InfraStructures - November 2010 - New V-Floor Trailer from Titan Gives Aggregates Hauler Bigger Payloads with Less Operating Cost

New V-Floor Trailer from Titan Gives Aggregates Hauler Bigger Payloads with Less Operating Cost

When Titan Trailers was ready to demo its newest ideas for aluminum live-floor trailers, Bre-Haul Trucking was the logical place to call.

Mike Kloepfer, the president and lead designer at Titan Trailers, had custom-built the new Titan V-Floor® 5-axle trailer to suit Bre-Haul’s specialty: hauling gravel and other aggregates. Responding on the need to improve on the more familiar belt-out conveyor trailers, Mr. Kloepfer designed his new aggregates trailer to combine the lightweight strength of aluminum THINWALL® bodies with the simplicity and stability of the latest live floor systems from KEITH Mfg. Co.

Located just a few miles from the Titan factory in southern Ontario, Bre-Haul has been hauling gravel, sand and salt in the area for more than 25 years. More importantly, Titan knew that Kevin Brezinski was always open to new ideas, and he has the experience to recognize a useful innovation when he sees it.

The Bre-Haul fleet is ready to move stone any way customers want it. Depending on the contract, Kevin Brezinski can deliver with a choice of end-dumps, semi-dumps, gravel hoppers and belt-out trailers. His fleet even includes the very first Titan THINWALL tub-dump ever sold, still going strong nine years later. Mr. Kloepfer and Mr. Brezinski both hoped Titan had come up with another winner.

“The industry has been looking for level unloaders like the V-floor system lately,” says Mr. Brezinski. Site managers across the country prefer not to see dump trailers elevating on uneven ground. They feel that the instability can create an unsafe situation.

Aggregate haulers traditionally have relied on conveyor-type trailers when the job requires a level self-unloader. Mr. Kloepfer sees inherent problems with belt-out systems. “Belts take a lot of upkeep,” he says. “When they have a problem, they have a lot of parts under there to deal with. That’s time the customer could be using to move more material.”

“Building a trailer with a belt conveyor in the bottom of it also limits what you can do with it. One reason we like the V-Floor system so much is that it’s so versatile. You can haul anything in a V-Floor trailer. This gives you more choices to adapt with changes in your local market requirements.”

A trailer that’s a TON better!
For Kevin Brezinski, the main advantage of the Titan aggregate trailer was instantly apparent. “Mike’s trailer is very lightweight compared to our belt trailers,” he observes. “You save a fair bit with having an all aluminum trailer. We can really max up on the loads, and it saves fuel costs on the way home.”

According to Titan engineering, the V-Floor aggregates trailer weighs in a full ton lighter than comparable conveyor trailers. Mike Kloepfer attributes the 900 kg of added payload capacity to its overall design, as well as his patented THINWALL extruded aluminum body. “By going with V-Floor, we eliminate the weight of a conveyor subframe,” he explains. “We also took out some weight by streamlining it with a narrow box, just 172 cm wide. Aggregate trailers reach their legal load limit before they run out of cubic anyway – why give it a bigger box?”

The new Titan trailer rides about 30 cm lower than a belt trailer which makes it more stable. The lower ride and narrow body reduce wind resistance, so it saves fuel costs.

“The smoothside body doesn’t have any posts catching the wind, and there’s no bowing in the panels, even with a full load.” He also credits the new hydraulic tailgate from Titan for enhancing its strength and stability. “Most tailgates just swing out when they open, but this one lifts up, then out. When you close, the tailgate slides down and ties right into the body. It helps to keep the whole box rigid.”

Source: Titan Trailers