HGV Chassis Repair

 

Images 1 –2 – 3
Show a repair to a Council Refuge Lorry chassis that has cracked due to very poor original manufacturing design and subsequently causing stress to the vehicle manufacturers chassis. In image 1 you can see the chassis cracked on the R/H side member.  To repair such damage requires extra special equipment and fully trained technicians. We are able to carry out such a repair with the equipment that our purpose built HGV workshops have been equipped with: Josam HGV Chassis Alignment and computerised laser Wheel Alignment equipment, and specialist welding equipment. With this equipment we are able initially to weld the cracked Chassis Member and whilst doing so check the alignment of the chassis during the heat application and any distortion to make sure the vehicle stays within Manufacturers tolerance.Image 2 in this series shows the actual member welded back together and the vehicle at this stage will have been checked for alignment on the Josam Laser Equipment. Image 3 shows the same member now welded and then we had to plate the chassis member to add extra strength to avoid this happening again during the vehicles working life. With the vehicles design of the body manufacture had a New Manufacturers Chassis been fitted this would only happen again        
Image 4 – 5 – 6
Image 4 shows the L/H chassis member of the same vehicle, which has split through completely, and the chassis has dropped more than an inch as you can see in this image. This means that the vehicles front and rear axles are not joined together whilst the vehicle is in this state. However as we tackled the R/H side we did similar to the L/H side, making sure that the vehicle was in tolerance when welded. Image 5 shows the L/H chassis member welded back into the correct position note the body mounting and the body had to be lifted off of the chassis to enable full access to the Chassis member. Image 6 is the final in this set of SIX images and shows the L/H Chassis Member after welding has taken place we than plate approx three feet of the chassis to add further strength to it before letting the body mounting rest on the repaired Chassis.

General Comments
As you can see from this repair there is NOTHING that we at Vehicle Bodycare Centre will refuse to tackle on behalf of our customers.
We will always do our very best to achieve a satisfactory repair for any of our clients whether it be Accidental Damage – Refurbishment – or Reconstruction of a defective design.
We will always offer the operator the very best service provided by a HGV Body Repairer in the UK, with the very best highly trained technicians provided with the very best equipment. 

Image 1
Shows a typical swan neck tri-axle tipping trailer, which has suffered a very serious twist to the swan neck area of the chassis. This can normally be associated with a tipping accident. You can see the vehicle being inspected fully for the extent of the damage in this image before the straightening of the chassis is undertaken.
Competent and fully qualified technicians, trained by Josam, Sweden, conduct all straightening alignment operations
We are able to carry out with the equipment that our purpose built HGV workshops have been equipped with: Josam HGV Chassis Alignment and computerised laser Wheel Alignment equipment, an Overhead crane capable of lifting 5 tonnes incorporating a full body and cab lift facility, and the best used piece of equipment in the HGV chassis repair is the Heat Inductor a Black Heat Wand which enables us to work on any type of steel and heat up the chassis without causing damage to the make up of the type of steel the vehicles chassis is made from.
Image 2
Shows that the vehicle has been straightened back to manufacturers specifications. The fifth wheel bed will always be fully checked on an incident such as this for safety and security that the vehicle can be released back to the operator knowing that it can go straight back into service on collection.                             
With this type of repair cost is a major factor of a repair to such a vehicle as a replacement chassis both in downtime and cost may render the vehicle uneconomical with both cost of repairs and hire of another similar vehicle whilst new chassis is being ordered and then the time taken to swap over the body and running gear.

Image 1

This image shows a Skeleton Trailer with the front end twisted quite badly in front of the trailer legs. It is essential that one of these type of trailers is straightened to exact measurement otherwise the container box’s that they carry will not fit the mounting points.

Image 2

 

In the second image you can see that we have removed the twist and due to the extent of the damage to the Chassis we have added an inner strengthening plate and replaced the damage crossbeam with new fabricated steel.
With the use of the Josam System which anchors the vehicle to the frame we can remove any type of “Diamond “, Side Sway”, “Sag” or “Twist” using vertical and horizontal presses to reposition the chassis back to its original measurements and specification.
This trailer will be taken into our commercial paintshop for the refinishing to the repaired chassis

General Comments

From the images shown in our HGV Chassis repairs section you can see that the type of trailer is not a problem to our skilled fully qualified Josam trained technicians.
If you have a HGV Chassis whether it be a Lorry, Tractor Unit, or a Trailer badly damaged don’t think is beyond repair it could just need an expert to look at it first with the right equipment.