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Stainless steel - insulated milk tankers from FlexiFleet Manufacturing for Clover have the lightest possible tare mass, for now, believes John Loxton.

The 'push for payload' is at the heart of all commercial transport operations and as the law tightens the net on overloading, truck owners have to look at smarter ways of optimizing payload. The most obvious route is by reducing vehicle tare mass and because trailers can be 100% custom-built by experts, they remain the primary focus of local 'envelope-pushing' truck transport engineering. While innovation inspires, it can sometimes mask critical weaknesses that only come to light when it's too late, writes Paul Collings.

There's been a lot of talk in trucking circles recently about 'problem trailers', those payload-shunting Trojans that are pushed to the limit to bring home the bacon and break in the process, often with fatal consequences. It's a two-sided argument: operators say the trailers are under-spec, while trailer builders say the trailers are being overloaded and run on ill-suited road surfaces. There are always three sides to the story however - your side, my side and the truth. Short of going to court on the trailer issue, let's attempt to establish a set of truisms with regards to trailer design, as espoused by John Loxton, marketing director of FlexiFleet, makers of milk tankers (among other things) for Clover: 

"It is of extreme importance that trailer manufacturers do not overstep the line where quality is compromised in the quest for improved quantities, be that in payload volumes or profit. FlexiFleet, for example, has the technology and design capacity to provide clients with an insulated, stainless steel, tri-axle semi milk trailer with a capacity of more than 33,000 litres. The truth is, such a design would severely compromise the life expectancy of the equipment to the extent where it ceases to make economic sense, let alone the safety hazard factor. Surprisingly, despite these realities, some operators are prepared to take these risks! 

"From the other side of the table, a case could be made for the tanker and trailer manufacturers to be held responsible for allowing such unacceptable designs to reach our roads. That would make it somewhat more risky and onerous for manufacturers to give in to extreme customer demands. 

"At face value, this approach may appear to be opposing the idea of 'pushing the boundaries' of progress in design and manufacturing. Perhaps, trailer builders should rather stop pushing the boundaries of existing designs and start thinking out of the box in terms of how payload could be optimized without the need to compromise on quality, realistic life expectancy and operational safety.

"Operators have a very real expectation for a trailer to provide them with the highest possible return on investment. This will be determined by a combination of factors including the inherent integrity of the design, the initial purchase price, future resale value, maintenance and servicing, reliability, after sales support and overall load capacity over the lifetime of the vehicle. 

"All of this could be evaluated, such as in the dairy industry, to a 'cents/km-litre' in order to provide the most accurate indication of the economic efficiency or return on investment of the equipment. This calculation however, can only be done in hindsight and any pre-emptive calculation would be based on high risk assumptions about aspects such the life-expectancy of the equipment, making it somewhat less than accurate.

"These are the challenges facing the operator/trailer manufacturer alliance, challenges that cannot be faced and overcome by means of stretching existing technology on a continuous basis. The real answer, I believe, is to be found outside the current reality, on a level that would initially require a certain 'paradigm shift' before it becomes the accepted norm and basis for even more radical and accelerated developments into the future."

Editor's note: Loxton would not divulge what this 'paradigm shift' might entail exactly, hinting that answers to his intriguing allusions could be found at this year's Auto Africa Expo.