A Rokbak RA30 articulated hauler is helping to deliver Scotland’s first inland surfing resort.
The truck has been involved in groundwork at a disused quarry in Ratho, near Edinburgh that will become home to the landmark Lost Shore Surf Resort.
The Lost Shore Surf Resort, which is being delivered by WH Malcolm, is a £55 million project expected to deliver over 100 jobs and attract 180,000 visitors a year.
At the disused Craigpark Quarry, the RA30 ADT is helping prepare the build of the leisure space. The site is all man made ground, with the original soil having been replaced or altered by the introduction of materials such as concrete or crushed brick.
With a maximum payload of 28-tonnes and a heaped capacity of 17.5m3, the hauler is moving hundreds of tonnes of material a day and helping to make the site suitable to construct on.
“It’s been far more economical to invest in a 30t truck for earthmoving, rather than take on several smaller vehicles to move our material,” explained Connor McAlister, senior site manager for WH Malcolm at the development.
“The RA30 is one of the most up-to-date bits of kit we have. The project is unique – there’s only several in the world – and if we didn’t have kit like that, we wouldn’t be able to deliver the project in a timely and efficient manner. When you work seasonally, like we do in Scotland, you need kit like the RA30 to get you over the line.”
WH Malcolm has spent the past year consolidating the ground on which the park will be built. The company is responsible for the deep drainage, plot drainage and foundation work for the Lost Shore Surf Resort. WH Malcolm’s RA30, purchased from Rokbak dealer Molson Group in December 2021, has been at Craigpark Quarry since October 2022.
In the space of a year, the RA30 has moved over 120,000 tonnes of material. Material can be Type 1, pre-bedding, 40mm sub-base or rock. Once it has been collected, the truck travels two miles up a main road to another area at a higher level of the site. Following the deposit, it travels the two miles back down to the lower ground level where the main groundwork takes place.
The RA30 has worked in both dry and wet conditions and is said to have performed consistently.
“The Rokbak is one of our key players on the job as we have to move massive bodies of muck very quickly in very wet weather,” added WH Malcolm groundworker foreman, Damon McLaughlin. “The traction it gives us means it gets into areas that are almost impossible to do with other vehicles.”
The’s heavy duty axles are designed with fully floating axle shafts and outboard planetary reduction gearing. The three axles are in permanent all-wheel drive (6×6) with a differential coupling between the front and rear axles. All three axles have hydraulically actuated multiplate transverse diff lock differentials for 100% cross-axle lock up. Rokbak explained the inter-axle and cross-axle diff locks are controlled by operators and can be actuated when required in poor traction conditions.
“It’s comfy to drive in, with the air-assisted seat meaning bumps aren’t a problem, the air conditioning unit is spot-on, and it’s got everything I need,” said Matthew Baird, who has been operating the truck since January 2022. “It is a good truck to drive – there’s no hassle with it. It goes exactly where you want it to go and there’s good visibility with the heated mirrors. There are parts of the site that are a little bit more difficult, but the Rokbak does it. It has very good adaptability.”
The Lost Shore Surf Resort is scheduled to open in 2024. It will become the focal point of a 60-acre country park which will also offer luxury accommodation, a food market, shopping, and a wellness spa. The 160 metre-long Wavegarden Cove-powered facility will be the centrepiece of the resort and capable of creating up to 1,000 waves per hour.
“It’s fantastic that Rokbak gets to be part of something that looks set to be so important to Scotland and the Scottish tourism industry,” said Kenny Price, Rokbak’s regional sales manager for EMEA. “Our trucks are designed and built for major projects such as this and, as a proud Scotland-based company ourselves, we’re delighted to be helping put the country on the map.”
