Standing the Test of Time: The 1978 TRT Hydrawide Trailer

Tidd Ross Todd (TRT) has a rich history of remarkable innovations and engineering feats driven by unwavering commitment and genuine passion. Some of that history has survived and is still thriving even today. The 1978 TRT Hydrawide trailer from TRT has managed to remain on the roads for more than four decades.

Bruce Carden, TRT Managing Director, remembers that it was an impressive undertaking by the company at the time. “I can remember as a kid at school going into the drawing office of Jack Tidd Ross Todd and seeing the designers at work on this project with my father,” says Carden. “In those days, Computer Aided Design (CAD) hadn’t been invented. It was all done on grease-based paper in A0 size with pencil.

This trailer was where TRT’s unique Compensating Gooseneck came from. That trailer was the first in the world to have a ‘Live Gooseneck’ using an accumulator to allow the Gooseneck to travel up and down in road mode.

My father worked out that with a trailer that long, for it to ‘live’, it needed this feature for ground clearance. It also ran steering on the back two rows of axles and was the first to be built with the two rear axle sets being demountable. Originally built for Dales Freightways. Hickman acquired the trailer from its second owner Inglewood Motors.”

Carden says that the 1978 TRT Hydrawide marked the creation of the TRT steering axles that have been used in a number of rows of eight trailers built by TRT over the last 20 years. “The patterns and moulds we currently use are born out of that trailer,” he says.

The 1978 TRT Hydrawide has been through a rebuild, according to Carden. “This trailer came into TRT for a rebuild in our old building. So, that was before 1998. From memory, it was around 1995,” he says. “The trailer was stripped back to its original chassis and all services replaced along with a paint job. It’s nice to see the old girl is still running some 46 years later. That trailer was the first trailer built by the company to use high-tensile steel. In those days, it was T1 from USA.”

Parts sourcing for older trailers can be challenging. For TRT, who made their own axle components, a lot of those are still available. TRT, like many others, also used to use locally made axles from Tanner Engineering, a company that’s long gone.

“Those axle parts are now impossible to source,” says Carden. “As a rule, TRT ensure we use mainstream, well-recognised brands in our trailers that will be available in the years to come. Our Parts Department carry extensive inventory to ensure we support our OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) goods well into the future. Just like we have for J.D. Hickman’s old girl.”

J.D. Hickman Workshop Manager Arthur Moratti says the 1978 TRT Hydrawide was way ahead of its time back in the day. “It’s a 100-tonne rated transporter, and we had the hydraulic brakes and everything on it, like a car,” says Moratti. “And it’s 10 master cylinders and 20 hydraulic wheel cylinders for the brakes.” At J.D. Hickman, Moratti says.

it was used for a lot of heavy loads, mainly transformers, which were used for power stations. “The steering for it is very clever, where it steers off the king pin up the front and makes the back two axles steer,” says Moratti.

Moratti says the 1978 TRT Hydrawide was obviously very well designed and well thought out. “The way that it rides over the bumps on the road and all the humps and hollows,” says Moratti. “We have a bit of trouble with the other one scraping and bottoming out on the road when it’s got a lot of the humps and hollows or you got to go up a steep driveway. But this one can run low and clears the road very well.”

Moratti mentions that J.D. Hickman has been managing the servicing of all their trucks and collaborates with TRT to source parts. He acknowledges that parts procurement can sometimes be challenging.

“Luckily, in the days this was made, it was made to last a fair while,” Moratti says. “The parts were made from basic materials, so they’re still available, and you can have them machined or fabricated. TRT helps us track down or produce some of the more difficult parts. While some are harder to find, we can still have most of them made, though at a higher cost.”

Moratti stresses the 1978 TRT Hydrawide is a great example of the quality of the build and steel in those years. “It was taking some good loads,” says Moratti. “They obviously did a very good job of it. And it was built of really good steel. That was definitely a quality build when it was built.”

Liam Baxter, TRT Territory Manager, highlights the long-standing relationship between J.D. Hickman and TRT, noting that the 1978 TRT Hydrawide is one of the oldest trailers they’ve manufactured. “Maintaining the trailer and sourcing parts has been fairly straightforward," he says, "though finding parts for something that old can be tricky."

Baxter explains that since many of the original parts are no longer produced, TRT’s team has been resourceful in tracking them down. “The build quality was exceptional for its time, which is why it hasn't had many issues—just typical wear and tear, like brake shoe replacements,” he adds.

Baxter says that TRT stands behind everything that is built and leaves their premises. “It is a long-term relationship,” he says. Baxter emphasises that TRT delivers equipment that works. And keeps working. All TRT trailers are made to last, but their actual lifespan depends on many factors, including regular maintenance.

The various parts required to repair TRT trailers are sourced from around the world, Baxter says. “If we are unable to source the part, then we manufacture it ourselves,” he adds.

So, what lies in the future for 1978 TRT Hydrawide trailer? “They have a lot of COF inspections to get for it, but there's no reason why it can’t keep going,” says Moratti. “It's not busy every day, so we don’t need a million-dollar trailer where this one still does the trick. So, I would always try to keep it going, but I guess it’ll end up in a museum or something one day.”