Dachser Iberia deploys 2 x 13.6m Dúo-trailer rigs

News 10 Jan 2022 by WCN Editorial

Two such rigs are in operation in Dachser’s daily liner service between Madrid and Barcelona

𝕏

The Dúo-trailers join seven conventional 16.5m long trucks operated by the company between the key centres of Madrid and Barcelona.

With the tractor unit, the overall length of the Dúo-trailers is said to to be “just over” 30m. The tractor has just one rear axle and the dolly has just one axle, too. All-up weight is limited to 44 tonnes, but the important point here is the volumetric capacity – 134 pallets.

The company hopes to increase the number of Dúo-trailer rigs on its trunk lines, reducing the number of trucks overall and pollution for the same amount of business.

Last year Suardíaz obtained permits to operate two Dúo-trailer rigs for containers over the Port of Bilbao. These have a gvw limit of 72 tons and require a 2-axle dolly and a tri-axle tractor, and length overall is 32m, like the Stan Robinson experimental rig from several years back.

No details on the terms of Dachser’s permit for the Dúo-trailers have been reported, but it has to be point-to-point on motorways. As Madrid or Barcelona suburban areas are approached, either the rigs must be broken down into two single HGVs, or the contents are devanned at Dachser depots for local distribution in smaller trucks.

The motorway distance between the two cities is around 626 kms (ca 400 miles) and there are headhauls both ways, so the extra logistical cost of breaking down the rig or the load early is justified.