At first sight, the extra long and heavy ‘ecocombi’ I caught the other day appears to be a standard B-double, but there’s more to it. The second trailer may look like a quad-axle semi-trailer, yet in fact it’s a combination of two trailers, each with its own vehicle registration plate. The whole ensemble, a dedicated shipping container carrier, is led by a rather angry looking crowned griffin.
The combination is owned by the Sneepels family business, founded in 1990. Only Scanias in their impressive tractor fleet, and so far I’ve only seen (and heard) them with a Vee Eight.
The 2019 Scania R520 V8 tractor with a 6×2/4 drivetrain wears the habitual Sneepels outfit in that striking shade of blue.
The gross axle weight ratings are as follows: front axle 8,000 kg, pusher axle 7,500 kg, drive axle 11,500 kg. Or in short, the tractor’s GVWR is 27 tonnes (59,525 lbs).
Due to the shipping container, this was the best view to the rear of the cab and the exhaust stacks.
A 2026 Jumbo semi-trailer, which is the lead trailer of the B-double, is coupled to the Scania. It carries a 20ft shipping container.
The lead trailer of a B-double always comes with a fifth wheel coupling to connect the second semi-trailer.
For your information, the shipping container is secured on a sliding frame. Otherwise the weight distribution would be all wrong when the Jumbo hits the road as a stand-alone unit, transporting a heavy container. Not to mention the fact that loading and unloading the container would be sheer impossible, assuming it stays on the semi-trailer.
The Jumbo lead trailer teamed up with a 2016 D-TEC Combitrailer, consisting of a single-axle semi-trailer and a tri-axle semi-trailer, joined together.
The Combitrailer carries a 40ft flat rack shipping container, which is essentially a flatbed, suited for transporting steel, bricks, and so on.
Here’s where the two D-TEC semi-trailers join forces, the combination is also capable of transporting two 20ft containers.
In the summer of 2025, I visited an open house of the Vlastuin company, the manufacturer of the D-TEC semi-trailers. This is how it looks when the two modules of a Combitrailer are completely disconnected. The front trailer is offered with one or two axles and it speaks for itself that the rear trailer has a kingpin too.
In the Netherlands, such an extra long and heavy combination is rated at a gross combination weight of 60 tonnes (132,300 lbs), their maximum overall length is 25.25 m (82’10”). The legal maximum payload capacity of the Sneepels rig is 36,500 kg (80,470 lbs), given its total curb weight.
Now suppose this rig’s job is to transport three enclosed, 20ft shipping containers. In that case, each of them can be loaded or unloaded -for example at a truck dock- at the same time without the help of a dedicated forklift or crane to get the front and center container on and off the rig. And with two more tractor units and drivers, it’s also possible to form three short semis, operating separately.
No matter how straight and wide the roads are, at some point the driver has to steer such a combination through a corner, preferably in a graceful manner. You already know from many of my previous posts how to cope with that, namely going for a setup with plentiful steering axles. In this specific case, I might as well mention the non-steering axles. Those are, from front to back: the Scania’s drive axle, the Jumbo’s first axle, and the D-TEC Combitrailer’s second and third axle. Now don’t worry, I won’t bother you with the liftable axles…
That is totally bonkers! I am always amazed at how the Europeans keep coming up with these complex multi-steering axle combinations. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. In the US, big trucks just don’t have to deal with old school narrow roads and tight curves.
I await the next breakthrough. Every axle will steer and the truck combination will be able to turn on itself, or turn into a pretzel.
Granted, it’s not a combination vehicle, but will a Tatra Phoenix 8×8 with all wheel steer (crab steer included) do? BTW, an ecocombi is only allowed to drive on main roads. If everything goes as planned, you’ll never see them in city/town/village centers or on twisty back roads.
Very impressive. But I’m trying to understand the need for the jacks at the front of the tri-axle trailer. Or are they part of…?
Stability when the tractor is decoupled, especially while loading and unloading the container (with a forklift, for example). And with a fully loaded container, there would possibly be too much weight resting on the Jumbo’s front axle, the jacks compensate the absence of the tractor when the semi-trailer is standing somewhere, all alone.
To add to Johannes’ correct answer: even if the (laden) three-axle semitrailer would not need the landing gear to not tip over per se, its front end would likely drop so low that the tractor or towing semitrailer could no longer fit under it for coupling, especially once the airbags start losing pressure if the semitrailer is parked for a longer time. Come to think of it, the landing gear might even be a legal requirement for a semitrailer.
Thanks Yuri, and the Jumbo’s VDL Weweler landing gear says ‘heavy-duty’ for sure.
This does seem like a a very complicated way to handle three 20′ containers compared to the common US setup of a single 50′ trailer with two 20′ containers or a single 40′. US container hauling also involves a lot of 53′ intermodal containers hauled to of from railheads. I’m sure there’s a good case for al the complexity although I’m still a bit surprised at how common 6×2 tractors are and how rare 6×4 is.
Sure, but are these also allowed to haul three 20ft containers that weigh 12 tonnes each? (given the payload capacity of the article’s rig).
The whole idea is that the combination is dividable in three separate units that can operate independently from each other. For example, when loading and unloading at a truck dock or when forming three short rigs, driving down the road. (as mentioned in the article). And for hauling two 20ft containers or a single 40ft container, you can simply leave the Jumbo lead trailer at home.
And yes, all that overall length of US rigs, they certainly look very impressive. But please count in the factor WEIGHT too (gross or payload capacity, I don’t mind).
