Q Crane & Plant Hire has opted to protect its six-axle, Faymonville step frame pendle axle trailer with Wheely-Safe Connect technology. The set-up utilises 72 separate Wheely-Safe cloud-connected sensors, the most running on a single vehicle anywhere in the UK.
Working in tandem with a powerful Volvo FH16 8×4 tractor unit, the trailer is used to transport heavy plant machinery and specialist loads. Oldham-based Q Crane & Plant Hire chose to fit Wheely-Safe to ensure that every one of the 24 wheels and tyres working on the trailer were duly protected and working at the optimal pressures.
Rhys Mullins, Plant & Transport Director at the business, explains: “When you have that number of wheels in operation, often if you have a puncture you don’t even feel it due to the sheer volume of rubber on the road. But leaving that to develop into a blowout can be so damaging.
“The wheel loss protection element of the system was also particularly important. A few years ago, we had an incident where the nuts on a wheel had been torqued too tightly after a routine service by an external organisation. The wheel then came off as we were heading back to the depot. Thankfully no one was hurt but the trailer was out of action for a week, and it ended up costing us something in the region of £12,000 in repairs and off-road time. If we’d had Wheely-Safe installed it could have prevented that incident from happening.”
The 72 Wheely-Safe sensors – two wheel loss brackets and one tyre pressure sensor, that replaces the valve cap, on each wheel – continuously monitor tyre pressures, wheel nut movement and hub temperatures, helping identify potential issues before they become a problem.
The latest generation system enables data to be transmitted not only to the driver in the cab but also to the transport team back at base. This real-time information allows for quicker identification of issues, improving fleet management, reducing downtime, and enhancing vehicle safety.
“Due to the size of the loads we are carrying, we set our tyres at 141 psi, in line with the manufacturers’ recommendations. With them being so highly inflated, every time you go over a kerb or a pot-hole you can lose a bit of air. But with this system, we can keep a close eye on every tyre and make sure we act before the pressure becomes too low,” adds Mullins.
Established in 1972, Q Crane & Plant Hire provides its customers with crawler crane hire, heavy haulage, contract lifting, and crane-specific training across a wide range of sectors and project requirements.
