1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182 
CASE STUDY Operations director Daniel Holland has eight double-deck trailers
Page 53
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
in this Pershore-based fleet, all built by Boalloy. Two of them are step-frames and six are straight-frames all are fixed-deck and curtainsiders.
The step-frames are used to trunk back and forth to the Palletforce hub every night and for general work during the day, locally if possible to save on fuel costs.
The straight-frames were purpose-built to deliver palleted furniture to Argos. Volume rather than weight is the issue here so overloads aren't a problem.
Securely strapping the cargo to the top deck wasn't an easy problem to solve, but drivers are now issued with a hooked pole to pull the longer second set of webbing down if it sticks. Sometimes simple ideas work best.
The double-deck trailers tend to run on regular routes; they vary in height from 4.57-4.78m. Holland tries to send the shortest trailers on the longest hauls, again to save fuel. The DDs are reserved for experienced drivers and they all run with three-axle units for stability. Holland makes no bones about it: "There's noway you'd want to pull them on a tandem!"
One of his customers is interested in triple-decking a trailer, but even if one could be built this raises questions of whether the inevitable longer turnaround time would give any advantage.
None of White's DDs have rear doors; they are all forkloaded from the side with pallet hub staff in particular instructed in weight distribution. For additional safety the trailers have an antiroll system which Boalloy offers as an optional extra.
"A lot of thought has gone into these," says Holland. Whether to acquire more depends on customer demand. "They are a good selling point," he adds, "if the customers thinks they are getting two loads for one.' The extra investment has to be reflected in the rate but if White gets a load-and-a-half rate for one journey, both sides benefit.