When the going gets tough.... First seen in Series I form in 1948, the ubiquitous Land Rover has been around for more than 60 years selling more than four million units in the process. Originally designed for farm and light industrial use, the first prototype was built in the summer of 1947 before being officially launched in April 1948 at the Amsterdam motor show. The vehicle was originally Changes in EU regulations however designed as a short term project mean that from January 2011 the to keep the Rover car company shorter wheel-base, heavy-duty busy until the depressed post-war 3,500kg Land Rover 110 can no market started to pick up. In longer be sold, replaced by the common with the Land Rover's light-weight 3,050kg Land Rover 110 that followed, the Series I used a or the more expensive and longer box section steel chassis and wheelbase 3,500kg Land Rover 130. aluminium bodywork due to the Mounting an aerial lift onto the Land rationing of steel and the Rover poses its problems, abundance of aircraft aluminium. particularly when it comes to high The Series II was introduced in speed on-road handling and stability 1958 and visually remained when cornering - caused by a high virtually unchanged for the next centre of gravity, relatively narrow 25 years. The Defender – launched track and long travel suspension. in 1983 and not radically different There have been many instances of on the outside - was available in Land Rover platforms toppling over 90” and 110” at roundabouts. wheelbase form with the most While most, if not all installations recent vehicles using the 110 and use at least one set of outriggers, 130” wheelbase. Despite its there are many that also use the ‘Britishness’ the company was front axle and wheels of the vehicle sold to BMW in 1994, Ford in Over the years there have been a a 12 to 14 metre platform. This to provide additional stability in place 2000 and finally its present number of manufacturers offering does not mean the vehicle is ideal – of a second pair of legs. However if owners, Tata Motors in 2008. special-build Land Rover-based in fact it has some major flaws. not done well this can lead to an platforms using various ‘off the Leaving the ageing design, lack of Its all set to change unstable feel to the platform when shelf’ booms/superstructures from driver space and comfort to one The Land Rover is renowned for its the weight in the basket is close to trailer lifts or truck mounts. side, along with the stability off-road capabilities, qualities that its maximum. However, given that the bulk of the problems already mentioned, first attracted specialist powered The shorter 110 wheelbase vehicle demand for such lifts comes from operators of most Land Rover-based access manufacturers looking for a does have advantages in the UK, with some in the Middle platforms also have to climb up onto rugged, go-anywhere chassis to manoeuvrability and price, but East and that annual sales are said the vehicle to access the basket or mount a platform that combined 4x4 with its demise, most current to range between 100 and 150 the controls to telescope the boom off road capability with a decent manufacturers will have no choice units, there has been a surprising to ground level. working height. but to offer the Land Rover 130, recent surge in the launch of new Latest additions It is thought that the first Land although those with lighter booms or models. Until relatively recently Allan Rover-based platform was the L25 booms manufactured specifically for Problems? Access was one of the few built by Simon in 1957 which the chassis may be able to fit their The Land Rover’s popularity as a companies manufacturing this type continued in production until 1978. lifts to the 110 lightweight chassis basis for an off-road platform of machine using the Niftylift trailer In all, more than 2,500 were sold but to offer any platform capacity the probable stems from the fact that lift boom until it went into although not all on Land Rover chas- vehicle would have to be close to there are very few 3.5 tonne GVW, administration and ceased trading sis. The company also built a 100ft 2,800kg leaving barely 200-250kg true 4x4 vehicles capable of taking almost two years ago. Since then high camera mast on a Land Rover! for tools etc. 40 cranes & access August/September 2010 the other main manufacturer, longer available, it could be the only Versalift, has been concentrating boom that can be mounted on the & land rovers more on the van mounted side of its lightweight (3,050kg) chassis. c a business which along with the Currently the A314 has an overall demise of Allan, left the door open, weight of 2,880kg giving the at least slightly, for new platform a class-leading 620kg of manufacturers. There are currently total payload capacity and a very at least six models on the market, good 225kg platform capacity. The including Cumberland Industries, unit also uses its four outriggers to Gardner Denver, Isoli, Niftylift, totally support the vehicle. Skyking and Versalift. Early units “To prove the stability of the A314 used short booms taken from a we carried out the 150 percent variety of trailer lifts and small overload test over the front of the articulated self propelled lifts and cab after taking off one front wheel then ‘made to fit’ the Land Rover and the unit did not move,” said chassis, very little changed over the Cumberland’s Paul Murphy. “The years until now! first sign of any movement in the Versalift launched its new Versalift chassis was when there was more ET36LF short wheelbase (110) Land than 400kg on the boom.” Rover-based platform at Bauma “The amazing stability has been with a 14 metre working height. achieved by designing both the A version mounted on the long boom and mounting position from wheelbase 130 is also available and The Unimog is the ultimate 4x4 off-road vehicle features an articulated jib which provides 16 metres working height. time and development costs but is Both models are available with up likely to involve some compromises. to 10kVA of insulation making them Italian truck mounted lift ideal for electricity companies and manufacturer Isoli first showed its contractors. MPT 140 at SAIE 2009. Using the At the same time Kettering-based larger Land Rover 130 chassis the Cumberland Industries, aiming to platform is just under three metres take advantage of what it sees is a high and has an overall length of gap in the market launched its A314 just 4.88 metres. The boom can be Land Rover at this year’s Bauma. mounted on a wide range of chassis The company’s recent appointment - including a Nissan Cabstar, Iveco, as UK distributor for Italian aerial lift Mercedes, Ford Transit and Renault manufacturer Socage is paying – and in Land Rover form offers dividends as it uses a totally 14.0 metres working height, 6.5 metres outreach with a platform bespoke A314 boom designed by The Cumberland A314 has a 225kg platform capacity both companies and built by Socage capacity of 200kg. Recently it has specifically for the Land Rover also tailored the unit towards utility chassis. This means that the new scratch. The combination of workers by introducing a 1,000 kVA Land Rover 110-based platform has lightweight bespoke boom and insulated platform version. The new a very low overall height of 2.56 mounting it further back on the GRP platform measures 1,250 x 710 metres, which the company says chassis not only gives good stability x 1,100mm and includes 180 delivers a low centre of gravity that but a very low centre of gravity. The degrees of platform rotation. provides confident cornering ability basket can also be telescoped out Mounted on most 3.5 tonne chassis and excellent off-road handling. It from controls at the side of the the length is less than five metres. machine from its travel position so also believes that when the 3.5 Another new entrant is the Skyking that basket access can be gained tonne Land Rover 110 chassis is no The Overland 130 with V145 platform AT136 which uses a Matilsa trailer from the ground. The unit is also lift boom. This machine has been a unique in that it is the only one that 1 2 long-time in the making with a has all its hydraulics and electrics prototype version seen at SED last routed internally.” year. Getting a Land Rover-based Other manufacturers of Land Rover- platform ready is obviously not an based platforms tend to employ an easy process. Working height and existing boom from another outreach are both in line with other application rather than designing models but it includes platform specifically. This obviously saves rotation. Gardner Denver originally launched 3 4 Pic 1: A two man capacity LH28; its VM135 three years ago aimed at Pic 2: The Skyking AT136 was launched the utility and forestry sectors. at this year’s Vertikal Days The new VM135 is designed for Pic 3: A Priestman Land Rover dating mounting to the long wheelbase back to 2000 models and offers 13.5 metres work height and 6.4 metres working Pic 4: An L25 Land Rover on a outreach with a 200kg lift capacity railway track while the overall height is relatively low at 2,880mm. August/September 2010 cranes & access 41 flexibility for mounting platforms.