Lancashire County Council (LCC) has updated its commercial vehicle fleet with 27 new high-tech tippers manufactured as a result of a joint development project between the council and specialist bodybuilder, Thompsons Group.
According to LLC, the new light tipper trucks have been designed with a specification enabling the vehicle to tackle a wider range of jobs, while also providing higher standards of health and safety for its crew.
Built around 12-tonne DAF LFs, the new LCC tippers each feature a highly bespoke version of Thompsons’ Roadmaster highways body. To achieve the lowest possible body height, each chassis has been fitted with an underfloor tipping gear that does away with the need for the subframe required when fitting front-end gear. As well as saving unnecessary weight, the underfloor hoist also affords extra space behind the cab for additional equipment, such as the gantry assembly and a 600 x 1100 mm heated PPE locker.
Road repairs will be the tippers’ main job, and the steel floor and aluminium dropsides are insulated to keep tarmac hot for as long as possible.
