Hiab lorries, wagons, artics and trailers, all our own. What changes between the trucks is how much they hold, how far they reach, and how much they carry at the same time.
The long-reach wagons. A 66.1 tonne-metre lorry loader — 71.5 with ADC — on a 32 tonne rear-steer eight-wheeler. Eight hydraulic boom sections, front-mounted stabiliser legs and full 360 degree lifting over the cab. Lifts over 8 tonnes, carries up to 5.5 tonnes and offers a maximum reach of 19.6m. We run these as Volvo and Scania eight-wheelers.
The backbone of the fleet. Volvo eight-wheelers, each pulling a drawbar trailer and carrying a 51.2 tonne-metre lorry loader — 55.5 with ADC. Two load beds, one crane that works at both, 44 tonnes gross. Lifts over 8 tonnes, carries up to 14 tonnes and offers a maximum reach of 16m.
Where length is the problem rather than weight. A Scania artic with a 658 Hiab and a Volvo FH with a 622 Hiab, both running extendable trailers, plus semi-trailers extending to 36, 39 and 45 feet. This is what goes out for structural steel, long sections and anything that overhangs the back of the lorry.
Scania eight-wheelers on rear steer, carrying the 855 E-8 HiPro. Near enough the same reach as the 858 on a lorry of the same size.
The lighter rigid. A 49.7 tonne-metre lorry loader on a rear-steer eight-wheeler — enough for most site deliveries without the bulk of the big wagons.
Semi-trailers extending to 36, 39 and 45 feet. What goes out when the load is longer than it is heavy.
Site cabins, welfare units and modular buildings, lifted level on a spreader beam so the frame is not pulled out of square.
The small truck. Gets down streets and into yards the eight-wheelers cannot approach.
The 45ft trailer that carries our truck-mounted forklift. The Moffett rides on the back, comes off at the delivery and unloads the wagon without any site equipment.
20ft two-axle draw-bar trailers running behind the wagon-and-drag lorries. Two beds, one loader crane, one driver / operator.
What the Moffett does, and when it beats a crane · Low loader hire
Our fleet, none of it hired in.
| Vehicle | Hiab | Gross weight | Emissions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artics | |||
| Scania — Artic 6-wheeler with 658 Hiab and extendable trailer | HIAB 658 EP-6 HiPro | 44 t | Euro VI |
| Volvo FH — Artic 6-wheeler with 622 Hiab and extendable trailer | HIAB 622 E-6 HiPro | 44 t | Euro VI |
| MAN — 6x3 artic tractor unit | — | 44 t | Euro VI |
| Rigids | |||
| Volvo — 8-wheel rigid, rear steer, 858 Hiab | HIAB X-HiPro 858 E-8 | 32 t | Euro VI |
| Scania — 8-wheel rigid, rear steer, 858 Hiab | HIAB X-HiPro 858 E-8 | 32 t | Euro VI |
| Scania — 8-wheel rigid, rear steer, 855 Hiab | HIAB 855 E-8 HiPro | 32 t | |
| Scania — 8-wheel rigid, rear steer, 855 Hiab | HIAB 855 E-8 HiPro | 32 t | Euro VI |
| Volvo — 8-wheel rigid, rear steer, 558 Hiab | HIAB X-HiPro 558 EP-5 | 32 t | Euro VI |
| Mercedes — 4-wheel flatbed | — | 7.5 t | Euro V |
| Wagon & drags | |||
| Volvo — 8-wheel wagon and drag with 658 Hiab | HIAB 658 EP-6 HiPro | 44 t | Euro VI |
| Trailers | |||
| 3-axle semi trailer, 45ft extendable | — | — | — |
| 3-axle semi trailer, 39ft extendable | — | — | — |
| 3-axle semi trailer, 36ft extendable | — | — | — |
| 3-axle semi trailer, 45ft | — | — | — |
| 3-axle semi trailer, 45ft, Moffett | — | — | — |
| 2-axle draw-bar trailer, 20ft | — | — | — |
Vehicles are bought and sold as the work changes, so treat this as the range we run rather than a register. What a lorry loader will actually lift depends on how far it has to reach — the full charts are on lifting capacity.
The loader crane models across the fleet. These are the manufacturer’s figures — and a reminder that the model number is not the tonne-metre rating.
| Model | Lifting moment | With ADC | Max lift | Hydraulic outreach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIAB X-HiPro 858 E-8 | 66.1 tm | 71.5 tm | 18,000 kg | 19.6 m |
| HIAB 855 E-8 HiPro | 18,000 kg | 19.4 m | ||
| HIAB 658 EP-6 HiPro | 51.2 tm | 55.5 tm | 10,900 kg | 17 m |
| HIAB 622 E-6 HiPro | 50 tm | 54 tm | 22,000 kg | 15.8 m |
| HIAB X-HiPro 558 EP-5 | 49.7 tm | 10,800 kg | 14.5 m |
A lorry loader is no use without someone who can plan the lift. Most of our driver / operators are ALLMI trained and CPCS qualified, and the cranes are worked by remote control so the driver / operator stands where they can see the load rather than sitting in a cab.
Every vehicle is ours rather than hired in: artic hiabs, eight-wheel rigid lorries and wagon-and-drag combinations, backed by extendable semi-trailers and draw-bar trailers. Our range of vehicles is set out further up this page.
The wagon-and-drag units and the artics, both plated at 44 tonnes gross. The eight-wheel rigids run at 32 tonnes gross, and there is a 7.5 tonne flatbed lorry for jobs where access matters more than payload.
A rigid lorry with a drawbar trailer behind it. You get two separate load beds and one loader crane that can work at either, which suits multi-drop work and long runs. Several of our trucks are wagon-and-drag combinations, each one carrying a 658 Hiab.
The 32 tonne and 44 tonne wagons are Euro VI, so they meet the standard in every UK clean air zone including Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and the London LEZ. The 7.5 tonne flatbed is Euro V and stays out of the charging zones. We invest in new wagons continually, so tell us where the job is and we will confirm what is coming.
The 7.5 tonne Mercedes flatbed gets into places the eight-wheelers cannot approach. For genuinely tight access, tell us the street and the width and we will tell you honestly what fits.
Kept modern on purpose. We invest in new wagons continually rather than running trucks into the ground, so the fleet turns over steadily and there are recent vehicles in it every year.
Yes. Nortons is a FORS Bronze accredited operator and the fleet is reviewed and approved under the FORS standard. Most of our lorry loader driver / operators are ALLMI trained and CPCS qualified; several also hold Rail Track PTS, and we are LINK UP members.
Our smallest is a 7.5-tonne Mercedes flatbed, and for a lot of what people describe as a small hiab job it is exactly the right vehicle. It is worth knowing that the thing which usually decides the vehicle is not weight at all - it is reach and access. A bigger lorry with a longer boom can often stand further back on the road and still place the load, where a smaller one would have to get right up to it and cannot. So describe the job rather than picking a size, and we will tell you which of ours does it best.
Almost certainly neither, and that is good news rather than bad. Small hiab and hiab van are the words people reach for when a load feels modest, but a single pallet, a garden room, a hot tub or a shed base is routine work for a rigid, and one vehicle doing it properly beats a smaller one that cannot quite get there. Tell us what it is and where it has to go and we will tell you which vehicle we would send.
Tell us what the thing is and where it has to go. Picking the wagon is our job, not yours.
ALLMI trained driver / operators · RAMS, method statements and lift plans · Euro VI clean air zone compliant fleet, renewed by continual investment in new wagons · All our accreditations
