Industrial trucks - Tractors and trailers

Whenever the work carried out by forklift trucks involves long journeys, efforts should be made to ensure that these transports are carried out by trailer trains. The towing machine can be either the forklift itself, or a tractor.

The creation of a trailer and tractor service can lead to savings in the operation of the forklift fleet, but it requires a precise prior analysis of flows, including not only the location of shipping and receiving points, but also volumes and quantities, in terms of average values and statistical variations. It also requires coordination between the various users, and their active participation.

Journey times can be calculated on the basis of distances to be covered, using standard handling times. In this way, transport time savings can be compared with terminal loading and unloading operations, as well as hooking, unhooking and moving trailers.

In some cases, the trailers can be transformed into containers on wheels, allowing loads to be picked up and set down directly by workstation operators. And don't forget to provide the necessary space for parking and shunting trains.

With regard to the use of trailer trains on public roads, the Highway Code stipulates that , for unbraked trailers, limits the length of the train to a single trailer and the total rolling weight of the tractor-trailer combination to 1,500 kg. It can therefore be said that use on public roads is only possible with braked trailers.

Determining the characteristics of tractor units to provide a given service involves problems of dynamics on the one hand, and kinematics on the other.

The choice of tractors and especially trailers, of which there are a large number of models with very different possibilities, must take into account factors linked to the environment and the service to be provided, as well as the loads to be transported.

Trailers are load-bearing machines designed exclusively for towing a motorized carriage, with the exception of set-up operations for forming and dismantling trains.

Trucks or trailer trucks are machines that are used purely manually, and are towed for long journeys either by a motorized cart, or by a chain conveyor, usually embedded in the ground. Their dimensions are smaller than those of trailers, and their undercarriage usually consists of fixed or swivel castors.

Although the design and construction of a truck or trailer may seem straightforward, the experience of a specialized manufacturer is needed to achieve a perfectly satisfactory service.