Trailer manufacturers focus on weight savings, aerodynamics at this year's Mid-America Trucking Show
May 1, 2010 12:00 PM, By Paul Schenck
LIGHTER WEIGHT and improved aerodynamics seemed to be the common theme among the manufacturers introducing new trailers at the annual Mid-America Trucking Show held March 25-27 in Louisville, Kentucky.
With trailer customers seeking ways to cut costs and maximize payloads, these new trailers were popular products — helping explain why the event attracted 70,647 trucking professionals from all 50 states and 59 foreign countries.
This year's edition had exhibits by 965 exhibiting companies representing 45 states and 12 foreign countries. Total exhibit and event space exceeded a million square feet.
Great Dane all-aluminum platform now in fleet testing
Great Dane Trailers is entering the all-aluminum flatbed market. Production started in January 2010, and the first trailers are now in fleet testing. Full production will start in the third quarter.
This new aluminum design will be produced in Huntsville, Tennessee, in a plant that was operated in former years by Wabash National Corporation to build steel platforms.
Primary goal of the new design is reduced weight. It has a design weight of 8,200 lb when equipped with aluminum wheels. The 48-ft, 102" wide show model introduced at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville weighed 8,900 lb when also equipped with a reinforced coil package, two tool boxes, chain tie-downs and winches and two apitong nailing strips in the standard 1.25" deep aluminum flooring.
“We see the aluminum platform business growing at the expense of combination aluminum-steel platforms,” says Keith Monroe, director of the flatbed division at Great Dane. He says the all-aluminum design reduces weight 1,000 lb compared to a combo platform with steel mainframe beams.
The all-aluminum platform has a two-piece bolted main beam 28 inches deep. Crossmembers are attached to the main beams with lock bolts instead of welding to prevent common stress cracking. At the rear, a three-piece bolted impact guard is bolted to the main beams, making repairs or replacement easier.
The only welding is in the extruded aluminum side rails. The rail design includes built-in sliding winch tracks, stake pockets on 24-inch centers and double pipe spools welded to a three-inch aluminum rub rail. The only steel is in the upper coupler, landing gear, and Hendrickson Intraax suspension with axles on 121" centers.
The all-aluminum platform is rated at 60,000 lb load capacity in any four feet or 120,000 lb evenly distributed.
Extreme Flex Utility Trailer side skirt
Utility Trailer Manufacturing has designed and is manufacturing in-house two new aerodynamic side skirts. They both are mounted with a unique steel bracing system that is virtually indestructible, according to Craig Bennett, senior vice-president of sales and marketing.
The galvanized high-tensile steel spring braces permit the fiberglass-reinforced skirt panel to flex both inward and outboard when traveling over road humps and obstructions. If damaged, the steel spring braces can be repaired by bending back into shape.
The Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay program has verified that the Utility Side Skirt (USS-120) offers more than 4% fuel savings on refrigerated vans, and the USS-160 offers 5% and more fuel savings on dry freight vans, Utility says.
Such aerodynamic devices are required by the California Air Resources Board's Heavy Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measure that went into effect January 1. It applies to all new 2011 and later model year dry van and reefer 53-ft trailers operating in California. Existing 2010 and prior year trailers in fleets also will be required to comply.
These new skirts offer both flexibility and durability, Bennett said. Testing and fleet use show that they can last the life of the trailer with normal repair. They add about 290 pounds for the reefer trailer model and about 330 pounds for the dry van model. Cost can range from $1,000 to $2,000 per trailer.
High-powered shore power for reefers
One way refrigerated fleets operating in California are reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to comply with California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations is to use shore power when at the loading dock or parking area. Utility Trailer Manufacturing has designed a new option to safely handle the high power requirements. It includes a covered receptacle plug mounted at the rear of the trailer and heavy gauge wires running the length of the trailer in a protected tunnel to the refrigeration unit. This level of protection is necessary because of the 480-volt, 30 Amp, three-phase power requirements.
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