For high-wear and high-impact applications, Titan Trailers has introduced a new line of live-floor trailers featuring a lighter-weight aluminum version of the V-Floor unloader from Keith Mfg. It’s aimed at extreme applications like demolition and abrasive materials that are too demanding for standard self-unloaders.

The V-18 floor is constructed with 18 aluminum slats, whereas the original V-Floor system is built with high-yield steel or aluminum and uses 10 slats. The new design is based on the same sub-deck used as the V-Floor, which provides resistance to leaks and heat without floor seals that would be damaged by excessive wear.

Titan says the V-18 unloader system is ideal for material that’s too demanding on a standard slat but does not require the ruggedness of a steel slat. Recommended applications include municipal solid waste, recycled materials, wood chips, construction debris, fertilizers and farm chemicals and other fine materials.

Such jobs are often handled by steel-body dump trailers, but they reach their practical payload limit around 50 cubic yards and, says Titan, can have problems with off-balance loads on uneven work sites. The company adds that a 48-ft Titan trailer, meanwhile, offers more than double the payload capacity – up to 130 cubic yards – while the self-unloading system maintains a sure footing for the trailer while it walks off the load.

Titan will offer V-18 trailers with a variety of slat profiles, and the V-18 live floors are being offered to fit trailers with an inside width of 98.5 in. (250.19 cm).

The Keith walking floor is a horizontal unloader, eliminating the need for tipping or dumping. Aluminum or steel slats run the length of the trailer floor, actuated by three hydraulic cylinders, a sequence that ‘walks’ material out. Systems can be bi-directional for both loading and unloading. With few moving parts, the systems are said to be durable requiring relatively little maintenance.