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Past Issues

May 2003

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MATERIALSHandling
	SPECIAL FEATURE

Talking the walk

Is the walking floor trailer concept making a comeback in South Africa? Then again, did it ever go away? Apart from this, is it really viable in this country and if so for whom? With these questions foremost in his mind, FleetWatch senior journalist Andrew Parker paid a visit to Rosslyn-based Afrit Trailers, which recently introduced a 'new' trailer to the local market.

Maybe 'new' is a little ambiguous in this incidence as Afrit produced its first - and possibly South Africa's as well - aluminium moving floor trailer just over 20 years ago. However, speaking to Pieter Scheenloop, manager of Afrit's repair and refurbishing division, it could be said in hindsight that the original trailer which, by the way, is still in operation, was way ahead of its time.

Be that as it may, the concept did not catch the imagination of local transport operators. According to Afrit sales manager, Albert van de Wetering, back in those days no one in the transport industry believed in using aluminium, so that was a bad start to begin with. Adding to this, the trailer was fitted with super single tyres another relatively new and not widely used concept at the time.

Little wonder then there was a huge 15-year hiatus before Afrit revisited the idea in the late 1990s. Interestingly enough, the 'new' trailer also incorporates aluminium, super single tyres and a Cargo Floor moving floor system supplied by Cargo Logistics and Equipment which, incidentally, supplied the floor in the original trailer.

There are some interesting differences between the old and the new. For a start, the new trailer is manufactured by Afrit under licence from Knapen Trailers of Holland who have been building light-mass trailers for the European transport market for over 25 years and also fit their moving floor trailers with Cargo Floor systems.

Technical differences 
There are also substantial technical differences. While the old trailer boasted aluminium sides, the new trailer is almost entirely manufactured from aluminium save for the chassis sub-structure which is fabricated from lightweight, high tensile Swedish Domex steel. 

While some aluminium is sourced locally, much use is made of pre-fabricated aluminium panels imported from Holland and fastened together by technicians trained at Knapen Trailers in Holland. 

A notable feature of the new trailer is that it is able to incorporate a tarpaulin cover if required. A moving headboard that helps maintain vehicle cleanliness is a useful addition. 

Cargo Logistics and Equipment MD, Rene Wegkamp, says the deck on the new trailer represents the latest moving floor system from Cargo Floor. "The heavy-duty system, known as the 'Cargo Twister', has a total of 800 high-impact, low-friction bearing blocks directly beneath the trailer floor," he says adding that Cargo Floor also offer lightweight systems available for specific applications.

The new floor also has fewer (21 as opposed to 24) aluminium planks. Wegkamp says this reduces installation time as well as the number of seals required to prevent ingress of dirt and grime into the mechanics of the floor system.

"The new floor operates on hydraulics only and as such, the overall performance is not influenced by atmospheric conditions as are pneumatically operated systems," he says. "A further nicety is that the floor is operated off a transmission PTO and cannot therefore interfere with vehicle electrical systems."

Both Cargo Logistics and Afrit say that the moving floor trailer is a lot safer and more stable than traditionally used end-tippers - particularly while discharging cargo. A further safety feature incorporated into the Afrit trailer is the inclusion of pneumatically assisted rear doors that prevent the rear doors from springing open and dumping the load on an unsuspecting operator.

Between Wegkamp, Van de Wetering and Scheenloop, FleetWatch was supplied with a veritable host of additional features or, as they were termed, 'advantages' of walking floor trailers. These include the following:

• Versatility. The trailer can be used for granular and dry goods and pallets.

• Short turnaround time. Using the moving floor concept it takes less than ten minutes to offload a full load.

• Moving headboards. These can be fitted to separate loads and also help keep the loadbay clean.

On the technical front, Van de Wetering notes that the trailer is compact and as such is fast and simple to produce. "It is a real light weight and depending on the prime mover employed, offers a legal payload of over 30 tons without using the permitted 5% leeway." 

Further benefits of the moving floor include low maintenance, fully automated control and a high level of abrasive resistance thanks to the wide use of aluminium.

Versatility
An overriding feature that cropped up numerous times in our discussion was the inherent versatility of the walking floor concept. Check out the following and judge for yourself. According to Afrit and Cargo Logistics Equipment, the walking floor is able to incorporate the following parameters:

• Can be used in volume trailers up to 120 cubic metres. 

• Maximum floor length is 16 metres with each floor length able to bear a load in excess of 40 tons.

• Can be used in variety of trailer designs.

• Can load or unload part loads.

Versatility is also evident in the type of cargo the trailer can handle. Included in an impressive list are such items as peat, clay, earth, manure, fertiliser, pallets, maize, grain, animal feed, paper rolls, domestic waste, coal, sand, gravel, abrasives and lumber.

What more can you say? Except perhaps to point out a notable benefit a moving floor trailer holds over an end tipper. Reading the list of the different loads it is able to transport, what stands out is the ability to move different load configurations in either direction. If, for sake of an example, a load of coal is hauled in one direction, the moving floor can return with a load of palletised goods. This has to be a major operational advantage. 

One question that remains to be answered is - will the moving floor concept take off in this country? While there some pundits who will undoubtedly decry the idea, according to Afrit and Cargo Equipment moving floor trailers are being increasingly recognised as being viable for certain applications.

Van de Wetering says Afrit has been relatively successful to date with orders for around 20 units since the new trailer was exhibited at Auto Africa in October last year. "I believe there is a lot of opportunity in the local market," he says. "The operators are waking up and light tare trailers are rapidly becoming vogue as operators strive to turn mass into payload.

"Additionally, a concept like a moving floor system requires a single driver/operator and not a whole crew of labourers to help load and offload the vehicles."

While agreeing with Van de Wetering, Wegkamp looks at the situation from a slightly different perspective: "The operators are waking up," he says, "but only because they are being forced to by increased vigilance against overloading by the traffic authorities."