Refrigerated and dry freight trailer manufacturer Maxi-CUBE has delivered the landmark first 26-pallet Performance Based Standards (PBS) refrigerated trailer into Queensland, Australia.
With previous vans measuring just 24 pallet spaces, this trailer is the first of its kind to receive PBS approval in the state. The trailer was purchased by specialist fruit and vegetable carrier, Fruithaul, who placed the order after learning of the productivity benefits of the PBS scheme.
Performance Based Standards (PBS) are design standards which allow truck and trailer combinations to be designed to carry larger than normal payloads to improve road transport efficiency and vehicle safety. The type of design depends on the route travelled, the type of cargo and the objectives of the transport operator. In most cases it means operators are able to drive truck and trailer combinations which are outside the standard legal dimensions.
Fruithaul owner Mat Vallance heard about the PBS scheme via a Victorian sub-contractor who had already ordered one of the Maxi-CUBE 26 pallet vans himself.
“When he told me how the PBS scheme allowed him to tow longer-than-usual trailers, I asked Scott Thiesfield from Trailer Sales in Brisbane how I could go about trialing one myself,” said Vallance.
Trailer Sales is Maxi-CUBE’s Queensland dealership. Fruithaul has stayed loyal to Thiesfield, the Trailer Sales and Area Sales Manager who has been their sole trailer supplier for a number of years. Thiesfield managed the entire process, working with Vallance to ascertain the correct specifications on the trailer for his requirements and coordinating the PBS application process with assistance from Maxi-CUBE’s engineers at the brand’s factory in Ballarat, Victoria.
“Fruithaul’s 26 pallet refrigerated trailer has two extra pallet spaces when compared with a standard 24 pallet trailer, which translates into greater profit per load for operators,” Thiesfield said. “While Fruithaul has been the trail blazer in this instance, this is just the beginning of the take-up of PBS in the van sector. The bulk transport sector has been making use of PBS solutions for a number of years and the rest of the transport industry is just starting to sit up and take notice of the benefits as well.”
“The real benefit we see in the 26 pallet trailer is that it bridges the gap between the cost of a single trailer and a B-Double,” Vallance stated. “We get the productivity benefits at only a fraction extra cost, which is win/win for us.”
“The other benefit is that the 26 pallet trailer is approved for all general routes, so it has greater flexibility in terms of where it can access, in comparison to a B-Double.”