June 2018
HIGH TIPPER MCCURDY’S NEW HIGH & LOW TIPPER
• ALLFLOW VACUUM TRUCK • TOMOANA HEAVY HAULER
Tri-dek ute tipper tray
Ezi-Tarp’s low energy cover
OVER EZI
Like an American fried egg, it’s over easy with Ezi Tarp’s new truck and trailer covers.
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Story: Dean Evans Photos: Supplied
ASTER, LIGHTER AND EASIER TO USE, EZI TARP
drivers use less energy to open or close, and in a fraction of the
has introduced a new truck and trailer tarp system that
time of traditional tarp systems. It’s also the only tarp designed
eliminates a lot of the problems associated with tarps,
and manufactured in New Zealand, so it’s truly a home-grown
while improving aspects both small and large.
product.
Ezi Tarp is invented and manufactured by Johnson & Couzins,
“They came to be by default,” explains Shane. “We were
one of NZ’s oldest companies, the self-proclaimed ‘name in shade
asked by a large trucking company to come up with a louvre
since 1866’, and a Christchurch-based business that’s expanded
system for the trucks, and it unfolded from there.
to both Auckland in 2010, and Australia in 2014. More known
“This one’s been designed with the older truck in mind,” adds
for its shade solutions for domestic and commercial, and more
Shane. “One of our clients, the average age of his truck driver is
recently its retractable louvre system, J&C also manufactures a
58; but with health and safety standards, and always needing one
vast range of bespoke PVC and canvas designs for the transport
foot on the ground, these truckies were needing to climb all over
industry.
the place, and getting exhausted. With this system, it considers
Its latest development is the Ezi Tarp, explains Marketing
all those aspects – we have a couple of customers who have
Manager Shane Wratt: “Unlike other systems, the Ezi Tarp
changed to our system for those very reasons, because it’s so
crank units are a low energy and high output bearing and chain
much easier.
system, offering longevity and reduced friction, which means 10 | Truckbody&Trailer
“The nature of hinging systems is they tend to buckle in high
Top: Early computer renderings show the tight fit and finish of the bespoke tarps. Above: Simple and easy-to-use handle is operated from the front of the trailer, and with the operator safely on the ground. Below: Cable system ensures the tarp remains tight along the length of the trailer.
Truckbody&Trailer | 11
IN FOR THE LONG HAUL Story: Dean Evans Photos: Dean Evans, Tomoana
Tomoana Warehousing and Transport is moving bridges, literally, with its new $1.7m Heavy Haul Mercedes-Benz and TRT modular trailer unit.
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ASTINGS’ TOMOANA TRANSPORT HAS OPENED A new chapter in its expanding warehousing and transport story, with the addition of a Mercedes-Benz Actros 8x8
650hp heavy haul unit and TRT seven-line widening, modular trailer. Arriving in late 2017, the Actros tractor has been coupled with the TRT unit, which has three built-in modules and automatic or remote manual rear steering, via the rear pilot. It’s been so busy since moving steel girders and bridge beams for major projects including Huntly and Hamilton bypasses, Tomoana’s Stewart Taylor first had the opportunity to unveil and present the project to a gathering of customers and suppliers in March. “This is quite a step for us,” presented Taylor at the official launch, held within one of its food-grade warehouses. “This is our first heavy haul over-dimensional unit… the truck & trailer unit represents an investment of $1.7 million.” A key partner has been the reason for the expansion, explains Stewart: “Napier’s Eastbridge Ltd bridge building company is the primary reason that we got involved with this. Eastbridge manufactures fabricated steel structures and for over a decade Tomoana has been a transport partner with them, using conventional trucks, often over-dimensional, under permit… but the loads have become heavier and longer. 24 | Truckbody&Trailer
Top: Tomoana’s Stewart Taylor made the official announcement. Above: A modular TRT trailer allows a number of different configurations, on its 56 individual wheels. Above: More than 100 tonne, Tomoana’s new heavy haul Mercedes-Benz Actros unit is moving bridges, literally. Below: After a few months straight into work, Tomoana launched the unit at its Hastings’ warehousing facility in March.
