Truck and Dog combinations will number 13,500 units, or some 40% of the 33,000 PBS population by the end of 2026. Construction wise they generally carry
- Quarry products
- Sand, soil and
- Construction rubble
However, some regional linehaul tasks are undertaken by the configuration carrying
- grain and even
- fuel.
The rigid three axle truck with a 4 axle dog trailer sees considerable variation in travel. Kilometres travelled ranges, for the construction commodities, from 47,000 to 150,000 kilometres per annum. For the longer regional linehaul tasks the combination can achieve up to 200,000 kilometres per annum. The total combination performs an average of 117,125 kms/annum.
The 5 axle rigid/dog combination has a slightly lower average and the 6 axle trailer combination averages some 152,000 kilometres per annum.
Figure 1: The PBS Truck and 4 axle Dog Trailer
Table 1: Truck and Dog productivity over non PBS truck and dog trailers
| PBS Configuration | Total productivity estimates 2023 | Urban operational productivity (%) | Average kilometres per annum | Urban contribution to kms saved (%) |
| Rigid Truck – 3Axle Trailer | 16.0% | 15.52% | 86500 | 1.3% |
| Rigid Truck – 4Axle Trailer | 18.8% | 17.67% | 117125 | 18.3% |
| Rigid Truck – 5Axle Trailer | 22.9% | 20.61% | 152667 | 2.6% |
| Rigid Truck – 6Axle Trailer | 25.5% | 22.19% | 111000 | 0.2% |
Comparative fuel consumption Single tipper vs 4 axle truck and dog trailer
Two single tippers vs a PBS 4 axle truck and dog combination on HML
Two single tippers: Consumption: 40.6 litres/100 kms X 2 = 81.2 litres/100kms
Versus the 4 axle truck and dog combination
Consumption: 59.1 litres/100 kms
This difference saves dome 9.6 million litres of diesel per annum or 9.1 million urban litres per annum
As much as of all the PBS combinations are often considered as big long multi-trailered vehicles the ‘almost’ smaller truck and dog trailer combination is a very heavy hitter within the PBS family. As well, 94% of the kilometres performed by the 4 axle truck and dog are urban or peri-urban kilometres. This again dispels the idea that PBS vehicles do not serve urban environments, they do!