A look across the Nullarbor Australia from a road train

[T1 Terry]

No idea if anyone is interested in this sort of stuff, but this gives you a bit of an idea just how big Australia is and how far apart things are, yet in patches, the highway is running on the edge of a very big cliff overlooking the ocean as the road passes through the Great Australian Bight and you get an idea just how close it is here Google Maps

One of the bits that might be entertaining, a road train overtaking another road train



T1 Terry

 

[Rolfe]

What exactly is a "road train"?

 

[T1 Terry]

What exactly is a "road train"?

A truck pulling more than one trailer is the theoretical answer, but in trucking talk, the length and weight of the whole combination at close to the maximum allowable for that stretch of road. Generally around the 100 tonne weight but can be up to 160 tonne, they use a "dolly" that you get to see in the video to act as the steering for the trailer it is attached to and provides 12 more tyres on the road to spread the weight.
Once the combination gets outside the busy area and up through the centre, they can extend out to 4 trailers, and no body weighs them out there most of the time .... I think there is one spot crossing into the Northern Territory that that sometimes pull a weight blitz, generally the drivers know when such a thing is going to be happening and organise around it .....
If you watch the video, you will see just how big and long some of them are.

T1 Terry

 

[Rolfe]

I see, thanks.

 

[Alb]

Had a load driving through my village last week that was 600 tonnes!

 

[T1 Terry]

Had a load driving through my village last week that was 600 tonnes!

I bet it didn't pull out and pass a 3 trailer road train at 100km/h

T1 Terry

 

[Alb]

No chance, maximum speed 12 mph!