Load-wise, this semi is on a strict vegan diet. It only has an appetite for grain, sugar beets, silage, biomass, and other vegetable materials. As an aside, I very much doubt if the driver of such a big rig follows a plant-based diet too. Just my two cents empirical analysis.
The combination consists of a 2023 Volvo FH tractor and a 2022 D-TEC Flexliner FL-3-S end dump semi-trailer. Though it clearly says ‘500’ on its grille frame, the Volvo’s actual power rating is 375 kW, which is the equivalent of 510 DIN-hp.
The small wheels of the lifted baby pusher axle are barely visible, they’re hiding behind the side skirts. Such an axle increases the tractor’s GVWR by 4,500 kg (9,921 lbs).
The D-TEC semi-trailer comes with a steel chassis and an alumin(i)um dump body, the load volume is 55 m³ (1,942 ft³). Or 1,561 US bushels, if you wish to know.
The strut concept, that’s how the Dutch trailer manufacturer describes their light-yet-strong frame construction. The semi-trailer’s registered weight is only 6,211 kg (13,693 lbs).
Given our legal gross weight limit and the curb weight of the whole combination, the rig’s payload capacity is slightly over 35 tonnes (77,160 lbs). Or, as a simple calculation: 50 minus 15 is equal to 35.
Some more basic calculations: 3 times 9 is equal to 27 and 15 plus 27 is equal to 42 (which is the semi-trailer’s GVWR in tonnes).
It’s a D-TEC. A short one, definitely, but it sure is a big eater!
Related article, same line of business:
2021 Mercedes-Benz Actros And 2022 Stas Agrostar – Grains Of Common Sense
Is there a conveyer belt in the bed to help slide the load out?? Doesnt look like it lifts very high/at a steep angle.
I know these types of dump trailers can be very dangerous if you are not parked on level ground. At least the ones here in the usa where they lift WAY high in the air. And they are hauling something like wet sand which can get stuck in the front part of the trailer and throw the weight balance off when its way up in the air.
Conveyer belts in the bed are only used in semi-trailers for hauling potatoes, onions, and such.
A widely used alternative for a dump body in this line of business is a semi-trailer with a walking (aka moving) floor. Basically another form of ‘end dump’.
Video D-TEC semi-trailers with a dump body (these and comparable trailers are never used for hauling sand or clay, btw):
FYI, this is how a semi-trailer looks for hauling sand, soil, clay. You can clearly see the differences. The load volume for these is around 30 m³.
Puttiing the hoist to maximum can stop whatever you are tipping from sliding out, it will also put the rig on its side, you only ever put a hoist up on levelish ground and lift it enough to get the load sliding, Ive done a bit of tipping work and no rollovers, yet. Fortunately most tipping work over here is done with truck and full trailers not semi trailers, most bulk bins for that work are alloy to reduce tare weight and for 50 tonnes you’ll need 8 or more axles to be legal never mind what the manufacturer claims,
I had a few 30 tonne loads of beetroot, tomatoes and sweet corn on a 7 axle rig last season but only got weighed at destination, every time I passed a god squad officer they were busy harassing somebody else, the fines involved following the chain of responsibility spreads throughout the entire operation, nobody escapes.
Nice rig the pusher axle is weird, tandem drive axles is normal over here,
load volume is manufacturer speak, trucks are governed by weight and weight by volume is a known formula, 30 tonnes of gravel takes a lot less space than 30 tonnes of say corn waste or carrots,
as part of one job I had were regular visits to a truck body manufacturer to get truck bodys and associated equipment repaired, interesting place, I kid you not. if you look inside one of those alloy tipping bodies there are no acute corners to hang stuff up on and usually they are double walled for strength and wear factors, as usual the clever engineering is where it cant be seen.
Yes, those baby pusher axles with their small wheels certainly look odd. Luckily tucked away behind the tractor’s side skirts, in this case.
Much more common is opting for a 7.5 tonnes ‘adult’ pusher axle. With steering wheels, thus forming a 6×2/4 drivetrain, see Volvo FH below.