![]() The ballast box is a metal box installed on the rear chassis of the tractor instead of the fifth wheel coupling. ( March 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Use of a following tractor also can increase control and brake force descending an incline. A girder trailer, for example, is double-articulated, so the front tractor can pull the load around a corner while the rear tractor pushes it through, thereby making the load more manoeuvrable than a simple towing configuration. An advantage of using ballast tractors is the ability to push-steer a trailer around a corner. Typical ballast tractor configurations employ an independent drawbar trailer, hydraulic modular trailer, or dolly trailer. Some nations have categorized these tractors in a different category than conventional tractors because of higher GVW permits and HMT configuration. In some cases, its kerb weight can be greater than their axle configuration's legal Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) permits, requiring special permission to use public roads. The heavy-duty tractors which are usually converted into ballast tractors have 6x4, 8圆 axle configuration, hub reduction, better suspension and a powerful engine ranging from 300 to 1000hp.Ī purpose built ballast tractor tends to be the heaviest class of on-road trucks. Conversion from a regular tractor to a ballast tractor may require some modifications like chassis alteration, extra axle, larger tires, ballast box, and a heavy-duty gearbox so that it can handle the extra weight. Ballast is placed above the driving axle, or spread out over multiple driving axles to maximize traction on each and evenly distribute its load. Heavy-duty versions of commercial tractor units may be fitted with a ballast box and suitable draw gear, or a ballast tractor may be purpose-built. A reinforced chassis also allows multiple tractors to be coupled together to maximize power and traction. Additionally, ballast tractors are often fitted with heavy-duty hub reduction axles, a combination resulting in exceptionally low maximum speeds.Ī strong chassis is required to both support the extra ballast weight and pulling forces transmitted by the drawbar. To overcome this, ballast tractors tend to have high-powered, low geared engines that provide substantial torque, especially at low speeds. High inertia is encountered when starting to move a heavy load. Since the load is separate from a ballast tractor, it provides no ballast: the drawbar only transmits a horizontal force. With a semi-trailer, ballast is added in the form of the weight of the attached trailer pressing down upon the tractor's fifth wheel. Without it, there would be unproductive wheelspin. The additional weight increases the friction between the tyres and the road surface, allowing the tractor to overcome the inertia and friction of moving a heavy trailed load. For a ballast tractor, ballast is added over the driving wheels to maximize traction. The ballast tractor's name derives from the nautical term “ sailing ballast” describing heavy material added to a vessel to improve stability. Titan Spezialfahrzeugbau GmbH Ballast tractors with Mercedes-Benz Actros cab. Increasingly, remote-controlled, self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) are being employed in traditional ballast tractor/trailer roles. Ballast tractors can be traced back to the 1940s when heavy haulers from the UK started employing purpose-built Scammell Showtracs a short wheelbase 4x2 ballast tractor. ![]() These units are classified as N3 Category of Large goods vehicle. Extra-heavy-duty chassis versions of mass-production tractor units are fitted with drawbar hitches and a separate ballast box as an alternative. Only a handful of manufacturers produce dedicated ballast tractors. Typical ballast tractor loads include oil rig modules, bridge sections, buildings, ship sections, and industrial machinery such as generators and turbines. Typical drivetrains are 6×4 and 6×6 but also available in 8×6 and 8×8. When feasible, lowboy-style semi-trailers are used to minimize a load's center of gravity. It is designed to utilize a drawbar to pull or push heavy or exceptionally large trailer loads which are loaded in a hydraulic modular trailer. A ballast tractor is a specially weighted tractor unit of a heavy hauler combination.
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