Swap body vehicle (security)
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Swap body vehicle |
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| Vehicle data
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| Abbreviation: | WLF |
| Country: | Germany |
| Crew : | 0/1/2/ 3 or 0/1/1/ 2 |
| Perm. Total mass : | 18000/26000 kilograms |
| Drive: | Road, all-wheel drive possible |
The swap body vehicle (WLF) is an emergency vehicle that combines several main tasks in one vehicle. Swap body vehicles are used to transport fire-fighting equipment loaded in or on replaceable roll-off containers. To accommodate the respective roll-off container, the WLF have a swap body permanently connected to the chassis.
Duties of swap bodies
The tasks of the swap-loader vehicle are varied and result from the respective roll-off container. Some examples:
- Supply (AB-platform, AB-supply)
- Water and foam concentrate (AB tank water foam)
- Decontamination (AB decon)
- Respiratory protection supply (AB breathing protection)
More information on the roll-off containers can be found under roll-off containers (hazard prevention) .
Swap body vehicle with crane (WLF crane)
The swap truck with crane (WLF crane) also has a loading crane attached. This must be located behind the driver's cab, otherwise it will interfere with the function of the interchangeable device. The vehicle is equipped with extendable supports on the crane. A crane can also be combined with a roll-off container, usually a half-height trough or a flatbed. Here it is usually mounted on the front of the roll-off container. The supports can then be folded down on the container at the height of the crane. Alternatively, the support required for crane operation of the roll-off container can also be located on the vehicle, usually also behind the driver's cab. There are also roll-off containers in which a (smaller) loading crane and the foldable supports are mounted elsewhere, e.g. B. in the middle of an AB with hazardous goods containers from the Dortmund fire service.
Manufacturers of loading cranes that were used by the fire brigade WLF were initially the companies Meiller (Munich), Atlas Weyhausen and Hiab (Sweden). Today cranes from MKG (Germany), Fassi (Italy) and Palfinger (Austria) are added.
Loading cranes have become more and more efficient in the last few years and their reach and lifting power now reach the lower end of the performance spectrum of pure crane vehicles. Fire brigades have also made use of this development by having such heavy cranes mounted on swap bodies, often with a heavy four-axle design. In this performance class, Fassi and Palfinger are leaders. Examples in German fire brigades are the WLF "recovery vehicle" of BF Dresden , the WLF of the plant fire brigade of Hahn / Hunsrück airport and the WLF of BF Augsburg .
The purpose of equipping swap bodies with a crane is to use a universal work and supply vehicle for the fire service. The crane can be used to load and unload roll-off containers (open at the top), but also to carry out light to medium-heavy recovery and lifting work. With the unhitched roll-off container, the crane can be used much better and more flexibly than, for example, the spatially very restricted rear crane of an equipment vehicle with a crane ( RW crane ).
Abbreviations
Swap body vehicles are abbreviated to WLF . They do not have a combination of numbers after the abbreviation, because there is only one variant, so no further distinction is necessary.
Release orders
The disengagement order of the swap- loader vehicle depends on the roll-off container being loaded.
technology
standardization
The swap body vehicle is standardized in accordance with DIN 14505. Essential requirements for swap body vehicles are also specified in EN 1846-3.
Vehicle data
Swap body vehicles are usually built on road chassis , but sometimes also on all-wheel drive chassis . In three-axle vehicles, the normal drive 6 × 2 (6 wheels, 2 driven) or 6 × 4 (6 wheels, four rear driven) and the all-wheel drive in the variants 6 × 6 (all wheels driven) or 6 × 4/2 (wheels driven front and rear, a non-driven support or steering axle at the rear). Corresponding variants are conceivable for four-axle vehicles, but often 8 × 8 (full all-wheel drive, e.g. MAN fire brigade Duisburg), 8 × 4 (only rear-driven) or 8/2 × 6 (second axle in front, non-driven steering axle). As a rule, WLF are built on two- or three-axle chassis, although there is also a trend towards larger vehicles. It will truck rigid truck chassis procured, the permissible total mass 18 t (at Zweiachsfahrgestellen) or 26 t (at Dreiachsfahrgestellen) is. Some fire brigades also have four-axle chassis with a total weight of 32 t. In contrast to vehicles that are used in the private sector, a fire brigade WLF must meet certain criteria. According to the standard, a WLF must be equipped with sufficient lighting, a roll-off container must be attached and detached again in at least 90 seconds, the swap body must be able to carry 1.1 times the payload of the vehicle .
