Not another motor show. It's the Brisbane Truck Show.

Yesterday I visited the Brisbane Truck Show 2013 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. I have visited several trade fairs in the past, starting from my early childhood when the yearly visit to Thessaloniki International Trade Fair was something I was looking forward to. I remember vividly the big foreign national pavilions with all the exhibitors and equipment.

As a kid I had a big interest in all shorts of vehicles and especially fast cars. A few years ago I had the chance to visit the Paris motor show which is probably one of the three largest car shows in Europe along Geneva and Frankfurt. Very impressive show with some car manufacturers showing prototypes and racing models.

 

But Brisbane Truck Show was something quite different. Being my first truck show and not having too much detail on what to expect I entered the show from the Grey Street entrance. I browsed through the stands of truck accessories and I thought that this would be a boring afternoon and a total waste of time. At least the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator seminar that I had registered to attend, would make up for that. 

And then while I continued browsing through the halls and corridors I ended up at the main hall and had my first glimpse of the huge prime movers. "All right, here we are..." I thought and decided this time to find the correct first point of entrance to the main hall so I could see the exhibition without missing anything.

First stand was Australian made Kenworth trucks with the flagship T909 that is often used as a prime mover for road trains in Australia. Kenworth was one of the companies that allowed truck enthusiasts and of course potential buyers to climb inside and sit behind the steering wheel of their trucks. Once again that reminded me of my childhood when I wanted to become a truck driver.

 

 

And then it was all the other big players in the truck industry. DAF and MAN and Mercedes and Freightliner with the Coronado.

Of course Volvo could not be missing from such an event, as they are probably the best manufacturer of heavy vehicles in the world. As always the emphasis was on road safety for the driver.

 

Volvo also presented very useful and well designed software for the transport operators.

Western Star's 4900 FXC, Aussie 1, was named truck of the show. 

 

 Mack's stand was also very interesting with a touch of history added to the usual impressive trucks. From the 1980 the R797RS named Penny Ann probably reminded a lot of people of their past. 

Three hours later I left the exhibition center enthusiastic with a feeling of certainty. Similar to the car industry, that pushes the limit for road safety but also amenity for drivers, truck and heavy vehicle industry does the same but at the same time enhancing productivity and saving cost for an industry where energy consumption is so critical.

Heavy vehicle transport. More than a kid's dream.

When I was a kid I wanted to be a truck driver when I grew up. But no just any truck driver. I wanted to drive these huge American cab type semi trailers that I saw in the movies and looked so impressive. 

I used to imagine driving across USA in such a truck enjoying the Route 66 scenery. I didn't care too much for the European type Cab Over Engine (flat nose) truck or for routes through German Autobahns and urban traffic. 

Source: Dave Johnson from Arroyo Grande, Ca., U.S.

Back then, the only thing I knew about Australian trucks were the road trains operating in the outback and I couldn't  imagine that one day I would be working with the heavy vehicle industry here. Australia is in fact one of the leading countries in heavy and long vehicles. Multi combination trucks operating not only in the Australian desert but also in the major cities connecting very important nodes and achieving great results in terms of freight transport and overall productivity.

Apart from the regular semi trailer (19 m long with a mass limit of 42.5 t) that can move freely in almost every road in Australia without the need for a special permit, there is a range of longer, heavier vehicles with far greater carrying capacity. B-doubles (B-trains) are up to 25 m long vehicles with a mass limit of up to 68 t operating for more than 25 years in Australia.

Source: VicRoads

B-double - Port of Brisbane

B-doubles have many positive aspects. They are highly efficient vehicles that reduce total lane occupation and  accident exposure. They contribute to reduced heavy vehicle exhaust and noise emissions by performing the same freight task with fewer trucks. B-doubles can carry 160% of the payload of semitrailers so two B-doubles carry the payload of three semitrailers, reducing the number of trips and traffic volume required to move the same amount of freight.  This results in less road wear and reduced congestion, and increased efficiency savings for industries, communities and the economy.  B-doubles also have less impact per tonne of payload carried, saving 32% of the road wear costs that would be associated with semitrailers performing the same freight task.  They have better safety and handling performance, confirmed by accident statistics which show they are under-represented in heavy vehicle crashes and they generate less air and noise pollution.

But there are also bigger vehicles traveling mainly in Australian highways and industrial streets. These vehicles that exceed 25 m of length operate under the Performance Based Standards (PBS) Scheme, that provides heavy vehicle industry additional opportunities to innovate. This results in improved productivity for a given freight task, safer performance and the least possible effects on roads and bridges. The scheme focuses on how well the vehicle behaves on the road, rather than how big and heavy (length and mass) it is, through a set of safety and infrastructure protection standards. 

The main types of PBS vehicles are super B-doubles that are up to 30 m long and with a total mass of up to 108 t

Port of Brisbane

... and the A-double, a very basic multiple combination with two semitrailers linked by a converter dolly between the two trailers. A-doubles are up to 30 m long. 

Port of Brisbane

The following image shows the difference between these two types of train configuration.

Source

For many years I wan an advocate of rail freight transport.and I still believe that for trunk routes it is more environmental friendly and sustainable. But road freight transport is a more flexible alternative that can present an innovative solution especially in the last mile problem. If the drivers are properly trained and educated the perception of general public towards these vehicles might change.