African Engineers: Ghana's Home-Made Timber Trucks

In Ghana, most old trucks are recycled, and Suame Magazine in Kumasi is undoubtedly the biggest informal industrial area in which the recycling is carried out. In other Newsletter articles, something continues to be stated about trotros for trains and buses and cacao trucks for farming and general goods transport. Both of these groups of car are made around the rigid chasses of sunshine and medium duty trucks by craftsmen using tropical hardwood. The biggest group of trucks, constructed with a tractor unit and articulated trailer, will also be recycled, however in this situation it's welders and mechanics who build whole trainers from steel for that old trucks to drag. Noticably of those monsters would be the timber trucks, created to transport huge logs in the deep forest towards the urban sawmills.

Based on data provided by Ghana's Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI), in 1993 there have been about 350 timber trucks serving Kumasi's 35 sawmills, typically ten timber trucks to every sawmill. A clip, built at Suame Magazine, comprised basically of the lengthy sturdy steel beam that were fixed two teams of wheels cannibalised from condemned original imported trailers. The wheel sets were usually heavy-duty single-axle four-wheel models. The leading group of wheels was fixed towards the beam, however the rear set was arranged to slip across the beam and may be fixed at any position akin to the size of the log to become transported. Pairs of wedge-formed service providers, sliding transversely on steel beams over the two wheel sets, provided adaptation towards the diameter from the log. How big logs transported varied broadly, but an average large log might be 15 metres lengthy, 1.5 metres across and weigh between 25 and 30 tonnes.

The timber industry in Kumasi was vital that you the city's economy. Additionally to as being a major employer on its own, it produced much secondary employment by delivering sawn timber planks towards the extensive woodworking industry and off-cuts towards the many charcoal-burning businesses. Therefore the timber trucks provided an important service in delivering the sawmills using their essential raw material. Even though they frequently blocked the city's narrow streets, most people required a tolerant look at loaded timber trucks. It had been once they were running light, or parked unloaded in the kerbside, the timber trucks were viewed as public nuisances.

If not transporting a log, it had been the practice to attract the trunk wheels from the timber truck forward, departing the lengthy steel beam stretching far behind the automobile. Within this condition the beam grew to become a lengthy spear waiting to impale an unwary following driver. Generally no warning was handed of the hazard, but a couple of timber truck motorists tied a bit of red-colored rag towards the finish from the beam. If the assisted in daylight it had been ineffective during the night when, even without the a tail light or perhaps a reflector, the hazard was much greater.

A regrettable British engineer, coming back late one evening from the party in the brewery where he was employed, handled to impale his saloon vehicle around the beam of the parked timber truck. The beam permeated his car windows, went by his left ear and left with the rear window. The unfortunate guy was possibly lucky to find a way having a damaged leg along with a damaged collar bone. People from other countries who know Ghana, in addition to Ghanaians themselves, recognise the house-made automobiles like a distinctive a part of modern culture which supplies essential affordable transport. Simultaneously they deplore our prime degree of road accidents, many triggered by mechanical and structural defects. It's a love-hate relationship that's fittingly typified through the king from the road: the timber truck.