Now THAT'S a Trailer Load! (Wind Turbine Blades being transported - pic heavy)

[A HERETIC I AM]

I'm on my way from Denver to Portland and stopped today in Little America, WY, about 30 miles west of Rock Springs. There were two rigs hauling Wind Turbine blades and I thought some of you might enjoy seeing some shots I took. Pardon the quality, as I am only using my camera phone.

Here's my truck parked next to one of the rigs;

My truck is right about 75' long. The driver of the blade rig told me they were permitted for 150 feet. The blade itself is over 100' long and hangs past the tail lights by about 25'. So from the drivers seat to the tip of the blade is easily 140'! Just about exactly twice as long as my car hauler, nose to tail.

The two rigs side-by-side with their escorts behind. This shows how far the tips extend beyond the end of the trailers. The escort vans are parked underneath them!


These trailers are interesting and unique in that they are "rear steer" capable.
Here is a detail of that mechanism;

The trailers had 3 axles and were steerable by the operation of the hydraulic ram you see, one mounted on each side. The rams were attached to arms that actuated all three axles at once. This feature is necessary with a unit of this length or negotiating even broad corners would be difficult and normal corners impossible. The steering was controlled by the escort driver in the van behind, NOT the rig driver, using a small, hand held, 3 button transmitter. Left / Right / Center. Simple.

The rig from the front;



They mount the hub end of blade to the trailer using the studs that will eventually attach it to the turbine hub when it is installed. The rear of the blade is secured into a cradle and strapped down, so it has only two mount points with no support in the middle - not that it really needs it. One driver of these units I spoke with told me they can be a real hand full in a crosswind as the blade amplifies the side loading effect of a broadside wind.

I mentioned the permit for 150'. One of the escort drivers told me the over length permit to travel across Wyoming was $900! He told me they could drive 2000 miles in circles in Texas and the permit would only be $30.00! Nine hundred for 400 and change miles! What a rip off. I have talked to a couple of these crews and they all agreed however, that Kansas was the worst for permitting and just being a general pain in the ass about moving this equipment.

These rigs fascinate me and I would love the chance to drive one, as I enjoy a challenge like this. If you have done any cross country driving, you'll have noticed wind-farms cropping up all over. This is the first time I've driven across Wyoming in probably 10 years or so and there are now wind turbine farms in places that were barren, even a few years ago. What I find really interesting is the spots they are installing some of these things - at the top of mesa's and ridgelines and the driver has to get that thing up a sometimes winding, steep and almost always dirt road to get it to the jobsite.

[flamingdem]

1. Up with wind, down with nukes, yeh nt

[freshwest]

21. I saw these in rural west Texas last year, being transported and also many of them up and working.

A huge dairy in one community I know had them all over the place, with the cattle grazing below. They now make money on milk and electricity and cut their power bills dramatically. The locals were very excited about the work contracts they were getting on them.

[auntAgonist]

2. Thanks for sharing! I saw similar loads a few weeks ago on

I-94 going west through Michigan. I would LOVE to drive one of those rigs!

aA
kesha

[Gregorian]

3. I always wondered about who and how that rear steering was done.

Those aren't even the biggest of the articulating lowboys. I saw a side by side with tandem trucks recently in a photo somewhere.

Glad to see more renewable energy happening. It's exploding right now. It just took forever to get the ball rolling. California has had wind farms for decades. But it just wasn't economically feasible, or something.

Those blades are huge. I really had no idea they were quite that big. Cool!

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. No, they are nowhere near the largest trailers or rigs....

but they aren't technically "lowboys". They are essentially a telescoping pole trailer.

But you're right. There are multi-axle, multi 5th wheel compound rigs that make these look like a walk in the park.

Like this for instance;

[BillyJack]

15. Wow! What the heck is that thing? What does/would it haul?

Thanks for the great pics in the OP! Gives one a sense of perspective of how big those wind turbines really are! I mean you see them operating sometimes out-in-the-distance usually as one is driving. You KNOW they are big, but there usually is not much around to give perspective as to HOW BIG they truly are!

:thumbsup: and 'thanks' :-)

[A HERETIC I AM]

22. Anything really heavy!

A trailer like the one in my post above is probably rated in excess of 350,000 pounds which is its GROSS weight rating. I'm not too familiar with them, except that a rule of thumb is each set of tandem wheels - that is each axle of 4 tires can carry 17,000 pounds. That rig has 19 tandem sets, so 19 X 17,000 = 323,000. The way they are arranged, plus the multiple 5th wheel mounts would likely rate the rig at the 350K mark. It is an extremely heavy duty unit.

