Trombone Chassis

The Trombone Sidelifter is designed with a retractable chassis and steering axle to allow improved maneuverability in confined work areas. The retracted position is only intended for maneuvering in tight spaces, at low speed i.e. below 30mph. Because of this restriction, we recommend only using the retracted position in yard or off road situations.

SBdanger

NEVER attempt to extend or retract the chassis when the sidelifter is laden.

Always travel on road with the steering axle locked, never unlocked.

The following issues can arise from using the retracted position and need to be taken into consideration:

A greater proportion of the load weight is over the axles, which in turn restricts the allowable payload because of the tyre loadings (consult tyre manufacturer's specifications in section 10 of the manual folder).
When laden and as speed increases, the trailer may become unstable, especially with sudden changes of direction. Locking the steering axle improves this but caution is still necessary. This is a primary reason for restricting retracted position use to yard operations.
With the steering axle unlocked, the effective rear axis of the trailer is much closer to the kingpin, which reduces corner cutting and tyre scuffing, but can cause the rear of the trailer to swing out more. Operators need to allow space for this when maneuvering.

The Trombone sidelifter comprises a two part chassis that slides in and out (hence the name "trombone"). When fully extended the trombone sidelifter can carry one 40 foot container or two 20 foot containers. When fully retracted, it can carry one 20 foot container.

The Trombone sidelifter has rack and pinion traverse crane modules. The engine is mounted on the side of the trailer.

The hydraulic trombone mechanism uses a hydraulic cylinder to extend and retract.

330T retracted

Trombone Sidelifter in retracted, 20 foot position

330T extended

Trombone sidelifter in extended, 40 foot position.

In This Section

Extending and Retracting the Trombone Sidelifter