A trailer carrying a 189 foot wind turbine blade makes a stunning 90-degree turn over a bridge in Scotland.
Tremendous skill and planning involved, not to mention HIGHLY specialized transport equipment
Without the trailer’s pivoting axles, I suspect that blade would have taken a different route to the wind farm
That trailer appears to be a special job, extensible, and with those pivot axles. Designed for very long loads.
That’s correct, but in Europe, what we call city trailers are very common and has been for many years. Both in 1, 2 or 3 axle versions, so it’s not somethong new.
And I’ll tell you, if you are used to non steerable axles on the trailer, it’s a bitch to get docked the first time you try it. Do not not ask how I know, bad language may show up.
Are they hydraulic, with a lever or wheel near the driver?
A few years ago at a truck stop somewhere on I-20 west of El Paso a lady was dead heading a trailer back east that carried windmill props. She said there was always one ready to go whenever she got back and called. I didn’t think to look closely at the trailer but from across the yard I could see that it was folded to shorten it and possibly steering on the trailer. Are props used across New Mexico and Arizona as long as the one in that video. And how long are ladder fire trucks with rear steering?
I was unable to run the video, but it’s definitely a bespoke trailer designed specifically for the job, but I love it!
Steerable trailer wheels with the ability to route themselves through very tight turn radii, the ability to move the turbine blade fore and aft on the trailer bed while still mounted, the ability to turn the turbine on its mounting axis… this is a really cool rig. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that the trailer bed could be raised and lowered in height. The amount of planning and design that went into both the trailer and the trip is a marvel to behold.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t ladder trucks still have a separate driver for the rear end?
I have seen those but are they gone with the horses? How do those ladder trucks maneuver through city streets? How lonr are they? Certainly not 190’. I would have thought that on a trailer that long the rear tandem would have been moved much further toward the front, as far as weight would allow. And then the entire truck could be kept in line with the approaching roadway until in line with the turn and then steered into the turn. But I’m just a real basic type of thinker who can’t understand Why Henry stopped making the Model T.
Nope. Here’s a few photos. The guys in the cabs at the rear of the trucks are steering the rear wheels.
That’s exactly what happened
In the video, it was explained that the trailer had to be raised, in order to clear the railing
Cool. That trailer is an engineering work of art.
The wind farm industry has run amok around here. We see those turbine blades and tower tubes every day. They’ve even set up a depot of sorts east of town where they stockpile blades, tubes, generators, and so on.
And of course they always drag the blades right through the main intersection where both highways meet. Half the police force is called out to block traffic in every direction. It sometimes takes those drivers 20 minutes to make a turn and even then they’re running over curbs and medians out of necessity; sometimes taking out various signs and so on. Pretty tough job.
would you rather coal fired plants?
Yes. I missed that. Wasn’t active in the video, but you can see the tracks.
@BillRussell, without the coal fired plant 35 miles from here none of those wind turbines would even operate. They require power from the existing grid. Shut down the coal plant and all of those turbines are DOA.
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That seems like a circular argument. Wind farms, solar plants, and coal plants all require electricity to operate. Coal plants have the advantage of being able to operate at night and when there’s no wind however. Is that the point you were making?
You don’t need a coal fired plant to operate the wind farm. a Nuclear Power Plant would work just as well (or even natural gas). But all generators used at power plants need some power source to get started.
Of all the crap I’ve seen on the news today that video was the most pleasant and uplifting. And this is from someone who seriously questions the economics of a lot of wind power projects today but still has a shred of hope.
I’m not really trying to get in to a discussion of wind vs coal or what have you.
The remark was made to me insinuating that I’d rather have a lot of nasty coal plants around. Personally, me and everyone else around here have no issues with the local coal plant; including the Audobon Society. It’s a great place to fish, picnic, boat, or swim at the beach.
It’s far cleaner than several Corps of Engineers facilities in the region.