What can it carry?

Generators. Large transformers. Multi-ton Presses. Large engines. The cargo could weigh in excess of 125,000 pounds in one piece.

Freight like that can run better than $50.00 a mile to move.

[Adsos Letter]

5. Great photos! We have some of those big wind turbines about 10 miles from here

at the Shiloh Wind Power Plant, by Bird's Landing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiloh_Wind_Power_Plant

And, on an almost entirely unrelated note, that Little America, Wyoming, is one of my normal overnight stops on my road trips to the East Coast and back. :D

[A HERETIC I AM]

10. I love that stop!

I first started driving OTR in 1987 and have stopped there almost every time I cross I 80 - which, over the years has amounted to dozens of times. They have expanded that place dramatically since those days. It has an interesting history and is the only exit on the interstate system I can think of that is solely for a hotel/truckstop. It is one of the only truckstops I know of that has marble showers for the truckers! And they are HUGE.

The hotel rooms are also huge, beautiful, well appointed and still reasonable.

[auntAgonist]

13. They used to make the BEST

Belgian Waffles there. And, waffles with fresh strawberries and REAL cream ...

[Common Sense Party]

6. Nice pics! I've followed many a turbine blade down I-80 through Wyoming

through wind, rain, snow, ice, sleet, you name it. I had no idea it cost so much for them to pass through. No wonder Wyoming's budget is doing well.

Where are these blades coming from and going to?

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. Hey man! I passed by you by about 50 miles or so, today.

They were GE blades, and I think they told me they were built in North Dakota. They were headed for installation in Idaho. They usually travel in matched sets of 3. I have no idea where number 3 was!

BTW, as I said in my OP I drove across I 80 and thought about ya, but I am headed for Oregon and took I 84, o I was well North of you. Either way, I didn't really have time to stop!

I am going to go real close to where DemoTex's lookout is, but I don't think he is going to be out there for another week or so.

If I get near ya and have time, we should get together!

[Common Sense Party]

9. Sounds good, sir! Be careful out there!

[IcyPeas]

8. wow, they're big

when you see them from afar they don't look that big!! interesting pix.

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. They are huge, no doubt.

They flex quite a bit too, apparently and have quite a bit of curve to them, base to tip.

[bullwinkle428]

12. I see LOTS of wind turbine blades being transported back and forth

down I-80 in Iowa on a regular basis. Definitely makes me feel good to see the expansion of a great renewable source of energy.

[FailureToCommunicate]

14. The future- up close and touchable! Thanks for the pics.

Saw some similar ones on my recent cross country. The wind farms of eastern Colorado looked so nice compared to the refineries of Northern New Jersey...

[BillyJack]

16. This begs more questions/thoughts.....How do they/who makes them?

Amazing!

[A HERETIC I AM]

23. From my admittedly limited knowledge, two of the biggest are GE and Vestas

http://www.vestas.com/

Vestas has a plant north of Denver in Brighton, CO. I know this because I picked up one of the cars onboard right across the street from it! They had blades on rail cars, as well as hubs, housings and tower sections.

I was curious if the blades were perhaps carbon fiber so I banged on it and it sounded and felt like aluminum. It was hollow but the hub end was very stout and solid, for at least 15 feet from the end. It had welds that would lead me to believe the hub end had several bulkheads inside before the blade proper began as well as thicker wall material. That would make sense, as it has to bear all the stress when the blade is spinning not to mention carry the weight of the entire blade itself.

[Shagbark Hickory]

17. Highly REC! Great pics!

[originalpckelly]

18. Aw, yes, as if we haven't crapped up the American frontier enough...

now we're going to look like a 21st century Holland.

And if we don't do that, then everyone will have to buy solar panels for their houses, again, crapping things up.

Or we can take up massive tracts of land with these things.

If there was only some better solution...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. That's absolutely incredible HIA!

I'm not sure I'd be comfy with someone else steering my tandems (in a manner of speaking) though.

[nc4bo]

20. OMG that's so impressive...

Not just the specialized trailer but that big, beautiful wind catcher. WOW WOW WOW!!

Thanks for sharing!! :D

p.s. - hope you get your wish!

[Common Sense Party]

24. Where do you usually gas up in Laramie?

The Pilot on exit, what is that, 311? Or somewhere else?