lubrication so you dont have much work about it, i do not preffer ptfe ones.

On photos are hydraulic steering systems. Australia use turntables to rotate while 5th wheel is used only for tilt angle and as hook