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he sheer capacity of a ouble-deck trailer can ave the cost of a ractive unit and driver.

17th January 2002
Page 34
Page 35
Page 34, 17th January 2002 — he sheer capacity of a ouble-deck trailer can ave the cost of a ractive unit and driver.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

ut as r'ireve Banner iscovered, operators hould carefully onsider routeing and oad types before hoosing this option.

With the national shortage of drivers worsening daily, a semitrailer that can do the work of two is worth serious consideration. That's why a growing number of hauliers are reviewing the merits of double-deck trailers. "Because you can more than double the number of pallets transported on one vehicle you can get rid of one

of your tractive units, and you need one less driver,"

says Richard Anderson, sales manager at trailer builder

Wilson TS. It counts double-deckers as one of its special

ities, and is building up to three a week. The presence of a fixed or movable upper cargo

deck can boost a semi-trailer's capacity from 26 pallets to 52 or more, he points out. That means you can run

one trailer rather than two, with a consequent reduction

in maintenance and tyre costs. "Over the past six months we've built more double decks than we've ever produced before," says Steven

Cartwright, a director of trailer manufacturer Cartwright Group. "The growth in demand is quite amazing."

Conventional trailer

The capacity of a conventional trailer can, of course, be

increased simply by stacking pallets on top of one

and the load may become unstable if the bottom pallet

collapses. Loading a trailer in this fashion also takes up

valuable time. You can opt for a fixed upper deck accessed by a tail

lift that goes all the way up (and is equipped with safety

rails). The lift doesn't have to be mounted externa

'We offer an internal lifting platform called Transde says Cartwright.

Alternatively you can specify a deck that can raised and lowered, either hydraulically or—if the trai

is a curtainsider—by using a fork-lift truck. "The Ian

option is popular because it saves the cost of installi

hydraulics," says Cartwright. "Years past there was question over the reliability of hydraulic floors, t

nowadays they work just fine." You can also choose a deck with a mixture of fix and movable sections. If you know you'll have to carry

number of tall pallets on the 'ground floor' you can ha

a section of 'butterfly deck' installed on the upper tier

hinges upwards either side of the centre line of ti

lets the extra headroom they need.

trailer, rather like a butterfly's wings, to give those pi

But double-deckers do have their drawbacks. At I

to 4.95m their height means that they cannot be used

certain routes, which explains why they're usua

deployed on motorway-based trunking work. They ter

to do the same overhead-obstruction-free run from or

site to another, night after night. Some hauliers worry that double-deckers are at ri: of toppling over but those worries are exaggerate according to Cartwright: "Back in the late eighties N

took one of ours to the Motor Industry Researt Association (MIRA) and carried out a series of stabih tests. It performed extremely well because the centre

gravity was so low. However, double-deckers should t

loaded sensibly—you shouldn't run around with •

tonnes on the top deck and nothing on the bottom."

Anderson says: We use a suspension system supKI by Neway because it's quite stiff and limits the ;ree to which a trailer can roll." A prudent operator ensure that loading dock staff are trained accordly and will give his drivers some training in handling Jble-deckers before they hit the highway. "You can get im blowing about in high winds and some drivers don't it," says Darren Towell of Towel! Transport Services, o runs a double-decker on pallet work.

'river's wages

/24,000 to as much as £20,000 double-deckers don't me cheap, although you will of course save on the cost a tractor and a driver's wages. Moving two loads on one -dole also spells reduced fuel bills, but not every load is table. For example, they're not the first choice for very avy cargo because you end up running out of payload pacity before you run out of load space.

bottom deck, but when you're lightly laden you can use both, and thus double your capacity.

You can also score if you're carrying a heavy cargo outbound and are offered a lightweight return load. You can carry twice as many pallets or roll cages as your competitors on the return journey, and thus, hopefully, make double the money A curtainsider trailer's curtains can be heavy and awkward to open and shut and, while easy enough to obtain and install, the curtains fitted to a tall double-decker are likely to be particularly difficult to handle. 'As a consequence we fit the largest possible free-running rollers and ensure there is a big slot for the curtain pole to make life easier for the driver," says Anderson. To reassure operators, Wilson TS offers a five-year parts-and-labour guarantee on its double-deckers.

Retailer Argos runs a number of double-deckers with fixed upper floors and others with moveable upper floors—fleet services manager Roy McCrudden is a big fan. The trailers were constructed by Don-Bur, Cartwright, and Montracon.

"They mean we can use one tractive unit and trailer rather than two on many of our runs, and don't forget that this benefits the environment as well as leading to cost savings," he says. "While a conventional trailer will carry 32 or 33 roll cages, one of our Cartwright trailers with a moving upper deck will carry 70. Where we have a height restriction problem we still use double-deckers, but they're step-frames. They don't carry as much, but we still get 52 to 54 roll cages in." The trailers are used on pre-planned runs from warehouse to store, which is fine until an accident or bad weather forces the driver off his usual route.

"Do one occasion a diversion resulted in one of the double-decks hitting an overhead obstruction," McCrudden recalls. "The sign warning of its presence was covered in snow. As a result we've drawn up safe escape routes from every motorway exit so that such hazards can be avoided."

I See our Trailer at the Year profile, page 30.


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