‘We worked with them and helped them win the bid with NZTA for a lot of bridge builds throughout NZ, including Transmission Gully, Hamilton and Huntly bypasses, Puhoi to Warkworth amongst others; what we’ve seen with these bridge builds over the years is that the beams have gotten bigger, longer and heavier, where they no longer fit on a standard truck.” So Stewart and the Tomoana crew started working with project partners Trucks & Trailers, Mercedes-Benz, and TRT who helped spec the trailer. “We went to order something else,” recalls Stewart, “and fortunately TRT asked us a lot of questions about what we were going to cart, and they recommended something a little different and guided us into this trailer, which is far more appropriate. Built by TRT over six months, the seven rows of eight spaces each axle 2.4m apart, to spread the load. At 3.35m wide when closed, it can widen out to 4.88m for improved load support and stability. The 56 wheels on the trailer can steer independently, either automatically via sensors to follow the truck, or manually over-ridden to avoid specific obstacles or when the turns become tight. The suspension can also adjust up or down 800m in travel, to negotiate rough terrain, steep grades or to manoeuvre around obstacles, as well as aiding loading/unloading. The trailer is a modular design, allowing various configurations to match the load, so it can be split into two or three parts, enabling either three rows, five rows, or seven rows of eight tyres, to match the configuration to the payload. Truckbody&Trailer | 25
HIGH-LOW, T Story: Dean Evans
McCurdy Trucks and Mills-Tui build a new high-low tipper for fertiliser spreaders, with high horsepower and a few smart design updates.
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ULK TIPPING IS A STAPLE OF THE TRANSPORT
they’ve built them on smaller horsepower trucks, and modified
world, but sometimes a better solution comes from a
the rear suspension to fit the rams and other gear – but what
little lateral thinking – or in this case, vertical thinking.
we were really after is to do it on a high horsepower truck.
With more than 50 years of experience, three locations and
So we’ve used an Isuzu CYJ530 with a manual transmission,
more than 60 staff, Taranaki’s McCurdy Trucks knows a few
as chosen by Osflo.” With 390kW (530hp) and 2255Nm from
things about truck and trailer building, and its latest creation
its 15.6-litre six-cylinder, the truck comes with a GCM of
– called the High-Low Tipper – is not just a general bulk tipper
55,000kg, so plenty of scope for its purpose.
that handles all the regular jobs, it offers a rising feature in a
The high-low tipper offers a number of advantages: typically,
guise that very few have offered before, showcasing a new,
a fertiliser spreader truck is loaded at the depot, and runs
more stable design with improved operation.
back and forth to the site, so a tipper like this enables on-
As a third generation McCurdy, Manager Paul McCurdy built this high-low tipper for Osflo Fertiliser, a fellow local Taranaki-
site loading and multiple loads, for substantially more efficient work.
based company. “It’s the first time we’ve built a high-low unit
So now the high-low tipper gets a full load at the depot,
like this,” explains Paul. “Others have been done in the past,
along with the spreader truck, and they both go to the job
and Osflo has a couple of others on the fleet, but previously
site. After the spreader truck’s first load is distributed, the
30 | Truckbody&Trailer
, Tip & Go
high-low tipper comes into action, rising to enable reloading
Purves: “It’s one of our standard alloy bins, with a front-of-
the spreader truck on-site. The entire bin rises to allow for up
body hoist, but the back is where the secrets are: it’s got
to 2.4m of clearance, so the spreader truck can drive in and
a different hinge system to raise and lower the bin on the
under the rear to quickly and conveniently accept the load.
arms, and consequently, then there’s an extra cross-member
Explains Paul: “The spreader trucks park at the back of the high-low tipper, which goes into high-tip mode, and loads
running through the back of it… and the rear of the bin is all different.
directly into the spreader, then the next spreader can drive
“There’s quite a bit of time spent designing the back end and
under it for the next load. If the high-low tipper’s got 13 tonne
getting all the angles right, and there’s a lot of strengthening
of product in it, that’s around 4-6 loads into spreader trucks. It
work in the back, with it having to move up and down, plus
saves so much time driving back and forth to the depot – it’s
the two rams at the back, so we went for heavier chassis
like the mother truck, feeding the others on site.”
runners.
Paul recalls the process, which basically wrapped up in a
“There’s quite a bit of work into it, with big heavy profiles,
six month window: “We started designing back in November
and a different type of tail door. The frame of the tail is external,
[2017] with Randall & Associates, and started building it in
so it’s smooth inside, and we’ve got the hinge pivots inside
January. The concept is based on the trucks that already do
the bin, to deal with the way it’s strengthened. It’s maybe a
this in their [Osflo’s] fleet, but we’ve totally redesigned how
little heavier, because we use a heavier cross-member across
it works. Randall & Associates’ engineers got it designed and
the bottom of the bin as well – there’s probably an extra
working on paper first, so we could do the practical part; and
week’s work, with all the strengthening and bracing.”
we sent the bin design to Mills-Tui, which allowed us to carry on with the truck, and get it all working together.”
There are heavier external hinges on the back as well, where the tipper hinges, which is a big difference to the
The bin is alloy, and based on a conventional design, but
normal Mills-Tui design. Adds Dean: “Normally we’d run the
from there it changes, says Mills-Tui Managing Director Dean
hinges internal, so you wouldn’t see it, but you can see the Truckbody&Trailer | 31