Alutrec has raised the bar and then some in the realm of flatdeck trailers. Not quite ready for market, but close, the company’s new aluminum ‘Capacity’ trailer is both lightweight and aerodynamic, largely because it doesn’t so much have a frame as a ‘hull’. And rather than hanging boxes and racks off the trailer sides, the company incorporated a slide-out drawer compartment at the rear for… well, for the straps and wheel chocks and stuff that such boxes usually carry.

Four years in development, it’s said to be 1500 lb lighter then the company’s standard trailer and, at just 6950 lb, Alutrec says it’s 2500 lb less than the average aluminum trailer in its category. An international patent is pending.

With its aerodynamic design, thanks to an uncluttered underbelly, and its low weight, Alutrec says the trailer can save quite a bit of fuel. It says tests performed by F.P. Innovations (the commercial arm of FERIC) have confirmed fuel savings of between 6 and 9%.

The Capacity may be light, but the company says its structural resistance is increased by 900%. The trailer’s concentrated load rating has remained a comfortable 60,000 lb in 4 ft.

Another key feature is the lower deck — by 7.5 in. — resulting in increased payload height. An additional benefit there is a lower centre of gravity and thus a reduced rollover risk.

On the service front, all air and electrical wiring is routed and secured inside the aerodynamic shaped hull, which should be result in maintenance savings. Plus, Alutrec says the Capacity has an astonishing 1000 fewer parts than a traditional trailer.

This is no local-welding-shop design. Alutrec’s partners in the development of the trailer are Alcoa Canada, Laval University, the University of Québec at Chicoutimi, the Centre de Technologies de L’aluminium, and the Centre Québécois de Recherche et de Dévelopement de L’Aluminium.