Wilkens shows first all-steel Walking Floor for demolition trailers

Aug. 1, 2003
The first Keith Walking Floor for a demolition trailer was shown in a Wilkens Walking Floor trailer at the International Trucking Show in Las Vegas. The

The first Keith Walking Floor for a demolition trailer was shown in a Wilkens Walking Floor trailer at the International Trucking Show in Las Vegas. The prototype floor has only nine slats, and they are driven by nine hydraulic cylinders — one for each slat.

The heavy steel slats are formed in a V shape and can be specified from 1/8" to 3/4" in thickness. While this is the first installation in a demolition trailer, the Keith V-Floor unloading system has been used for 10 years in fixed installations such as transfer stations.

The Wilkens demolition trailer shown at the ITS has the floor and sidewalls built of Nomax, an abrasion-resistant and formable steel from Sweden. Weight of the 38-ft all-steel trailer is 22,600 lb.

Wilkens showed this heavy demolition and hot asphalt trailer at the ITS side-by-side with a Lite Walker, a commodities trailer with a new low weight of 12,500 lb. Weight of this 45-ft, 102"-wide trailer was reduced by switching more crossmembers to aluminum, reducing bracing for the Jost landing gear, and redesigning the upper coupler. Weight could be reduced another 480 lb by using a floor with overlapping slats of PVC. It has a Hendrickson Intraax tandem and stainless steel rear frame because of acids in the loads and road salts. It also has stainless steel hydraulic lines from the nose to the power unit.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of Wilkens Manufacturing. When it started in business in 1973, it became the first dealer for Keith Walking Floors. It is now in its new 114,000-sq-ft plant built in 1995 in Stockton, Kansas.