Thorny Devil Loc: Alice Springs, Central Australia

Last year I posted some photos of Australian trucks which seemed be of interest to some UHH members so here are some more, some that I captured near where I live and others that I have seen during my travels.

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Tri-drive prime mover, quad trailer, 86 wheels on the road.

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Another 86 wheeler.

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BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

I enjoyed this set! Don't see many of those multi-trailer trucks on our freeways - too crowded. Land looks flat enough you could just set the cruise control and sit back!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Great images and I can't imagine how much skill it takes to safely drive and maneuver a 'Road Train'. I watched an episode on television about how specialized these machines are for they suck in so much air that is loaded with dust from the fields that scrubbing the air entering the engines is quite a mechanical challenge.

Thorny Devil Loc: Alice Springs, Central Australia

Thanks for looking Blue Morel. The roads are not all flat and with a gross weight of up to 170 tonnes (187 US tons), the drivers are soon hard at work working the gearbox.

tommy2 Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

Very impressive! Noticed the designation,"Tri Drive" on the fourth photo - means there are three (extra?) sets of driven wheels? Also wonder if theses trucks are allowed into densely populated areas, etc. Thank you for posting.

Thorny Devil Loc: Alice Springs, Central Australia

Thanks for looking sippyjug104. You're right about the skill level. During my travels I have encountered many triple road trains on the road and it is a bit scary watching the last trailer wobbling around particularly when the road surface is uneven which most are. Dust is certainly a problem particularly on unsealed roads which many of these vehicles travel thousands of kilometres over. Note the engine air intakes are usually mounted above cab level and facing forward which helps to reduce ingesting dust. Great care must be taken to ensure that all pipes and connections on the air intake duct are properly sealed. The main engine air intake filter also has a pre-filter chamber which removes a lot of dust particles through centrifugal action as the incoming air is made to swirl around on its way to the filter media.

lsaguy Loc: Udall, KS, USA

Wow! Awesome shots. Glad those behemoths aren't on U.S. highways but they sure look cool. Thanks for posting them TD.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Good set.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Unusual but very nice set.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I wonder what the turn radius is for those trucks. I don't think they could manage ant city street. The only trucks that I see on US highways are tandems or semi's. Thanks for posting, never saw these before

Thorny Devil Loc: Alice Springs, Central Australia

Thanks for looking tommy. Yes Tri-Drive refers to the three sets of driven wheels on the prime mover. Each state has its own regulations restricting road train access to high population areas and on certain roads. Many of the more heavily populated regional centres have specified road train routes outside of which road trains may not operate. Usually there will be a staging or break down area set aside on the outskirts of major towns where one or more trailers will be disconnected to allow the vehicle to enter with a single trailer for deliveries.

tommy2 Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

Well, coming from the perspective of a highway bridge designer all I can say about the whole concept is, "VERY impressive".

Thorny Devil Loc: Alice Springs, Central Australia

Thanks for looking boberi. Yes a road train with three or four trailers does need a little more room than a unit with a single trailer but units with multiple trailers still track quite tightly.

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Thorny Devil Loc: Alice Springs, Central Australia

Thanks Isaguy.

Thorny Devil Loc: Alice Springs, Central Australia

Thanks for looking tommy2. Not surprisingly traffic inspectors are quite hot on monitoring vehicle weight and axle loadings particularly in respect of bridges.