Australia’s premier roller manufacturer has taken the lead to promote the use of maintenance graders towing rollers after a recent clarification by the Queensland Department of Transport & Main Roads on what constitutes a Class 3 Combination.
Stuart Bowes from Broons said, “In overturning the widely held belief that a conditionally registered vehicle in QLD could not tow a roller, the QLD Government is to be commended for clarifying the rule and it’s set to provide a significant uplift in productivity for gravel road maintenance in the Sunshine State.”
As it turns out, a conditionally registered heavy vehicle can tow plant and machinery, and when doing so, is considered a single unit for registration purposes – you simply affix the registration plate from the rear of the grader to the rear of the roller and hey presto, you have a Class 3 combination! The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) restrictions in section 18 of the Heavy Vehicle National Regulation do not apply.
“Confusion led some to believe that a grader was unable to tow a roller, and this resulted in their use to being almost exclusively limited to being towed by a tractor, which is not practical for many councils in QLD who wish to use one operator for both jobs,” said Mr Bowes.
“Across the rest of Australia, a grader/roller combination is seen as the most efficient way of carrying out maintenance grading on gravel roads. With one tank of fuel and one operator the road can be ripped, graded and compacted using a single unit – a highly cost-effective works solution.”
As the largest manufacturer of towed rollers in Australia, Broons is already seeing an uptake in their unique Australian-made rollers. Toowoomba Regional Council is soon to take delivery of their 4th and 5th eCombi units and while they have three tractor-towed vibrating eCombi rollers for use on construction, their maintenance-based rollers can now make their way to the back of a grader.
Broons’ larger BH-1830 Combination Roller is the “big brother” to the eCombi roller and weighing in at 10-12 tonnes, it’s ideal for both construction and maintenance of gravel pavements. Using 14-ply smooth tread compactor tyres, both rollers can be quickly towed to site on a sealed road making it the most versatile roller option on the market.
[colored_box color=”yellow”]Contact Broons today on (08) 8268 1988 or mail @ info@broons.com
You can download a brochure here www.broons.com/ecombi [/colored_box]