The way to the bakery on the corner is an adventure for visitors and residents this time.
The long boom extends upwards and towards the house fronts. The machine is being steered with millimetre precision to a building site 100 metres away. It is to be used there during the erection of a new housing complex. It is the end of a 20 kilometre journey on a Faymonville lowbed trailer.
Joker axle supplies genuine added value
"We examined the entire route precisely beforehand," says Serge Martlé, Managing Director of the transport company Martlé Exceptional Moving & Lifting, explaining that a great many details had to be considered in the planning. "In Knokke we had to remove signs and lay drive-over plates. A parking prohibition was issued, and fortunately it was well respected." The combination of an 8x4 tractor unit and 3+5 lowbed of the type Faymonville VarioMAX Plus had departed a short while before from the industrial area in Bruges.
Martlé plays its joker! A 1-axle bogie is integrated when configuring the lowbed trailer. "This flexible adaptation of the vehicle to the axle load distribution and centre of gravity of the load is a genuine advantage with the VarioMAX Plus," says Serge Martlé. He is convinced that he is well-equipped for the future with this vehicle solution from Faymonville. "The machines that we transport are becoming heavier and heavier. At the same time, the requirements for special permits and route selection are becoming increasingly strict. The VarioMAX Plus keeps step with this development."
Equipped for new laws
The law governing heavy and special transport in Belgium is under review. Thanks to his two VarioMAX Plus combinations, Serge Martlé is relaxed with regard to the discussions. "We are prepared for any new regulations with these Faymonville lowbeds. The maximum permissible axle load is already restricted on some bridges. We expect that, in future, it will no longer be allowed to drive with 13 tonnes per axle in Belgium. We think 12 tonnes will be the new maximum permissible axle load."
Meanwhile the Martlé crew in Knokke breathes a satisfied sigh of relief. The Liebherr type LRB355 drilling machine is rolling on its crawler tracks to the place of use. While that is going on, the employees couple the front bogie of the VarioMAX Plus to the low bed semi-trailer again. Serge Martlé and his team clear the area. After all, they didn't come to Knokke this morning for a holiday!