More volume - more profit

L.I.T AG has been a major player in the logistics business for over 30 years, and CI Logistik GmbH from Karsdorf is also part of the L.I.T. group of companies with around 170 tractor units and 230 towed units. "We bought eight vehicles from Fliegl this year, one of which is the three-axle semitrailer with the large trough," says CI Logistik Managing Director René Lange.

"We transport a lot of bulk material, from sand and gravel to grain, so we need a lot of volume and a high payload at the same time," Lange explains. To be able to respond as flexibly as possible to transport orders, the boss ordered the trailer with a straight bulkhead insert against which pallets can be leaned if required. With an unladen weight of about five tons with a loading volume of 50 cubic meters and a payload of almost 30 tons, the three-axle tipper, the Fliegl Revolution, is one of the lightest vehicles in its class.

The low unladen weight is due in part to the lightweight steel chassis, the patented curved front end and the aluminum rims. Of course, the aluminum body is also built as light as possible, and the 2.15-meter-high side walls are made of 30-millimeter-thick hollow-chamber profiles. With the Revolution, Fliegl shows that lightweight construction and durability are not mutually exclusive: The 6-mm-thick aluminum floor of the skip is particularly light, but with a hardness of 110 Brinell, the surface is especially hard - this ensures low wear even with abrasive goods. Two switchable vibrators are embedded in the floor, which use compressed air to accelerate the unloading of grain, for example. The diaphragm rear wall consists of a double-leaf door, a grain slide is recessed in each of the two doors, the right-hand door offers additional locking security; the clamping screws on the trough are also additionally secured.

Clever details make the Revolution tipper extremely suitable for everyday use: thanks to the special integrated mudguards, bulk material that has gone astray falls straight to the ground when loading - and not later onto the road. The conically shaped Greenline skips are 5 cm wider at the rear than at the front, so on the one hand the load does not get stuck, and on the other the aerodynamic skip shape reduces air resistance and thus fuel consumption. The underride guard folds in automatically and pneumatically as soon as the body is raised and out again as soon as it is lowered. If the driver needs to climb into the body, this is easily done via the spacious standing platform at the front. An aluminum ladder is also on board, of course.

Anyone who drives a lot of bulk material is occasionally on the road on wet, muddy ground; here the tractor's drive axle can be too light when tipping, and the wheels lose traction. On the DHKA 390, the first axle can be raised, which shifts some of the trailer weight onto the fifth wheel, providing more grip. The starting aid is functional up to an axle load excess of 30 percent; from a speed of 25 km/h, the axle lowers again automatically.

The DHKA 390 Revolution rolls on SAF disc brake axles in off-road design, which are laser-measured and perfectly adjusted at the factory. This ensures low rolling resistance, low consumption and less tire wear. The polished aluminum rims not only look good, they also contribute to the low curb weight. Thanks to Haldex's TPMS tire pressure monitoring system, the driver can detect low air pressure and top up accordingly - this prevents tire blowouts and also reduces tire wear.

Good visibility prevents collision damage and increases work safety, which is why the DHKA 390 is equipped with five additional LED worklights in addition to the standard reversing lights: one on the top inside of the bulkhead, another on both sides, and two more at the rear. CI Logistics Managing Director Lange attaches great importance to safety; to minimize the risk of accidents when maneuvering, he had a rearview camera installed. A special feature: the rear light combines a wide-angle and robust digital camera with eight 40-watt LEDs in one housing; the camera image is displayed on a 7-inch color monitor in the cab.