LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL’S 27 NEW THOMPSONS TIPPERS ARE BRIMMING WITH INNOVATION

Now renewing a large part of its commercial vehicle fleet, Lancashire County Council (LCC) is introducing some of the most innovative, versatile and detailed specification tippers ever seen in the UK.
Jointly developed between LCC and Thompsons, the overall aim of the project has been to produce a new light tipper truck with a specification enabling the vehicle to address more individual tasks than ever before, whilst also providing higher than ever standards of health and safety for its crew. As a result, the new tipper design offers significantly improved productivity and a reduced overall operating cost compared to the more conventional trucks run in the past.
Built around the 12 tonnes gvw DAF LF, the 27 new LCC tippers each feature a highly bespoke version of Thompsons long-standing Roadmaster highways body.
To achieve the lowest possible body height, each chassis has been fitted with a Harsh D40 underfloor tipping gear that does away with the need for the subframe that would be required when fitting a front end gear.
As well as saving unnecessary weight, the harsh underfloor hoist also affords extra space behind the cab for additional equipment such as each truck’s gantry assembly (used for carrying extra long items such as street lighting equipment) and a 600 x 1100mm heated PPE locker.
With a primary task of the new trucks being road repairs, the need to keep tarmac as hot as long as possible is self evident, so both the steel floor and aluminium dropsides of these latest Roadmasters are fully insulated, with a simple front to back Harsh Pull-Tarp roller sheet added too. Detachable tarmac shutes have also been provided for in the rear tailgate design. As a result of this higher body specification, the trucks are afforded a greater operating range and a longer time away from their depot.
Inside the body, a removable aluminium partition enables different payloads to be carried at the same time. But it’s at the rear of the body where things get really interesting because the whole tailgate is removable too.
“Having a fully removable tailgate gives us the key advantage of being able to fit an electric tail-lift” says LCC’s Fleet Specifications Engineer Mark Wilkinson. “This makes loading and unloading the trucks with a whole variety of ancillary items both safer for the crew as well as offering greatly reduced damage potential for the cargo being carried.” In similar vein, the new body specification also includes an offside whacker carrying compartment, but with the novel inclusion of a cantilevered lowering device that prevents the whacker either being dropped or potentially injuring the crew member handling it.
“Additional to the extra operating versatility, these trucks are really all about taking every practical step to avoid damage to our equipment and potential injury to their crews” says Mark Wilkinson.
Built at Thompsons factories in Blackburn, the new trucks are now entering service in LCC’s depots across the county.
Thompsons Sales Manager Ian Chaplin notes: “these latest vehicles take the design and build of light tipper trucks forward in many areas, but what is really significant is that they are the result of the closest possible collaboration between LCC and ourselves to jointly devise vehicles that offer genuinely enhanced performance standards - both for their owner and for their crews.”

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