License Requirements for Vehicles Used in Heavy Hauling

             There are five classes license required for heavy vehicles used in heavy hauling which are issued by the states in Australia. These are namely:

(1) A light rigid license  which covers a vehicle with a gross weight mass not more than 8 tons with a towed trailer which is less than 9 tons gross trailer mass and buses with a GVM up to 8 tons and carries more than 12 adults plus the driver;

(2) A medium rigid license which covers vehicles with 2 axles and a GVM of more than 8 tons with a towed trailer less than 9 tons;

(3) A heavy rigid license which covers a vehicle with 3 or more axles with a towed trailer less than 9 tons GTM as well as the articulated buses;

(4) A heavy combination license which covers semi-trailers or rigid vehicles towing a trailer with a GTM or more than 9 tons; and

(5) A multi combination license which covers multi combination vehicles like road trains and B double vehicles utilized in heavy hauling.  Before someone can apply for an light right license or medium rigid license he or she must have a C class (car) license for one year and two year before to apply for heavy rigid license. If he or she wants it to be upgrade to heavy combination license he or she must have the other lower vehicle licenses for a year. In Canada, the licenses of drivers are issued and regulated depending on their provinces. In United Kingdom there are one or more large goods vehicle license needed or required from truck drivers.  

                  A truck classification system is employed by the United States and truck drivers need to have commercial driver license (CDL) in order to be able to drive and manage a CMV with a gross vehicle weight rating over 26000 pounds. A skills test which is a pre-trip inspection and driving exam as well as a knowledge test which is the written exam about the handling qualities of operating a big, heavy loaded vehicle used in heavy hauling has to be passed by the applicant before he or she acquires a CDL license. The applicant has to have mechanical knowledge about the system of such vehicle. He or she must be declared fit and in good health by medical examination every two years. 

                  For passenger bus drivers, it is required that they present a current endorsement.  To obtain a CDL license the applicant must be at least 18 years of age. Those who are under 21 years of age are limited to driving within their state of licensing meaning interstate operation. Most trucking companies want applicants to be at least 23 years of age, with a year of experience at least. Other will hire those without experience but they will be the ones to train them as long as they do not have any bad record.

The History of “Road Train” and its connection with Heavy Hauling

 

A road train is a trucking notion used in far-flung areas of Canada, Australia, Argentina and the United States to move objects or goods efficiently.  In the United States, Australia and Canada the term “road train” is often used. For longer combination vehicles the terms “triples”, “turnpike doubles” and “Rocky Mountain doubles” are frequently use in Canada and the U.S.  A road train is made up of relatively standard tractor unit but instead of pulling one trailer or semi-trailer a road train pulls two or more of them.

 

History

The old road train is made up of traction engines pulling multiple wagons. In the Crimean War, a traction engine was used to pull multiple open trucks. By 1898 steam traction engine trains with up to four wagons were utilized in military maneuvers in England. In the 1900s John Fowler & Co. offered armored road trains for use by the British forces in the Second Boer War. In the 140s The Government of South Australia run a fleet of AEC 8x8 military trucks to transport freight and supplies into the Northern Territory replacing the Afghan camel trains that had been trekking through the deserts since the late 19^th century. Kurt Johnson is known as the Australian inventor of modern road train. His first road train comprised of a U. S. Army World War II surplus diamond-T tank carrier and two home-built self- tracking trailers. Both wheels sets on each trailer could drive and could negotiate the tight and narrow tracks and creek crossings that existed throughout Central Australia. Freight trailers in Australia viewed this enhanced invention and went on to build self-tracking trailers for Kurt and other customers.

The largest and heaviest road-legal vehicles in the world are found in Australia with some configurations topping out at close to 200 tons. The majority are between 80 and 120 tons.  Doubles also called two-trailers are road train combinations which are permitted in most areas in Australia within the environs of Adelaide, South Australia and Perth, Western Australia. A double road train should not be confused with a B-double which is given access to most of the country and in all major cities. Triple or the three trailer road trains operate in western New South Wales, Western Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Road trains are not allowed in Tasmania and Victoria. Road trains are used for transporting all material such as livestock, fuel, mineral ores and general freight.

The multiple dog-trailers are detached, the dolly removed and the connected individually to multiple trucks at assembly yards when the road train gets close to populated area. The flat-top trailers of a road train need to be transported empty, it is customary practice to stack them. This is generally referred to as “double-up or doubling-up”. In the United State, trucks on public roads are limited to two trailers (two 28 ft. and a dolly to connect). The limit is 63 feet end to end. Some states allow three trailers, though triples are usually restricted to less populated areas. Triples are used for long distance less than truckload freight hauling or resource hauling in the interior west. Triples are sometimes marked with “LONG LOAD” banners both front and rear. Turnpikes doubles are tractors towing two full-length trailers are allowed on the New York Thruway and Massachusetts Turnpike as well as the Ohio and Indiana toll roads. The term road train is nor usually used in the US.

Learn more about Heavy Hauling and see Edwards company that specializes in this kind of industry.