OVERLOADING   Aluminium starts to shine In line with the commitment made by FleetWatch in our last edition to regularly feature overloading as a topic - not only to highlight faults but also to find solutions - this month Patrick O'Leary looks at aluminium as a material contributing towards lowering tare mass and thereby increasing payload.

Just as a positioning reminder, a report by the Automobile Association (AA) states that between 15% and 20% of trucks on South Africa's roads are overloaded with some freight companies making hefty profits by overloading their rigs. Another recent report states that damage to the road network due to overloading amounts to around R650-million per year.

It is little wonder then that the traffic authorities are clamping down on overloaded vehicles. For the long distance haulier caught with an illegal payload, it is no longer a case of a modest fine but all the hassle of finding another vehicle, sometimes having to hire a crane and trans-shipping the overload at some distant weighbridge.

As this all costs plenty of money, it is hardly surprising that the wiser - and honest - operators are not only looking for lighter bodies and trailers, they are also looking to the original equipment manufacturers for lighter truck tractors and cab chassis so that they can fulfil their contracts with legal loads.

There is one material that has proved lightweight yet strong enough for all these applications - aluminium. This versatile material continues to find new applications, as more designers get to grips with the metal, its alloys and the fabrication techniques which suit it best - all to meet the needs of operators throughout the world who are forced to seek greater efficiencies to beat the incredible costs spiral and the rigid enforcement of tightening road regulation.

Design intelligently
Without impacting on the contribution made by the transport of goods, the only obvious reaction to more rigidly applied legislation is to design more intelligently around axle load limits. With wear and tear on the roads a function of the axle loading to the power 4:2, it is clear that even minor overloading makes a significant difference. 

According to Hulett Aluminium, practical experience has shown that the use of aluminium in transport is highly cost effective. Aluminium is three times lighter than steel yet very strong and durable. This weight saving in the construction of aluminium trailers, bodies and tippers allows the operator to carry extra loads yet still remain legal. 

In the world of bulk tankers, according to a recent report by local tanker manufacturer Transport & Equipment Engineering (TEE), aluminium delivers an additional 15% payload advantage in comparison to a tridem steel tanker, supplying extra earnings with each and every load. It is no wonder that TEE operates under the slogan "Turning Payload into Profit'.

The lightweight nature of aluminium also helps to extend the lifespan of the Rand in other ways. When the operation involves empty return legs, the much lighter vehicles obviously bring about savings on fuel. These savings are further buoyed by reduced license fees due to lower tare weight.

Aluminium tankers operating at the coast have in-built rust protection.	Aluminium wheels were the rage at last year's truck show in Frankfurt with most rigs having them fitted.

Fast payback
Hulett Aluminium contends that these payload benefits and other gains mean that when financed at normal commercial bank rates, the additional cost of the aluminium trailer, body or tanker is more than recovered in the first year of operation.

"Calculations show that even with a 25% purchase premium for aluminium, the increased payload results in a payback time of no more than nine months. Once paid off, the additional payload is converted to earnings and profit," the company states.

The other obvious advantage of aluminium, particularly to those who operate around the coastal areas, is that vehicle bodies last longer without rusting. 

Medwood, a Durban-based furniture remover, still has a 40 year old pantechnikon body. Bulk aluminium petrol tankers have been used for 25 years. There are still aluminium tippers that have been around for 20 years and more. Aluminium-bodied tipper trucks and trailers have been in service at the Coega river mouth salt evaporation pans, north of Port Elizabeth, for more than 20 years - and still show only minimal corrosion.

As proof of the corrosion resistance and low maintenance costs, these aluminium transport applications are still carrying the extra but legal payloads - and they are making good money for the hauliers who invested in aluminium so long ago.

Hulett Aluminium also points out that here in South Africa, aluminium is also being used to develop other transport applications and components to save even more tare weight.

It is a fact that aluminium components are being used increasingly in engines to reduce "dead" weight in vehicles of all sizes, even the family car, to improve fuel efficiency. These cost effective secondary weight savings in a regular sedan can account for up to 139kg - a figure that continues to grow as additional applications for aluminium are developed. 

