Stirling-based GEM Contracts has invested in a pair of custom-built Thompsons Scotland-bodied Scania G500 XT tippers, which are capable of carrying tar and more abrasive products.
Tippers doing tar work need insulated bodies, but because this adds to the weight, such bodies are normally built from aluminium. However, because aluminium is less durable than steel, it limits the types of loads these trucks can be used to carry.
Thompsons Scotland’s solution was to build the body out of aluminium, but include a 3.2mm thick Hardox steel floor liner. GEM Contracts has offset 240kg of the additional weight by specifying alloy wheels and a lightweight Edbro CX15 front-end cylinder. Consequently the Tarmac-liveried tippers weigh-in at a respectable 12,400kg.
“Now equally suited to carrying tar, aggregates and heavier stone products, these new Thompsons bodies significantly extend the range of what our trucks can do,” said Gary Morgan of GEM Contracts.
