October 17 - German heavy haulage provider Wasel has transported a 290-tonne transformer from Bad Honnef to Ibbenbüren using a 14-axle Goldhofer trailer equipped with its new heavy-duty drive unit, the ADDrive.
HLPFI reported in April that Goldhofer had launched the ADDrive unit at the bauma exhibition in Munich.
The heavy-duty drive unit intends to combine the benefits of a towed module with those of a self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) in terms of tractive force, speed, flexibility and economics.
Using its ADDrive for the first time, Wasel initially transported the transformer onto a pontoon, which carried the cargo along the Rhine and Mittellandkanal to Recke, where it was carefully rolled off the barge.
In Recke, Wasel added four axles to the trailer before beginning its overland transport to a coal-fired power station in Ibbenbüren, equipped with just one towing tractor unit.
The ADDrive unit was used to help tackle steep gradients en route, with a second towing tractor only required once on an 800 m long slope with a gradient of over 8.5 percent.
