HISTORY FAMILY INGENUITY
Don’t let the grittiness of the Hanes Engineering yard at Horotiu in the Waikato fool you. This enterprise is a shiny example of strong family bonds, Kiwi can-do, and passion for the industry. It’s an example that is epitomised by the latest addition to the company’s fleet.
The Hanes family is to Horotiu like fish is to chips—they’re inextricably linked. The family business has been on the same premises since it was started by Ivan Hanes in 1954, though it’s expanded somewhat into neighbouring sections over the years. And with Ivan having handed over to his son Chris, who’s now pretty much handed over to his son Simon, it’s clear that family and history are very important here. Fourth- generation Carter Hanes has just begun his heavy-diesel apprenticeship, too.
The importance of legacy becomes even clearer when you notice the photographic tribute to Ivan on the cab back of the latest Hanes addition, a Scania 620 S 6×4 with custom-built TRT 6-axle B-train. There sits Ivan proud on his bike, the image taken in the 1940s when he used to ride from Gisborne to Hamilton to do his engineering apprenticeship.
Engineering remains important to the company today, but so does transport — Hanes has specialised in machinery, forklifts and access gear since the 1990s — and that’s where this 620 S/B-train combo comes in. It’s one of nine heavy line-haul trucks currently in the fleet (there are numerous smaller service units), while its TRT B-train trailer is the second such unit in the fleet.
It is the company’s fourth unit from TRT, the remaining two being a five-axle transporter and a quad MTD low loader. The trailer really is the star of the show here, designed specifically for the Hanes operation with Simon guiding the direction. It’s all about building the right trailers to carry the machines and making the job as easy as possible for the drivers; this trailer is essentially an evolution of the first B-train, delivered in September 2018.
“I have a wild imagination and come up with these designs, and TRT’s quite willing to work with me,” says Simon.
In practice, that design includes high-tensile chassis beams with pressed cross members, 4mm Hardox 1450 decking, and 235 section tyres for longevity on the long haul. A low tare weight (11 tonnes), low deck height (980mm over the main deck), and shallow ramp angles were key requirements, as was the need to easily move machinery from B trailer to A trailer and onto the A trailer’s ‘upper deck’, which sits above the fifth wheel.
How it was achieved is a feat of smart engineering, as Glen Harnett, trailer sales engineer at TRT, explains.
At the rear are twin beavertail ramps powered by double-acting hydraulics operated by a 12V electric- hydraulic power pack fitted under the A trailer. “TRT standardises double-acting hydraulics for safety reasons,” Glen points out. The ramps are 2.8m long to achieve the desired 10° slope. Cold grip sits along the top of the beavertail and on various key areas of the trailer to aid traction for the machines as they’re driven on and off.
Moving to the middle of the B-train is where the really exciting stuff can be found. To meet Simon’s need to easily move machinery along the length of both trailers, Glen and the team had to think upside down. Connecting the A trailer to the B trailer is an upside-down skid plate on the A trailer and an upside- down fifth wheel on the B trailer. In the gooseneck of the B trailer is a JOST hydraulic slider. To bridge the 660mm gap between the trailers, the driver activates an air switch that unlocks a pin on the fifth-wheel slider. He locks the brakes on the rear axles of the B trailer, and then reverses up to it and locks the slider back in — all from the comfort of the Scania’s cab
1) The Scania 620 S will run on 50, 54 and 58-tonne permits. 2) The custom stainless work is made in-house. An image of company founder Ivan Hanes alongside a tribute to Anzac veterans. 3) The ramps are 2.8m long with a shallow 10° slope. 4) Everything is designed to ease the loading and offloading of machinery. 5) Scnia command centre still one of the best. 6) Hydraulic controls for double-acting ramps and decks mounted to the A trailer. 7) ASHBV8, that’s the 620 S with the Ashbys behind the wheel. 8) An upside-down skid plate and fifth wheel join the A and B trailers; a JOST hydraulic slider allows them to move together. 9) Triple chassis rails.
Such a simple concept, such complicated engineering. “There was quite a lot of designing done to get it to work that way. We’ve attempted similar things in the past, but the difficulty with this trailer was that it had to be very low to the ground, which means we had less space in the guts of the trailer to add things into,” Glen explains.
Another significant design requirement was getting the radius of the front of the B trailer and the back of the A trailer to turn in the turning circle.
The front trailer’s mid- tipping deck is hydraulically raised from the main deck on the A trailer, enabling loading onto the top deck over the fifth wheel. It’s a full-width hydraulic deck with a lockout.
Chatting to Simon and Glen, it’s clear this relationship is one of absolute trust and understanding. “TRT has been good to deal with and accommodating to our needs, willing to build what we want. That’s the big thing with them, they’ll design and build something from scratch,” says Simon.
But there’s more to a TRT build than that, he continues. “We want our trailers built for the long term. The original B-train has just clocked up 300,000km, and the first TRT unit (the quad) has clocked 2,000,000km since 2008. They’ve only had routine maintenance, and not one crack in them.”
The trailer runs ROR axles and air suspension, Wabco EBS braking, Wabco SmartBoard with axle load monitoring, and EROAD electronic RUC.
The two B-trains are used mainly for the Auckland to South Island run, alternating Christchurch and Invercargill with each other each week, but also run all around the country. The 620 S runs on 50 and 54-tonne permits (with a 58-tonne permit still to be approved at the time of writing).
“The weights let us open it up to wherever we want to go,” says Simon.
The Scania, the first for Hanes, was purchased ex-stock though Andrew Lane, Scania New Zealand account manager for Hamilton, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne.
“He was good to deal with, and we’ve ordered a high- spec 650 S from him too,” says Simon. The 620 S is “pretty stock”, says Simon, running the Euro 5 DC16 V8, producing 456kW (620hp) and 3000Nm.
The transmission is the GRSO905R overdrive 12-speed with two crawler gears, and a rear-axle ratio of 3.07:1. The rear axles are fitted with two-spring air and the fronts parabolic leaf springs.
Setting the truck unit apart is custom stainless work, made in-house, including the large stainless ‘V8’ behind the cab and marker light strips at the top of the cab and along the skirts.
Brothers Mikey and Hamiora Ashby are currently in charge of the 620 S, and when the 650 S joins the fleet, Mikey will take charge of that.
When that happens, an easy way to tell them apart will be by their regos — the 620 is ASHBV8, the 650 will be V8ASHB.
The brothers both have a history with the company, working their way up through the ranks. While Hanes owns the new unit, the fact its drivers’ family name is on the plates speaks to the appreciation for family that runs in the business.
