LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Titan Trailers introduced what company officials called the world’s first high-capacity aluminum body self-unloading trailer specifically designed for extreme duty applications at the Mid-America Trucking Show. The trailer later made a second appearance at a truck show in Toronto.

The Thinwall trailer is targeted at scrap metal, construction and demolition and aggregate hauling businesses.

It includes a steel V-Floor unloading system from Keith Mfg. Co.

The Thinwall V-Floor trailer combines the capacity, durability and light weight of Titan aluminum body construction with the self-loading capability of the solid steel Keith walking floor V-Floor system, said company officials.

The new trailer is Titan’s response to increased demands for higher efficiency and improved safety in extreme duty applications, said Titan president Mike Kloepfer.

Kloepfer was on hand to introduce the new trailer, in a six-axle, 130-yard format (weighing in at 28,000 lbs.) at the Toronto truck show.

“The Thinwall trailer has become the preferred choice for many applications that demand maximum capacity and low life cycle costs,” said Kloepfer.

“With the new V-Floor system, we can now extend the benefits of Thinwall to customers who need the extra strength of a steel live floor.

“It’s safe to say the V- Floor will revolutionize the way heavy and abrasive loads are unloaded in multi-axle trailers in North America – but even more so in Ontario and Quebec, because of our multi-axle trailer use. In the end it will reduce the use of dumps and belt outs.”

Many applications are traditionally met with steel-body dump trailers and flatdecks, company officials explained.

But dump bodies generally reach their practical payload limit at around 50 cubic yards and can have problems handling off-balance loads on uneven work sites.

Company officials said a 48-foot Titan trailer offers more than double the payload capacity – up to 130 cubic yards – while the Keith V-Floor system ensures the trailer maintains a sure footing while it walks off the load.

Since the Titan trailer has a covered top, it also offers a viable alternative for truckers who haul crushed cars through jurisdictions that restrict them from using open-top or flat-deck trailers, company officials pointed out.

As for the steel V-Floor systems, Keith originally developed them for stationary installations in recycling yards, said Keith’s Bob Moore.

Moore said the company has been eyeing aggregate and C&D markets for a number of years.

“Then we got inquiries from waste management operations who had to start covering their landfills every day,” Moore said. “They wanted to use the same trailers that deliver the garbage to hauling in their overburden. But the big trade-off has always been the extra weight of steel.”

With the development of newer high-wear, high-yield steels, Keith was able to develop a new line of V-Floor systems that can withstand heavy impacts and abrasion without a prohibitive increase in weight, Moore explained.

To handle fine abrasives, Keith also eliminated seals from the V-Floor design by overlapping the V-slats and mounting them on a full-length bearing.

Titan will custom-build the Thinwall V-Floor unloader for virtually any extreme duty requirement including multi-axle and B-train units, said company officials.

For more information visit www.titantrailers.com