The truck consists of two standard 20ft (6.1m) containers manufactured by Skip Units, parent company of Truck Specialists. One container has been shortened by about 850mm (2m) in order to seat a 10tm Terex Atlas 10-1 twin-extension knuckleboom crane fitted with orange-peel grab on the subframe. The crane is strong enough to lift a car for disposal.
The crane-mounted container can be loaded on the truck in either orientation. When the trailer is not needed, the contaiThe container and crane be used on the drawbar truck with the crane mounted at the front, or with its trailer with the crane in between the drawbar truck and the trailer.
The containers were built with a chamfer so the crane can clear the sides of the containers without fouling. There are quick-release hydraulic couplings so the crane can be operated in either configuration.
Managing director of DA Autoparts Richard Stewart explains the idea behind the vehicle design. “We collect scrap from a wide geographical area, often in remote locations, and it obviously means a very significant saving if we can load the containers on the spot, rather than leaving them for the customer to load, which means two trips, as well as the cost of the container lying idle.”
The truck is a MAN TGA 410. The crane was a secondhand unit sourced and fitted by Adrian Barker of ACB in Cheadle, England.
