Freepost Roof Raiser
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II York Trailer has taken its lifting roof design—conceived originally for the recent Ford Super Cube trailer order (CM 9 July) — and developed it for general hauliers.
When Ford switched its European component distribution business from rail to road, it specified a trailer which could provide a threemetre high side loading access on a curtainsider with a stepped bottom cant rail and deep, top cant rail. York's solution was to build a trailer with a roof that could be raised for loading and unloading.
York, however, has now taken the Super Cube concept and applied it to its maximum access Freepost pillarless curtainsider which can not only run within a 4.2 metre height limit at 38 tonnes, but can also be raised by 400mm for 32.5 tonne work.
The Freepost roof, which has a deep centre spine, is raised by an air spring, mounted below the chassis. This rotates a lever arm attached to steel cables running to the four corner posts.
In the fully-raised position, the support posts lock in mechanically, and do not rely on the air system for support.
The side curtains, incorporating an extra 400mm of material, must be completely freed before the roof is raised. The straps can give tension to the curtain in both positions, although when the roof is lowered, the surplus material is tucked into the body. Outside the front bulkhead, the air deflector moves up and down with the roof section, while at the rear a system of folding slats keeps the body weather tight.
The Freepost Roof Raiser curtainsider body is based on a tri-axle semi-trailer intended for 2+3 operation at 38tonnes, but its Tecair suspension tri-axle bogie has a lifting front axle for 32.5 tonnes operation in a 2+2 mode.
The raised roof option adds 1,500 to the cost of York's Freepost standard design and reduces the payload capacity by about 300kg.
Although a model will be exhibited at the Scottish Motor Show, it is not expected to become generally available until April 1988 after further endurance testing has been completed.