Danish electricity supply company Eltra got some outside help when it needed to increase the efficiency of its work on the electricity supply system. A new tool was jointly developed for working on the 400kW high voltage electricity system in the areas of Jutland and Funen. The three parties involved in developing the resulting tractor-mounted loader were an electricity works, called Skærbækværket, which is near Fredericia, crane manufacturer HMF, and Cadtek in Tjæreborg.
The workshop at Skærbækværket, where the end-user Eltra is based, has 30 years’ experience in building vehicles for electricity works, while HMF has the expertise when it comes to designing loaders.
Skærbækværket equipment manager Erling Lind explains that it is this knowledge that he and his people have used for developing the new 4×4 tractor, known as the Doppstadt Trac 160. It is fitted with an HMF 2223-K3 loader crane with three hydraulic extensions.
The loader column is exceptionally low so that the big machine can be transported on an ordinary truck without any height clearance problems or without exceeding the maximum permissible height regulations.
Loader and frame
Lind explains that practically everything on the new vehicle is a first and therefore a prototype. This is particularly true of the special frame for the stabilisers, and of the loader column which is 300mm shorter than normal for a loader crane of this type. The four stabiliser legs are the ‘flapdown’ type, working independantly of each other. They have an extension function so that HMF’s two-stage LMB system (Load Moment Limitation) can be used. This means that the vehicle can still be operated in narrow areas where the stabilisers cannot be fully extended.
This is a useful feature, HMF says, even though the tractor is mainly going to work in open fields, where other vehicles cannot get access due to the difficult ground conditions. The tractor also has a 4.5t recovery winch at the rear and a 5t winch at the front. The loader has two extra valves and hoses so that it can work with auger, grab and rotator for pole placement.
HMF service centre
The workshop at Skærbækværket has been an HMF service point for about a year. During this period Lind and other personnel have carried out safety inspections on more than 100 loaders and tail-lifts. “We have actually also sold new loaders in this period”, Lind says, and points out that the workshop’s location close to the motorway is ideal for hauliers and others needing HMF service.
