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| The Goldhofer
branded box.
|
 |
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| Lots of parts with
this model. |
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| Full length with
the deck panels fitted. |
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| Underneath the
gooseneck. |
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| Deck panels fitted
to the spine beam. |
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| Extended to carry
a long beam. |
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| Carrying a
Liebherr LB28.
|
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| Configured
without the front bogie and with deck plates added. |
|
The Goldhofer XLE trailer is capable
of payloads up to 110 tonnes and the version modelled here
is the maximum 8-line combination.
For this review the XLE is paired with a Scania tractor
which is separately reviewed
here. The overall model
is large when fully extended measuring 70cm from the front
of the tractor to the rear.
Packaging
The packaging is a Goldhofer branded windowed box with the
model held within good quality foam rubber. There
were no defects or missing parts on the review model.
There are a large number of small parts to fit and a single
sheet of coloured instructions are provided although it
is unclear in places. A small screwdriver is included
for the one screwed connection required.
There is no information about the real trailer.
Detail
The gooseneck is mainly metal and it has some reasonable
detailing of equipment on the underside. Tiny graphics
denote the control console although they seem high off
the ground as the base of the gooseneck sits well above
the fifth wheel. A spare wheel and some
other parts are added as detailing but they are not a tight
fit in the holes provided.
The front three line bogie is metal apart from the silver
deck plates. The wheels look pretty good and the tie-down
loops along the side are nicely painted. Two plastic
width markers fit to the front edge and they have short
lengths of coiled cable. At the rear there are good
rubber mud flaps and a couple more lengths of cable to lead
to the rest of the trailer.
The deck and rear five line bogie is a single piece.
The spine beam has fold-out brackets which can hold the
plastic deck panels although the fit of these on the review
model was not so good. The rear bogie is similar to
the front bogie in construction although it has a deep well
for the booms of plant being transported and silver plastic
edge plates which are flexible and care must be taken not
to lift up the model using these.
At the rear a couple
of width markers and orange beacon lights can be fitted
although they easily drop off as they do not fit the receiving
holes tightly. The beacon lights are painted
rather than having plastic lenses.
Features
The gooseneck can be fitted to the three line bogie, or
directly to the spine beam. There is a small degree
of movement between the gooseneck deck and the connection
downstand which is provided via modelled cylinders but it
was extremely stiff on the review model.
Each bogie has linked steering which works quite well and
is proportional on the rear bogie, although the range of
movement at the rear is not huge. The suspension
is very good with each wheel set having an easy springing
motion.
A variety of deck configurations are possible including
a short version with or without deck plates, and a long
version with the telescopic spine beam extended, again
with or without deck plates.
Width markers can be added or left off as desired.
Quality
The overall quality level of the model is reasonably
good with the model engineering not as good because some of the
add-on parts did not fit perfectly.
The paintwork and graphics are of a good standard.
Price
This trailer and tractor combination is reasonably priced given its larger size.
Overall
Tekno have done a reasonably good job producing the Goldhofer
XLE trailer. When set up properly it looks impressive
although there are a few frustrations along the way fitting
the add-on parts. The features and flexibility are
good and overall it is easy to recommend.
Footnotes
The model appeared in 2009 and has been made in different
liveries. A matching
8x4 Scania tractor
unit was introduced in 2010. Other tractors were
also available with this trailer, including a
Mercedes Benz 4165.
In 2012 a version of the trailer in the colours of
H N Krane was
produced for Heavy Transport Models.
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|
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|
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| Foam rubber packaging. |
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| The basic trailer
with a Scania tractor. |
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| It looks good
overall. |
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| Gooseneck has
some detailed graphics. |
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| Underside of the
main trailer. |
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| Detail at the rear.
|
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| The full length
trailer behind the Scania. |
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