Increased interest in wheels
Another company which is seeing a definite turnaround in attitudes towards aluminium is Transport Technology which holds the local distribution rights for the European sourced Alcoa aluminium wheels. According to MD of the company, Richard Ingram, this year has seen a massive increase both in the number of inquiries and in sales of Alcoa wheels.

"From the end of February to now, we have sold more wheels than we did during the whole of last year. It has taken off way beyond our expectations," says Ingram, adding that one sector where inroads have been made is the forestry industry.

This came as a surprise to FleetWatch. After all, isn't the forest industry a bit hefty for aluminium - and therefore risky given that the Transport Technology offers a five year warranty on the wheels. "Not so," says Ingram. "Alcoa wheels are widely used overseas in the logging industry because of their high impact resistance." 

The heart of this strength lies in the process of forging which aligns the grain structure of aluminium with the shape of the wheel. The wheel is forged from one single piece of aluminium without any welds and tests have shown that a forged Alcoa wheel withstands a load of 71 200 kg before it deforms by 5cm. The rim of a steel wheel is deformed this much at only 13 600kg. 

FleetWatch also found most interesting a test called the Japanese JWL test which simulates a truck hitting a high kerb at a speed of 50kph. To simulate such an incident, a 910kg weight is dropped onto the tyre and wheel assembly. When the Alcoa technical centre in Pittsburgh, USA, did the test, they compared a steel wheel, a cast aluminium and a forged aluminum Alcoa wheel. While the steel wheel showed excessive deformation and the cast aluminium wheel actually broke, the forged aluminium wheel passed the test successfully.

That puts to rest the perception that an aluminium wheel is going to buckle under the strain. However, if you still have doubts, consider this. Ingram informs us that even 300 tonne Jumbo jets land on Alcoa aluminium wheels. They hit the runway at about 240kph and the impact puts as much as 17 tonnes onto each wheel. Impressive stuff!

Of course, in the context of preventing overloading, strength is important but most important is weight savings to allow more payload. In this regard, FleetWatch was once again surprised.

"There is a 28kg saving per wheel so on a Interlink, you're looking at a total 600kg saving (with spares) which translates into increased payload. So your payback on investment starts from your first trip," says Ingram.

Other advantages claimed are improved tyre and brake wear due to the fact that aluminium dissipates heat better than does steel. And here's an obscure one. Driver comfort is improved via a smoother ride. This, claims Alcoa, results from the fact that its wheels are machined on a lathe making them rounder than steel wheels thus giving a more comfortable ride and less tyre wear.

Price premium
The advantages are there in terms of weight savings, operational efficiencies and image. However, it's takes guts to go this route because, according to Ingram, there is a price premium. "The Alcoa wheel sells at R2 300 as opposed to a steel wheel which goes at around R450. You have to adopt a long-term view and we're looking at a payback period of between eight to tem months."

The 'we' he refers to is his own trucking company called Transnational Freightlink (TFN) where Ingram has put his money where his mouth is by fitting aluminium wheels to his Interlinks.

"I'm confident this is the right way to go and we are seeing greater interest from other operators in following this route. Sure it's more expensive up-front but there are numerous advantages that more than justify this expense," he says.

The point is that as a responsible operator, he is exploring all routes to enable his company to make a profit while staying legal. One of these is to find ways of reducing the tare so as to increase load capacity. This is a far cry from the usual moan that "we have to overload in order to make a profit."

Minister talks of lower payload
The Minister of Transport Dullah Omar recently stated that the Department of Transport is considering amending the Road Traffic Act to introduce a lower payload for road freight. He was talking in the context of creating a level playing field for fair price competition between road and rail haulage. Without entering into that debate here, the fact remains that one of the input factors that led to the Minister making that statement is the damage being done to the road infrastructure by overloading.

In a past issue of FleetWatch, we urged operators to police themselves in the absence of effective law enforcement. We urged operators to do this before someone got the hell-in and pushed for some form of legislation which could do a lot of damage to trucking companies.

Were we wrong? No! The implications of the Minister's statement on trucking companies could be dire. The warning is out. Drastic action is going to be taken unless the industry gets its act together.

Our concern is that, as matters stands, the industry does not have a strong defence when it comes to overloading. But then, neither does the government when it comes to enforcement and road maintenance.

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