Technical Paper
Field Testing of Proposed Tridem Truck/Triaxle Trailer Configurations
2001-11-12
2001-01-2709
In February 2000, The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) completed the field testing and safety review of three new and two existing logging truck configurations. The three new configurations featured tridem-drive tractors pulling triaxle pole trailers (including a tridem drive straight truck) hauling long or short log loads. The British Columbia logging truck industry has been an enthusiastic proponent of tridem-drive vehicles and combinations for three main reasons: the configurations allow greater log load carrying versatility (easy switching between hauling a single long log load to multiple bundles of short log loads); higher payload capacity than the existing tandem drive tractor with triaxle pole trailer configuration; and, enhanced traction on steep off-highway grades than tandem drive tractors. ICBC developed a test plan to investigate the dynamic on-highway performance of the new configurations based on the results of a computer simulation.