REVOLUTIONARY TRANSPORT SOLUTION FOR ROTOR BLADES OF 50 TO 70 METRES

1. REVOLUTIONARY TRANSPORT SOLUTION
FOR ROTOR BLADES OF 50 TO 70 METRES
Nooteboom Quatro Tele-PX Super Wing Carrier
Revolutionary
It was not just a matter of increasing the vehicle length; the construction
had to be modified too. The location of the centre of gravity of these long
blades could cause the trailer to overturn. Because the blades are longer
they are also wider and even have a slightly different shape. These blades
are often manufactured to be used in areas with low wind speeds where the
aerodynamics work differently. During transport the blade’s centre of
gravity is not located right above the central main beam in the middle of
the trailer. This fact, plus the fact that these blades have been designed to
catch the wind, means that the trailers carrying these blades have to be
constructed in a way that makes them extremely torsion-stiff. And they
even need to have a certain dead weight to ensure that they don’t overturn
when they catch a cross wind during transport.
Photography by Erik ten Have©
The Tele PX Super Wing Carrier was developed because the windmills are
getting bigger all the time. The rotating blades that capture energy from
the wind used to be 25 metres long, then 50 metres, and now they can
measure almost 70 metres in length. In that case the existing flatbed
extendible semi-trailers are no longer a practical option.
Nooteboom Quatro Tele-PX Super Wing Carrier of the German haulier Hofmann.

2. The Super Wing Carrier, fitted with pendle axles, offers a much wider
steering angle (60 degrees) and significantly more axle travel for extra
ground clearance. The pendle axles also ensure the platform remains
extremely stable, even at maximum steering angles. Another important fact
is that the gooseneck, which is hydraulically adjustable (80 cm height
compensation), can be fully loaded and driven at any ride height.
This Super Wing Carrier is internationally a very popular transport solution
for rotor blades that are longer than 50 metres.
Latest development
The latest development at Nooteboom is the Quatro TELE-PX Super Wing
Carrier. The Quatro Tele-PX is an important addition to the range of Super
Wing Carriers that are specially designed for the transport of wind turbine
rotor blades. This business is booming, especially in Germany, the European
market leader in the wind industry. During the past year the capacity of
wind turbines in Germany has increased by 26%, according to the BWE
(German Wind Energy Association).
Nooteboom Quatro TELE-PX SWC of the Polish specialist Trans

3. A major advantage of the Quatro Super Wing Carrier, which is based on the
successful MCO-PX semi low-loader, is the extremely low load floor. This
means that transport operators won’t have any worries about the transport
height when passing under viaducts. In countries like Germany and the
Netherlands the Quatro Tele-PX can travel on the motorways and there is
usually no need to map out alternative routes.
Quatro Tele-PX Super Wing Carrier
• Quadruple extendible
• Fixed axle assembly with pendle axles
• Load floor height 1090mm
• Retracted length 18.7 m
• Various heights load floor to gooseneck
• Ground clearance highest position approx. 1.5m
The load floor is extendible in 4 steps from 17 m to just over 63 metres. In
comparison: the Triple Tele-PX is extendible in 3 steps from 18.7 to approx.
60 metres. In certain European countries the shorter retracted length of the
Quatro Super Wing Carrier offers important advantages as regards
exemptions.

4. Special transport report
More information Nooteboom
The hydraulically in
height adjustable
gooseneck has
a height
compensation
of 80 cm.
The choice of Quatro Multi-PX versus Triple Tele-PX is mainly determined by
the transport height the transport operator wishes c.q. needs to have at his
disposal. With the arrival of bigger and bigger wind turbines, the rotor
blades too are getting longer and wider. The load floor of the Quatro-PX can
be coupled to the gooseneck at various heights. Positioning the flange of
the rotor blade behind the gooseneck creates significantly more loading
height. In the lowest position the transport height immediately behind the
gooseneck is just 760mm, which easily stays below the statutory maximum
height limit in Europe.