Body / swap body technology
In the technology of swap bodies there were and are five systems:
- Undercarriage system - like the swap bodies in the shipping industry, introduced in 1971 at the BF Berlin (not proven) and currently at the BASF Ludwigshafen fire brigade and the Stuttgart professional fire brigade .
- Swivel arm system, also known as a skip loader - two side swivel arms lift the container onto the vehicle. The first vehicles in Mannheim (around 1955), Duisburg (1971) and Munich were such vehicles. There are still a few German fire departments, mainly plant fire departments ( Infraserv Höchst , Merck, Stahlwerk Georgsmarienhütte , Vattenfall Schwarze Pump ). BF Mannheim operated this system until around 1990. The system was introduced by Meiller (Munich) and TeHa (Düsseldorf) to fire departments.
- Cable system, also known as sliding tipper. One rope on the right and one on the left pulls the container onto an inclined sliding device. All fire brigades that did not procure swivel arm vehicles began with this system from 1971/72 (Berlin, after the underride system had proven to be impractical, Hanover, Dortmund , Kassel, Bonn, Münster , Bremen). The vehicles were lighter than the swing arm vehicles, the hook system did not yet exist. Later, all fire brigades that started with this system converted to the hook system in a more or less long period of double use. The rope system was introduced by the Kassel company FeKa with devices from the Swedish-Finnish company Multilift at German fire departments.
- Hook system - the changing system commonly used today, also known as a roll-off tipper. A hydraulically operated hook pulls the roll-off container onto the vehicle. The system was first introduced to the market in 1972 by the company Meiller (Munich) and from around 1974 it was used by the Duisburg, Munich and Frankfurt am Main fire brigades . Later, in addition to Meiller, Marrel (Erkrath), Atlas Weyhausen , Multilift (via Hiab Langenhagen) and many other manufacturers these systems. The hook systems are further subdivided into sliding hooks and articulated hooks . With the sliding hook, the hook arm is integrated into the main arm as a telescope, with the articulated hook it is connected to the main arm via an articulated joint.
- Low-floor lift trucks - these special vehicles , almost exclusively manufactured by the Ruthmann company ( Gescher in the Münsterland region), are also used as swap-loader vehicles by some fire brigades, especially by plant fire brigades in the chemical industry and by some professional fire brigades (e.g. Frankfurt, Munich, Bremen, Cologne and Düsseldorf).
Fire brigade loading
(Almost) no fire-fighting equipment is actually loaded on the swap-loader vehicle. However, this is taken up by the respective roll-off container .
Advantages and disadvantages
Swap loader vehicles with various roll-off containers (AB) such as AB foam, AB hazardous goods, AB armor, AB platform, etc. are known. A WLF is therefore regularly an inexpensive alternative to several individual vehicles. If a roll-off container is damaged, it can be exchanged separately from the rest of the swap body concept. A crane structure can also increase the versatility of the vehicle, especially for technical assistance . On the other hand, with a complex operation or several parallel operations that require a large number of roll-off containers, problems can arise due to the lack of carrier vehicles. If the WLF fails, the entire range of existing roll-off containers cannot be brought to the place of use. These problems would not exist in separate emergency vehicles with a fixed load. Because of the latter aspect, depending on the local conditions, at least one redundancy WLF can be offered. Due to their size and mass, swap bodies are generally not suitable for off-road use and can quickly reach their limits in narrow road conditions (for example in rural areas or in old town centers).
history
The history of swap bodies is still relatively young. There are still no withdrawn standards or the like. WLF are often purchased when other old vehicles such as GW-G are to be replaced in order to expand the range of uses while maintaining maintenance costs. In 1955 , the Mannheim fire brigade was the first fire brigade in Germany to use the swap body vehicle system. Swap body vehicles were standardized for the first time in 1980, but in Hanover, Dortmund, Duisburg, Berlin and Munich, roll-off containers had been in service with the fire services since 1971, in Mannheim - where the first WLF of a fire brigade was put into service - since around 1955 . The fire brigade Balingen / Zollernalbkreis was the first volunteer fire brigade in Baden-Württemberg in 1991/1992 to introduce the swap body system with two WLF and four roll-off containers. The concept was developed by the then fire brigade commander, Brandoberamtsrat a. D. Johannes Frank developed and implemented. From 1978 to 1986, Johannes Frank was a fire brigade officer with the Mannheim professional fire brigade.
swell
- Special issue of the fire department magazine vehicles special 2006
- Axel Johanßen: Yearbook fire engines 1996 . Podzun Verlag Brilon
