Scheuerle launches WideCombi trailer

At ConExpo in Las Vegas, Scheuerle launched its new type of hydraulic modular trailer, the WideCombi, especially designed for the North-American market. Bragg Heavy Transport Inc., a California-based crane and heavy hauling company, is the first client to take delivery of the new trailer.

The variety of road and permit regulations around the world quite often require a special trailer design to allow trailer access to the national road system or to maximize its use and capacity. This is especially true in the US, with its many federal regulations for roadways and other regulations that vary state to state. Scheuerle, the German specialized trailer manufacturer of heavy and oversized loads, has, together with its North American representative, Transport Systems & Products Inc., drawn up a design that meets those different US regulations and that offers the highest capacity due to its dual-lane design.

The WideCombi forms yet another type in the Combi-range of hydraulic modular trailers and offers all the possibilities of a modular trailer. The WideCombi is produced in standard modules of two or four axle lines. Each line is equipped with two-wide spread pendulum axles, each equipped with four 235/75 R17.5 tires. Axle spacing measures 108 inches. All axles offer mechanical steering with a maximum steering angle of 60 degrees.

Because of the dual lane design principle, the standard WideCombi is 15 feet wide. By splitting the longitudinal center beam and inserting spacers, the trailer width increases to 18 feet in the X-version and to 20 feet in the XL-version.

According to the company, a specially designed split-type frame is the backbone of the WideCombi. In its basic design, the WideCombi transport system consists of bogies with tow or four axle lines which can be coupled to each other. For low load transportation, there is the possibility of integrating a loading bridge between the modules, providing a wider range of over-the-road possibilities.

The WideCombi is designed using the company's pendulum axle technology. The hydraulic cylinders in the pendulum axles guarantee large axle compensation and tremendous piston displacement in order to drive under stationary loads which are then lifted into the required driving position.

The modular design of the WideCombi allows for 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-axle line combinations. As standard, the trailer is operated equipped with a hydraulic adjustable gooseneck fitted for the use of four-axle tractors. A hydraulic power pack on the gooseneck powers the hydraulic system, including the hydraulic suspension that also allows for self loading and discharging. The trailer runs at a loading height of 48.8 inches, but the hydraulic suspension offers an adjustable height of plus and minus 325 millimeters. As an option, the WideCombi can also be equipped with a drawbar coupling element instead of the gooseneck. Another option available is adding a lowbed to create a four-bed, six-line trailer.

The WideCombi offers a capacity of 18,150 kg (40,000 pounds) or 23,500 kg (51,810 pounds) at, respectively, 96 km/h (60 mph) or 40 km/h (25 mph) with applicable fifth wheel loadings of, respectively, 26,000 kg (57,320 pounds) and 33,430 kg (73,700 pounds). Maximum payload capacity for a 12-line trailer runs up to 180,400 kg (397,790 pounds) at 96 km/h (60 mph) or 252,030 kg (555,650 pounds) at 40 km/h (25 mph).