P-32/46/50/80 Heavy Transport Trailers
Notes: Formerly
used by the Czechoslovakian and East German Armies, these heavy trailers were
designed to carry heavy loads and vehicles.
They are standard trailers, rather then semi-trailers, connected to the
towing vehicle using a long V-shaped towbar, and having wheels at the front and
back of the trailer. They are no
longer in use by the Czech, Slovakian, or German Armies, but since a large
number of these trailers were also sold to civilian companies (particularly
construction firms), and more were acquired by civilians after service use with
the military ended, they are still fairly common in Europe, though most have
been upgraded with more modern brakes, electrical systems, and other such
subsystems of the trailers.
The smallest of
these related trailers, the P-32, uses three axles (one at the front, two at the
rear) with double tires on each side.
The P-46 is basically the same trailer with a beefed-up suspension and an
added axle at the front, and capable of carrying more weight.
The P-50 uses the same design, but is over a meter longer, and uses three
axles at the rear and two at the front.
The P-80 is essentially a P-50 with a stronger suspension and frame,
enabling it to increase its load.
The P-50’s load is normally 50 tons, but an overload 63 tons may be carried; the
P-80 can also carry an overload, increasing its carrying capacity to 80 tons.
These overloads are stressful to nearly every component of the trailer;
maintenance figures are doubled for the time the overload is carried, and the
maximum speed of the vehicle towing the trailers should be reduced by
three-quarters or the maintenance figures are increased by another 150%, above
the already-doubled maintenance requirements.
All these
trailers have hand-lowered ramps at the rear to load cargo or vehicles, as well
as tie-down points along the length of the trailers.
They are not really intended for off-road use, and such use is very
limited.
Trailer |
Price |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Mnt |
Susp/Armor |
P-32 |
$3,626 |
40 tons |
10.6 tons |
4 |
W(3)/HF1
HS1 HR1 |
P-46 |
$3,638 |
46 tons |
10.6 tons |
4 |
W(4)/HF1
HS1 HR1 |
P-50 |
$4,424 |
50 tons |
16.2 tons |
6 |
W(5)/HF1
HS1 HR1 |
P-80 |
$4,609 |
63 tons |
16.2 tons |
6 |
W(5)/HF1
HS1 HR1 |