Digitally Controlled and Robust: DOLL Presents New Low-Bed with Pendular Axle for Heavy Haulage

Oppenau, 23. September 2024. DOLL Fahrzeugbau GmbH had its latest vehicle developments for heavy haulage on display at the IAA Transportation fair. One highlight was the further refined semi-trailer for the haulage of heavy and tall goods. The three-axle low-bed, featuring a “DOLL tera” pendular axle, can be operated via the DOLL tronic, DOLL connect or DOLL control digital assistance systems. This means that the driver always has an overview of all key trailer functions and can control them conveniently. Another highlight at DOLL’s fair stand: a four-axle trailer for transporting wind blades up to 100 metres long. IAA Transportation is the leading international trade fair for haulage and logistics.

Steep construction site entrances and unpaved roads with potholes pose particular challenges when transporting heavy and large machinery or components. The low-bed with DOLL tera pendular axle that was on show at the IAA has been specially developed for these requirements. With a stroke of 600 millimetres, the tera axle gives the vehicle sufficient ground clearance for heavy haulage on rough terrain. In the event of unevenness or differences in height, the driver can raise the axles accordingly. At the same time, the pendular axle allows the loading height to be individually adjusted to the load. With a load of up to 3,700 mm in height, the legal overall height is not exceeded in this way. The tera axle offers a further advantage when transporting large construction machinery: the rear axle chassis offers space for a continuous excavator trough with a width of 700 millimetres. The excavator’s arm can be placed here end-to-end. With a maximum steering angle of 60 degrees, the vehicle remains very manoeuvrable even off-road or in confined spaces. The robust tera pendular axle has been used in military vehicles for over 25 years and has proven itself in off-road applications. DOLL has recently started selling its tera suspension technology to civilian customers as well. With great success: “Since the market launch in autumn 2022, the demand for our most robust axle has been consistently high in the civilian sector”, reports Mathias Neumayer, Product Manager Heavy Goods Haulage at DOLL. “Dozens of vehicles are already being used by our customers”. The DOLL three-axle low-bed is also available in a vehicle width of 2,750 millimetres for transporting particularly wide construction machinery.

Visitors to the IAA were also able to inspect the DOLL tronic, DOLL connect and DOLL control digital assistance systems in the low-bed on display. With DOLL tronic, the driver can control all key functions of the trailer via a keypad on the gooseneck. This DOLL configuration version has a seven-inch colour display instead of a keypad, which functions as a digital trailer control centre. The low-bed can be operated even more conveniently using the DOLL connect radio remote control: with DOLL connect, the driver can intervene in the steering system, control the ride height or select preset ride levels at the touch of a button and without needing to get out of their cab. If a driver wants to steer their vehicle back into its lane after manual re-steering, all they have to do is press a button on the radio remote control: the Electronic Entry Control (EEP) then automatically calculates the correct steering angle of the axles.

DOLL presented a four-axle trailer at the IAA for transporting modern wind blades. With the DOLL wind blade transport system, rotor blades up to 100 metres long can be transported. This is made possible by a combination of an hydraulic lifting adapter on a two-axle jeep dolly and the “DOLL vario” trailer on display. Unlike a telescopic trailer, there is no low-hanging telescopic frame under the rotor blade. This means that obstacles such as crash barriers and fences do not need to be dismantled during haulage. The load simply swings over them. The axles have a steering angle of 55 degrees and aid the high manoeuvrability.

The vehicle combination is also highly manoeuvrable: the four-axle trailer is equipped with DOLL’s own hydraulic steering system and has a concrete stool with a steering angle of up to 85 degrees to the left and right. This allows the driver to maintain control at all times, even during the tightest manoeuvres. They can even drive sideways in extreme cases. At the same time, the trailer has a low unladen weight, allowing operation with very large and heavy wind blades along routes which have weight restrictions. It is also possible to transport other self-supporting loads such as long concrete or glulam beams in this way.

In addition to vehicles, DOLL also presented its range of services at the IAA Transportation, which includes refurbishment: DOLL reconditions used vehicles for its customers. “Comprehensive refurbishment extends the service life of a vehicle by over 10 years”, explains Klaus Danner, Head of Customer Service at DOLL. “This not only conserves resources, but is also economically sustainable”. Compared to a new vehicle, DOLL customers can achieve cost savings of 50 percent via reconditioning.

About DOLL Fahrzeugbau

DOLL Fahrzeugbau GmbH, headquartered in Oppenau in the Black Forest, is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of transportation vehicles for the defence, heavy haulage, airport equipment and timber transport sectors. The headquarters are complemented by subsidiaries DOLL Airport Equipment in Oppenau, DOLL America in New Jersey, DOLL TimTech in Mildenau and DOLL France in Paris. DOLL also offers training courses, technical support, repair and refurbishment work, on-site service and a 24-hour spare parts service. Used vehicles complete the range of services. Founded in 1878, the long-established company now employs around 420 people building around 1,000 vehicles a year.

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