New trailer solves hi-cube over-height conundrum

The country’s first
1400-millimetre f latdeck
semi-trailer, capable of
carrying both containerised
and breakbulk cargoes, has
just entered the market.
And according to Kevin
Martin, MD of Freightliner
Transport, one of its big
advantages is that it can
carry a hi-cube container
legally.
This, he added,
meant that the current
moratorium on carrying
2896mm hi-cubes on
standard 1550mm trailers
and exceeding the legal
height on public roads of
4300mm by 146mm, and
the arguments whether the
over-height issue should be
legalised or not, now fell by
the wayside.
The designer and builder
of this new trailer, Barton
Bennett, MD of TPI Truck
and Trailer, told FTW that
the trailer neck had to be
specially designed for the
reduced height required,
while remaining strong
enough for a gross kingpin
mass (GKM) of 16 000
kilograms. And this has
been achieved using highly
specialised steel for the
neck.
“And the 1400mm trailer
can still carry a payload of
32 tonnes,” Bennett added.
This trailer will comply
with the new legal height
regulation which is
deadlined for January 1,
2019, Martin told FTW.
“After this the standard
trailer will be a no-go,” he
added. “Although, with these
standard trailers comprising
most of the fleet currently on
the roads, operators are keen
to see a ‘grandfather clause’
being introduced.
“That’s where the new
ruling states that anything
after such-and-such a date
must comply, but anything
built before that can still be
run until it wears out and
needs to be replaced.”
CAPTION
The new 1400mm flatdeck semi-trailer.