The bespoke-built beavertail step frame has a gross weight of 56 tonnes, making it suited to carrying the wide range of heavy construction plant D.A. MacDonald transports to civil engineering projects across Scotland.
Chris Stewart, health, safety environment & quality manager at D.A. MacDonald, says: “We looked at a range of manufacturers for the new trailer. One of the biggest contributing factors was that it doesn’t simply sell trailers ‘off the shelf’; it gave us the flexibility to spec it exactly to our needs.”
The step frame replaces a similar competitor trailer and joins a varied commercial vehicle fleet, which includes a range of plant bodies, tippers and heavy plant. Specified with 17.5-inch wheels on BPW axles, with additional rear-lifting axle capability, the new trailer also includes multiple safety features, including slide-out wide load marker boards, strobes, safety lights and LED lighting for safer operation at night.
Andover Trailers’ beavertail design includes two 3.8m x 1m flip toe ramps with hydraulic sliding width adjustment, alongside 18 pairs of swivel, screw and fixed lashing points along the deck and low-profile neck, all designed to help accommodate a wide range of loads.
The new trailer will be pulled by D.A. MacDonald’s new Scania V8 R50 tractor unit and is expected to cover around 50,000 miles annually, staying in operation for at least eight years.
“We’re delighted with how the trailer has been performing so far, and we have no doubt that it will more than last the distance,” adds Stewart.
A family run business, D.A. MacDonald started operating in 1988, carrying out kerbing contracts and traditional stonework. The company has subsequently grown into a major civil engineering contractor, working on more than 50 hydro schemes across Scotland.