ITTES debut for air-operated side tipper

The creator of the Air Tip air-powered side tipper will be showcasing his innovative design at the upcoming 2014 ITTES

The inventor of the new Air Tip air-operated side tipper system has chosen Melbourne’s upcoming 2014 International Truck, Trailer & Equipment Show to promote the new technology.

Clarke Petrick comes from a geophysics background in Australia’s mining industry but he grew up in a family involved with road transport. He says he first thought of the potential benefits of using air to operate a side tipper after examining a truck’s air suspension system. He was well aware of the high costs involved in mine haulage, and so he set about designing a better, more efficient side tipper system.

Now, after three years of development, the Air Tip side tipper is here – a system that operates purely by being hooked up to a prime mover’s air system.

Petrick says it takes around five minutes to charge a trailer or trailers for tipping, and multiple set-ups – triple road trains, for example – can all be unloaded simultaneously.

“It’s a similar time for a single trailer as it is for multiple trailers, the difference from other systems is it can tip three trailers in the same time as one,” he says.

Using the truck’s air system means a PTO isn’t required, reducing costs and weight while also increasing the trailer’s payload.

“Initial savings include the price of a PTO for the truck and the costs in getting it and the oil tank fitted, which is approximately $12,000,” says Petrick.

“Then you add in the maintenance savings of a hydraulic fitter of approximately $5000 a year. An extra tonne of additional payload will also lead to significant savings.”

The Air Tip’s design see the bin and chassis integrated into the one monocoque unit, which Petrick says delivers additional strength while saving weight.

The Air Tip system can’t be retro fitted to existing side tippers but Petrick says he’ll be manufacturing bins here in Australia.

“We are keeping our manufacturing arm in Australia to be close to the operators working in our extremely harsh and demanding conditions so we can develop a product fit for the purpose,” he says.

Air Tip can be found at stand TSL10 on the Town Square Lawn at the 2014 ITTES, which will be held at Melbourne’s Royal Showgrounds over April 3-6. For more information visit www.trucktrailershow.com.au.

ITTES debut for air-operated side tipper

Tags