Emil Egger Puts New VarioMAX to Work on Wind Turbine Move

Swiss heavy transport specialist Emil Egger has completed the first assignment with its new Faymonville VarioMAX lowbed trailer, moving a 62-tonne wind turbine tower section around 200 kilometres from the Port of Birsfelden near Basel to the Vaud Jura.

The Enercon E-115 tower section measured 4.3 metres in diameter and had to reach the construction site via narrow secondary roads, villages and mountainous terrain.

Emil Egger specified the new VarioMAX in a 3+6 configuration with a six-axle rear bogie on 17.5-inch pendle axles. According to Faymonville, low tare weight and compact dimensions were key requirements when developing the combination.

A tower adapter solution was rejected because of its overall length, while a conventional multi-axle semi-trailer would not have achieved the required loading height.

Pulled by a Mercedes-Benz SLT 8×6 tractor unit, the VarioMAX completed the route using its 600 mm pendle-axle stroke to negotiate varying road conditions and gradients.

“For this job, we needed a transport solution that was as short and compact as possible to reach the construction site via secondary roads,” said Michael Egger, Managing Director of Emil Egger.

The new trailer will also be used for rail vehicle transport. Its lowbed outer beams can be mounted at different widths, allowing track gauges between 1,440 and 1,020 mm in 60 mm increments.

This enables the trailer to handle a range of rail vehicles, including locomotives, trams and mountain railway equipment, while extension beams provide additional flexibility for different load lengths.

“As always, we have been very satisfied with the vehicle right from the very first transport,” Egger added.