InfraStructures - November 2016 - Dionbilt Manufacturing Takes On the Ultralight Market

Dionbilt Manufacturing Takes On the Ultralight Market

Dionbilt Manufacturing built its first intermodal chassis 15 years ago on a small grape farm in Grandview, Washington: a 4-axle sliding chassis that hauled a 40’ container. This chassis was a far cry from the grape tubs and gondolas that they started building in the late 1970s. Today, Dionbilt is still manufacturing a version of that chassis for use in the Pacific Northwest out of their shop in the port district of Grandview. They have grown to produce not only intermodal chassis, but also flatbeds, belt and chain trailers, side-dump trailers, and much more for the agricultural arena. Recent years has brought a call for lightweight durable chassis to haul the ever-increasing container weights and numbers traveling to and from our ports.

As the loaded container weights increased, the equipment tare weights needed to decrease to keep the gross vehicle weight (GVW) within the legal limits. In many areas, the load weight requirements mean that carriers are required to “axle-up” to meet the GVW. However, in many areas, the limit is 36,287 kg on only 5-axles, meaning that lighter equipment is needed to maximize the load-carrying capacity in the containers. To address these needs, Dionbilt has produced 2 different models of intermodal chassis to aid their customers in maximizing load capacity: the lightweight (2,222 kg) DBN-2400SR and the ultralight (2,120 kg) DBN-2400SRUL. When combined with the right power unit, these chassis allow for over 24 t of payload in the container.

The DBN-2400SR is a 2-axle version of Dionbilt’s proven Featherweight design; originally designed as a 4-axle for use on the highways of Washington State. The DBN-2400SR Featherweight was retooled to carry loads in California where maximum loads are limited. Early 2015 brought a curveball: one of Dionbilt’s customers challenged them to build a chassis that would allow for over 22.7 t of hay to be transported from farm to port in Southern California.

Dionbilt stepped up to the challenge and produced the Ultralight DBN-2400SRUL. Combining lightweight componentry (aluminum axle hubs, composite suspension springs, super-single tires and aluminum rims) and SSAB’s Strenx 100 steel in the main frame, they were able to whittle the weight down to a svelte 2,120 kg. This chassis allows their customer to haul over 23.6 t of hay to the Port of Long Beach; in turn, this allows the carrier to ship 12 free containers per year, a huge savings.

In these times of load maximization, rising fuel costs, and driver shortages, the ultralight container chassis maximizes the load and Dionbilt is answering the call.

Source: Dionbilt Manufacturing

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