Tayside gears up for winter with new DAF gritters
They’re already gearing up for winter in Scotland where the 140,000 citizens of Dundee can expect well-gritted and snow-free streets thanks to the arrival of three new DAF based gritter-snowploughs.
Tayside Contracts, the commercial wing of Dundee City Council and the Councils of Angus and Perth and Kinross, will use the vehicles in Dundee where their more compact size suits the urban conditions.
The DAFs are LF55 18 tonners and have been specified with plenty of power for their arduous duties. The six-cylinder GR165 engine delivers 300 bhp (220 kW) at 1900 rpm and a massive 1100 Nm of torque between 1200 rpm and 1900 rpm to help keep the trucks moving in even the most difficult of conditions. An engine mounted PTO drives a hydraulic pump for the gritting equipment and plough.
Permanent gritter bodies and snowploughs by Cuthbertson of Biggar are fitted to the trucks. The bodies can take six cubic metres of salt and spread at a rate of up to 40 grammes per square metre of road surface in 5 gramme increments across a maximum width of 12 metres. They also have the ability to ‘spot blast’ areas of severe icing.
Each of the DAFs is fitted with long chassis brackets complete with a Euro Din carrier plate to take a heavy-duty 3050 x 900mm steel scraper blade. This comes with a three stage marine specification power angle ram to enable slewing from left to right and which can be operated from the cab.
Given the corrosive nature of rock salt, extensive measures have been taken to provide additional protection for the vehicles and the bodies. This includes shrouding all electrical cables in UPVC conduits and enhancing the paint finish by applying one coat of zinc rich primer and two coats of two pack polyurethane finish to the cab and a heavy-duty gelled thixotropic bitumen solution to the chassis.
To increase the flexibility in deployment of the vehicles and as an added safeguard for drivers working alone, often remotely and during the night, each vehicle is fitted with a web-based real-time tracking system using a GPS module. A ‘gritting in progress’ sign supplements the hazard beacons and the salt spinner assembly incorporates a spring-loaded break system to reduce damage in the event of a rear impact.
Bob Ritchie, transport manager at Tayside Contracts, said: “These are impressive vehicles that will play an important part in keeping Dundee’s roads clear and safe for local people to use in the winter months. The DAF LF55 is well specified for the job, providing a warm, comfortable and safe working environment for the driver and delivering ample power to deal with the demands of gritting and ploughing.”
