Decker boosts loads
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by Toby Clark • Gray & Adams has supplied a double-deck refrigerated trailer to James Hall & Co of Southport which will use it for distribution to 360 Spar stores in the North of England.
At least 10 similar trailers are being supplied to HOC Distribution Services for its Marks & Spencer contracts, and two more have been bought by Grimsby-based Associated Cold Stores. The chassisless doubledecker is a sophisticated design which costs up to £90,000 depending on specification, but Gray & Adams claims exceptional productivity: the Spar trailer carries 82 rollcages, compared with 48 for a 32tonne drawbar outfit.
The triaxle trailer has SAF independent air suspension which is height. adjustable for ease of loading and to deal with ferry ramps and height restric tions. It runs on conventional 22.5in wheels.
The reefer can be supplied with a 1,500kg internal tail-lift to accommodate any height of loading dock; the upper and lower levels can sustain any combination of ambient, chilled or frozen temperatures using a Carrier Maxima fridge unit.
The Spar trailer's rear roller-shutter door is airoperated, while the BOC trailers combine rear barn doors with an internal shutter for the upper deck. Automatic safety gates are fitted inside and on the external 1,000kg tail-lift.
The 4.45m-high HOC trailers are set up for M&S stackable trays, or 1.85mhigh garment rails.
According to Gray & Adams' Bob Reid, the trailer has been "a long-term overnight success": the basic design has been available since 1989, but with operating efficiency becoming increasingly important the firm has sold 30 double-deck reefers during the past 12 months.