A trailer manufacturer has an easier time when his customers know
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exactly what they want, so think of the benefits that can arise when trailer builder and operator are on the same team. Mike Beer Transport is a UK and international carrier of bulk agricultural produce and aggregates; its sister company is Peterborough-based trailer builder Rouse & Beer and this trailer was designed to satisfy a specific operational need.
At certain times of the year the extremes of temperature that can be encountered on iourneys to and from the European mainland can prove harmful to the load.
"It is basically a temperature-controlled bulk tipper," says Mike Beer general manager, Derek Phelan. "if you have something that needs to be chilled, we can chill it. If you want something that needs to be warmed up, we can warm it up. Alternatively, you can use it to carry anything that you would normally carry in a tipper, such as aggregates."
The fixed-side monocoque design is based on a Crane Fruehauf chassis with SA3 air suspension. It is 10.36m long, 2.55m wide and has a capacity of 49.6m3. The specification includes ArvinMeritor axles and disc brakes, a two-line braking system with ABS load-sensing, bolt-on alloy wings with rubber mud flaps, a heavy-duty top rail and a raised body safety indicator that shows when the body is raised clear of the chassis.
It is currently used as a temperature controlled trailer for about half of the time. The only real restriction, from an operational point of view, concerns the cube. This has to be taken into consideration because of the position of the fridge.
So far, the trailer has been used predorni nantly on international work. "If we've been over in Belgium collecting potatoes, at certain times of the year when it's frosty, the crop can be damaged," says Phelan. "We can keep the trailer warm. If you were bringing in something like compost, which freezes in the body and can't be removed very easily, by regulating the temperature you can get it out easily."
This prototype is the only trailer of its kind produced by Rouse & Beer, But if it continues to prove as successful as it has in its first year on the Mike Beer Transport fleet, it won't be alone for long.