New trailers make Dallas debut

Oct. 1, 2005
SEVERAL trailer manufacturers introduced new models during the Great American Trucking Show August 25-27. The show, held at the Dallas Convention Center,

SEVERAL trailer manufacturers introduced new models during the Great American Trucking Show August 25-27.

The show, held at the Dallas Convention Center, attracted 44,925 attendees, up 5% from 2004. Here are some of products introduced at the show:

Transcraft redesigns D-Eagle dropdeck

The D-Eagle dropdeck has been redesigned to provide more floor capacity in the wheel pan area and to clean up the floor design. Instead of using a steel insert to bridge the space above the wheels, the aluminum crossmembers are now spaced so that the standard aluminum floor extrusions run full length with no wheel cut-outs. This allows the floor capacity to be increased to the stated flooring material specifications. It offers a fork-truck rating throughout the floor width and length.

The show trailer at GATS is a 48' × 102" dropdeck with 5" aluminum sills spaced on 16½" centers. The 1" floor extrusions also have four apitong nailers. The Intraax AA-230L suspension is at a 121" spread. The 22.5" aluminum wheels are mounted with 255/70R 22.5 tires.

The dropdeck neck was also redesigned with a bolted connection instead of welding, thus providing a more flexible and durable connection in the critical neck area.

With the redesign in both the neck and the wheel pan area, the weight stayed about the same. The show trailer scaled 10,540 pounds, including two big tool boxes, 12 sliding winches and straps, and full aluminum bumper filler with LED lights. For further information, contact Transcraft Corporation, P O Box 500, Anna, Illinois 62906.

Clement unveils heavy-duty bottom dump

A new bottom dump trailer designed for long life and relatively light weight was introduced by Clement Industries at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas. Key to its durability and long life is a hopper built of 3/16" HT50 high tensile steel. For even more durability, a hopper built of 3/16" AR450 abrasion-resistant steel is available as an option.

Supporting this hopper are two bottom rails and bracing of 4" × 6" rectangular tube. Besides the strength, these massive rails make the simple structure easy to build. To save weight and cost, the pressurized rails also serve as the 80-gallon air tank to operate the bottom gate.

The air cylinder that operates the clamshell gate has a solid aluminum head and cap and piston head. The cylinder is a hard-anodized aluminum tube. This 8" operating cylinder is controlled by a hands-free, infinite gate control that opens the gate to any position and allows easy feathering.

The running gear starts with 102" 25,000-pound axles with common inner and outer bearings. A 44,000-pound four-spring suspension is standard, but air or a single-point suspension are options. The trailer runs on 24.5-inch wheels and tires.

The 40-ft trailer has a capacity of 20 cubic yards, or 22.5 yards with side boards. Standard weight is 12,900 pounds, but the show trailer scaled 13,400 pounds. For further information, contact Clement Industries, P O Box 914, Minden LA 71058.

Custom drop trailers for container haulers

Doonan is a specialist trailer manufacturer among specialists. The company builds dropdeck trailers only, avoiding the wider field of flat platform trailers. And the company no longer has any affiliation with truck sales since Doonan sold its Peterbilt dealership two years ago.

Doonan Trailer Corporation can be very creative within its specialized field, says Michael Burden, sales specialist. For example, one of the Doonan dropdecks exhibited at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas was a 50 ½-ft trailer designed so that it could carry 40-ft containers with no rear overhang. The main deck has six pairs of container tiedown locks so that it can carry one 40-ft or two 20-ft containers behind the drop.

This Doonan customized dropdeck has three sets of wheel wells to accommodate a two-position rear axle for either a closed tandem in California or a 121" spread. It is also mounted on 17.5" dual wheels to lower the deck by 5" to 35". The company has had very good experience with the Michelin Energy XTA 17.5" tires, according to Burden. Customers report very good mileage results with the small tires.

The high-strength steel mainframe members are 24" deep, tapering to 12" over the suspension. With half-inch flanges top and bottom, the seven-gauge web section has lightening holes with dimpled edges to retain strength without adding reinforcing bars.

Lights are important on custom trailers, and Doonan does its part, in addition to what the dealer network does. Doonan has always mounted eleven lights at the rear — eight large lamps for stop-tail-turn operation plus the three-light identification bar. The GATS show trailer was exhibited by Walker's Trailer Sales of Monroe, Louisiana, who added more side clearance, marker, back-up, strobe and rear ID lamps for customer appeal.

The show trailer with aluminum side rails and rear, Sturdy-Lite ramp system, apitong deck, two-position kingpin, 12 sliding winches and 12 container tiedowns, two toolboxes, and aluminum wheels weighed 12,500 pounds. Doonan Trailer Corp, Highway 56 and 156, Great Bend, Kansas 67530.

Travis Body and Trailer 28-ft, four-axle asphalt Wave Quad grosses 80,000 lb

A 28-ft asphalt trailer capable of operating at 80,000 pounds gross was the center of attraction at the Travis Trailer exhibit in Dallas. All of the Travis trailers exhibited were of the “wave” design using hollow extrusions to make smooth sidewalls inside and out with no vertical posts. The hollow-core extrusion “planks” are approximately 12" wide, 2¾" thick, and run the length of the trailer.

Travis calls its four-axle asphalt trailer a Wave Quad. The 35.5-cubic-yard dump body is mounted on a 28-ft trailer with the normal tandem axle set-up at the rear. Intraax air suspensions are bolted directly to the flanges of the 15" extruded aluminum frame. To qualify the short trailer for the 80,000-pound gross weight column in the federal bridge table, two auxiliary axles are added ahead of the tandem.

Travis makes its own T-Lite auxiliary lift axles. Each axle is a 3" diameter (1/4" wall) trailer axle rated at 5,000 pounds capacity. It has 12" × 2" electric brake drums, 16" aluminum wheels, and 16" tires. The air suspension is bolted directly to the trailer frame flanges and the suspension arms. Weight of each auxiliary suspension is about 500 pounds.

Although the auxiliary axles are rated at 5,000 pounds capacity each, they are usually operated at 2,000 or l,000 pounds when loaded. Many dump truck operators run with the same weight distribution on this 7-axle rig as with the normal 5-axle combination using a long trailer; that is 34,000 pounds on the trailer's four axles, 34,000 pounds on the tractor tandem, and 12,000 pounds on the steer axle for an 80,000 pound gross.

Total tare weight of the Travis Wave Quad is 10,700 pounds. For further information, contact Travis Body and Trailer Inc, 13955 FM 529, Houston, Texas 77041.