Zwagerman Transport en Hijswerk is a heavy haulage and lifting specialist from the Netherlands, founded in 1994 by Cor Zwagerman. He’s still in charge, together with his son Martin. Welcome to the temporary Thunderdome, where several of the company’s heavyweights gathered.
Like this 2015 Volvo FH 8×4 tractor with a 2014 Nooteboom six-axle semi-low loader (102 tonnes Nooteboom factory GVWR).
The freight is a partly dismantled Liebherr LR1300 crawler crane.
A 2018 Volvo FH tractor unit with an impressive Fassi knuckle boom crane behind its cab. The outriggers are stretched out.
The 10×4*6 tractor is towing a 2008 Nooteboom four-axle semi-low loader (73 tonnes factory GVWR). On its bed the boom and arm of a crawler crane, used for serious demolition jobs.
A Nooteboom 2-bed-5 low loader, coupled to a 2019 Volvo FH16 10×4*6 tractor. Front to back: the five-axle Volvo, the gooseneck, a detachable tandem axle interdolly, the low loader’s bed, the five-axle rear unit. Around 100 tonnes payload capacity, I’d say. In this case, the 750 hp Volvo engine certainly isn’t overkill.
2016 Mercedes-Benz Actros 4158 8×4 tractor with a 2009 Nooteboom seven-axle semi-low loader (109 tonnes factory GVWR).
In Europe, this absolute top segment of road transport is fully dominated by Volvo, Scania, Mercedes-Benz and MAN. Unsurprisingly, the brands with the biggest and most powerful turbodiesels (currently beyond 15 liter and 600 hp for the Germans, beyond 16 liter and 700 hp for the Swedes).
The best-known trailer manufacturers in the business are Nooteboom, Broshuis, Faymonville, Scheuerle, Goldhofer and Doll.
On a previous occasion I caught an older beast in the jumbo showroom of a used truck dealer. There’s no company name on the cab, but it’s clearly a former Zwagerman heavy haulage tractor.
A 1996 Scania R143E 500 V8 10×4 tractor. The letter E refers to an Extra heavy-duty Scania chassis. According to the vehicle specs on the dealer’s website, the Scania is rated at a gross combination weight of no less than 250 tonnes (as in 551,000 lbs). Extra heavy-duty, you can say that again.
Note the axle configuration of this 20th century powerhouse, compared with the more recent five-axle models. Three steering axles, then the tandem. Nowadays that’s two steering axles – tandem – counter steering tag axle (or simply a 10×4*6 chassis).
Zwagerman is a renowned specialist with a whole fleet of big rigs, working all over Europe. There are plenty of job action videos uploaded on YouTube. I chose this one, featuring a 2012 Volvo FH16 10×4 with a Nooteboom 3-bed-5 low loader. Reversing, under less than ideal circumstances. Tractor pulling pushing at its finest (video by Truckpalace).
Wish we had those powerful engine offerings in the USA for heavy haul work. Volvo Trucks North America is not renewing the Cummins X15 diesel option for 2024, leaving dealers with no option over 500 HP/1850 torque in the D13 Volvo diesel.
A fine engine for sure, but most heavy haul operators need more than that offering.
Maybe they’ll replace the Cummins 15 liter by their own 16.1 liter in the near future? The history of that biggest Volvo engine goes back to 1987, when it was introduced in the 470 hp Volvo F16 (a cabover).
If I’m not mistaken, US-Macks were available with the 16.1 liter Volvo engine not that long ago (which is still the case in Australia, BTW).
‘Not that long ago’…it has been almost 7 years, actually (time flies):
https://www.dieselprogress.com/news/volvo-mack-discontinue-16-l-diesel/5002172.article
Not surprised that Volvo dropped the Cummins engine.
Probably the bean counters running the numbers.
Volvo used to have Cat engines available back in the 90’s. They dropped Cat. When we asked why Volvo was dropping Cat our regional rep told us “Why are we (Volvo) buying a competitors engine and putting it in our truck?”
Bring an engine into the US market brings lots of costs. Emission Certification, engineering, support and unit sales. The question is, are you going to make enough money to cover the costs and meet profit requirements.
Caterpillar left the truck engine market in the early 2000s rather than meet the next level of emissions standards so it was more Cat’s bean counters and product planners than the truck makers.
Volvo dumped CAT long before CAT exited the on-highway engine market.
The odd part about CAT’s exit is that CAT then came out with CAT trucks that were built by Navistar, using Navistar engines and a 15L engine based on CAT’s C15. CAT’s on-highway trucks didn’t last very long, The trucks came out in 2011 and the plug was pulled in 2016.
I still see a few of them on the road around here, future CC material.
Good comments above. Regarding the rig – WOW! I like the axle spacing on the trailer and the use of the tires that a) requires more axles and b) allows for lower height for the trailer. This truck must be a gas to drive.
The key difference is the location of the wheels/axle lines. With the wheels underneath the bed, it’s called a ‘semi-low loader’. That set-up goes back decades, see 1975 Groenewegen semi-low loader below.
With the wheels behind (and ahead) of the obviously lower situated bed it’s called a genuine ‘low loader’.
The crazy thing about the crane in the lead photo is that it is the tip of the iceberg and there are another two or three trucks for the boom, jib, counterweights and accessories.
Hire a big crane, any kind, and a whole ‘circus’ arrives at the scene…
Big cranes? That thing is a baby compared to what I saw offloaded at my one of my buildings a decade or so ago. It’s tracks were so wide the inner portion was barely on the trailer. It offloaded by lowering it’s outriggers and raising itself up. I think it was 2 trucks with the boom and another 5 with counterweights, one per semi. It was there to work on an old highway bridge that was being refurbed.
But this combo, my gawd, 10 axles between truck and trailer? I guess it has multiple steering axles, but unless the trailer axles pivot, there’s got to be a whole lot of tire scrub on tight turns. Even on not so tight turns.
See video: apart from the tractor’s tandem (the two rearmost drive axles), all axles steer. They simply have to, as such rigs frequently deliver their freight deep into built up areas. Without them, you can’t even get where you want to be.
The same applies to the article’s semi-low loaders. Example: Broshuis battle tank transporters for the US Army, as pictured below.