Trailers the European Way

High-cube Kögel Mega van has the usual rear doors plus curtain sides and a liftable roof tarp, allowing loading and unloading from docks and over its sides and top. Photo: Kögel 

“>

European designs are often more elegant (or complex, depending on how you look at it), but these features add functionality to products. That was evident in trailers announced and displayed at the recent IAA commercial vehicles show in Hannover, Germany.

In conjunction with this month’s feature on global influences on trucks, here we offer highlights of trailers shown at IAA. They include a high-cube van with load-enhancing equipment, a “safety” tanker, a hydraulic-motor axle, systems for “kinetic energy recovery” and electric power generation, and an integrated combination vehicle.

Integrated tractor-trailer

Krone, a major trailer builder in Germany, teamed up with Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz Trucks to produce a combination vehicle that they claim saves up to 20% in fuel compared to standard tractor-trailers now used on the Continent. The integrated approach, like the government-sponsored SuperTruck programs in the U.S., proved worthwhile for fuel efficiency and practical cargo transportation.

The tractor is an aero-style Mercedes Actros cabover with a high-efficiency powertrain, “anticipatory” cruise control and low-rolling-resistance tires. The tractor is responsible for three-quarters of the fuel savings. The Krone van trailer, called Profi Liner Efficiency, has full-length skirts made of impact-resistant plastic, and a four-part folding “rear wing,” also made of robust plastic.

For-hire fleets tested five of the advanced combination vehicles last year and found that they were practical in everyday service, said executives of both companies at an IAA press briefing. Drivers reported that the side skirts were not damaged and did not interfere with forklift loading over the trailer’s edges, and that the rear wing panels were easily folded back with the doors.

The manufacturers also said the structural system for the side panels …Read the rest of this story

Source:: http://www.truckinginfo.com/channel/equipment/article/story/2016/12/trailers-the-european-way.aspx