Boughton Engineering has supplied one of its Type 8/32 hook loader units with Kwikova CMd auto-sheet equipment, to fulfil a dual operating role for a Scottish local authority. The unit is mounted on a Mercedes-Benz Arocs 32.36K rigid 8-wheeler chassis and will double as both a conventional hook loader for waste and general applications, as well as carrying a fully demountable winter maintenance gritting body.
The vehicle features a number of special modifications to suit the application. These include two power takeoff units – one gearbox mounted and the other engine mounted, to drive either the hook loader hydraulic equipment or the gritter. A special electro-pneumatic cut-out safety feature has been incorporated to ensure that it is impossible for both equipments to be engaged or operated at the same time.
The vehicle also includes VWS load cells and two independent camera systems – one for reversing and one to monitor the salt level in the gritter body. The chassis has been supplied through dealership, Western Commercial Mercedes-Benz, while the gritter body has been supplied by James A Cuthbertson.
John Cooper, Boughton’s Northern Sales Manager says, “This is a very good example of the possible operational versatility of the basic hook loader design and it enables the operator to fully utilise vehicle assets across a range of different applications”.