Dedicated, standard on-highway rollers come with a single drive axle. You can order a 770 hp Scania or 780 hp Volvo 4×2 tractor without surprising the dealership or factory.
The legal environment definitely makes a difference. The maximum GVW for Interstate travel in the US is 80,000lbs or 36,200 kg so standard US truck weights are lower than Europe. On the other hand maximum trailer length is 53′ or 16.15 meters and tractor length is unregulated at the Federal level hence the preference for conventional trucks and big sleepers. There are permits to allow longer trailers and heavier weights as needed. There are also various state laws like triple trailers in Oregon or the Michigan Centipede.
Being able to break up the rig like that makes sense operationally.
Currently, several European countries allow the SEC on their main roads. No connection to the Benz C126-series whatsoever, the letters stand for Super Eco Combi, already mentioned below by Yuri. They’re testing it in the Netherlands as we speak. It’s a tractor towing two standard-sized semi-trailers, the second trailer is coupled to a converter dolly. An example is pictured below, their gross combination weight exceeds 70 tonnes (154,300 lbs).
I’ve always liked the US conventionals with the big sleepers, still do. But sadly, they’ve become largely irrelevant in the rest of the trucking world. So enjoy them!
It’s all a result of legal requirements. A semitrailer is restricted to being 13.60 meters long. That’s good enough for two 20′ containers or one 40′ container on a regular tractor-semitrailer combination. A 45′ one does not fit, strictly speaking, but to facilitate intermodal transport, this is reluctantly allowed.
The combination Johannes posted is a bit of a local special; they are not allowed everywhere in Europe, and even where they are, there is no uniform regulation on their configuration (axle loads, GTW, swept path…). In the Netherlands, the Eco-Combi (or LZV) is allowed to be 25.25 meters long in total, or 25.75 in case the cab conforms to the latest aero regulations (‘aerocab’). However, total loading length shall not exceed 21.82 meters; total GTW is capped at 60 tonnes. Then, there’s individual axle loads to make things even more complicated. The drive axle may not exceed 11.5 tonnes, AND there shall be at least 20% of the GTW on the drive axle when driving off from standstill. That would cap the GTW at 57.5 tonnes (5 * 11.5, right), so you’d expect a 6×4 to eke out the last tonnes. However, it is allowed to exceed the 11.5 tonnes temporarily by 25%, up to 30km/h, by unloading the pusher (or tag) axle of the tractor, thereby transferring load to the drive axle, so that’s the get-out-of-jail for the 6×2.
6×4 is a configuration you’ll rarely see for a European tractor unit intended for international long haul. With GTW being capped at 40 tonnes for a regular tractor-semitrailer (44 for container transport), there’s no point; a 6×4 is heavy, fuel inefficient and bad on tire wear compared to the typical 4×2 unit. Typically, roads are good to excellent, so the traction advantage of a 6×4 counts for nothing. Also, total length is restricted to 16.5 meters (although with the aforementioned aerocab, that restriction is effectively dropped) and a 6×4 is longer than a 4×2 and the fifth wheel has to be mounted far enough back on the chassis to allow the semitrailer to articulate. As a result, the combination would become too long.
A 6×2 is a happy middle ground; a 6×2 with a pusher axle can be as compact as a 4×2 and allows for a higher king pin load. For most European applications, a 6×2 is not necessary, as individual axle loads are typically not at risk of being exceeded with a 4×2 tractor and the typical three axle semitrailer at a GTW of 40 tonnes. However, in case of container transport which may go up to 44 tonnes, or in individual countries that allow higher GTW’s for tractor-semitrailer combinations (UK allows 44 tonnes, the Netherlands 50), the (liftable) pusher is just the ticket.
In some applications, a 6×2 tag is preferred, but a 6×2 tag, like the 6×4, is typically a tad too long to be completely legal everywhere. However, they do offer a distinct traction advantage over a 6×2 pusher. That’s why almost all 6×2’s in Scandinavia are tags. That’s also where you’ll find quite some 6×4 tractor units, especially for the Super Eco Combi (tractor + semitrailer + dolly +semitrailer). But then we’re into a whole different territory…
I could go on, but I’m enough of a bore as it is!
To add to the fun, Sisu, Volvo, and Scania offer a 6×4 drivetrain with a liftable and disengageable rearmost drive axle.
Very nice pieces of kit indeed! And a lot more advanced than the old Robson drive!
All these liftable and steerable axles cannot be cheap. Thats the main reason you never see them in the USA on standard sized trucks. Margins are thin, most fleets spec the cheapest trucks they can get away with.
Heard that an instant red flag that its a shifty carrier you dont want to drive for is that they run Internationals. They are the cheapest junk on the market.
Liftable truck/tractor axles and steerable trailer axles go back many decades, by now it’s basically old and proven technology. I already noticed them when I was young kid, back in the early/mid-seventies. Like the mechanical steering systems (cables or rods), still used these days, on the heavy-duty Floor semi-trailers for hauling bricks. The Scandinavian truck makers started to offer a liftable tag axle around 1955-1960, still in the pre-air suspension era (so on chassis with steel suspension all around).
The latest 13 liter engine used by International was developed by MAN and Scania, which means it’s an across-the-board Traton turbodiesel these days.
Between Johannes and Yuri, I have learned more about European needs. As is typical everywhere, regulations govern configurations. Yuri, you do not bore me. Johannes, FINE JOB, as usual.
Thanks Tom! I’d say that apart from regulations, local or regional circumstances and needs also govern configurations.