The first new delivery is a specialist tri-axle forklift trailer, and the second is a tri-axle, 56-tonne gross weight extending step frame – a replacement for a smaller Andover build and the largest the business has specified to-date. Both add to the company’s 30-strong mixed trailer fleet.
The covered forklift trailer features a four-member construction, with closed-up cross members within the frame to provide additional strength, while keeping the unladen trailer weight as low as possible. The full width, full height, flip-toe knife-edged ramp design creates the shallow entry angle needed to load forklifts, with extra reversing lamps and an alarm to provide additional safety when in operation.
Other key design features include an all-steel hinged retractable TSE sliding roof, chosen by Andover Trailers for its sheer strength and durability. It also incorporates swing-out rear pillars and sliding side pillars with two locking positions, allowing machines wider than the door frame to be loaded with ease.
“The shallow loading angle and the innovative roof and pillar design make Andover’s forklift trailers the best in the business. Their genuine versatility allows us to carry a wide range of forklifts, including high-mast machines with the roof either fully or partly open,” says company director Derrick Hunt.
The 11.9m step frame is constructed with a four-member design which can extend along a central spine to a maximum length of 16.15m. The 1.2m-wide power toe ramps feature Andover’s fold-forward design, with sliding width adjustment and knife edge toes, all helping with the loading and unloading of a range of heavy machinery, including everything from aviation tugs to belt systems for sushi restaurants.
Specified with 17.5-inch wheels on BPW axles, the trailer includes lift and self-steer capability on the rear axle, as well as multiple safety features like slide-out wide load marker boards, additional reverse safety lamps and LED strobes.
“With the business looking to move into heavier haulage, we knew they were the right choice to build our new extending step frame,” adds Hunt.
Both new trailers are expected to stay in operation for at least 10 years and will clock up around 100,000 miles per year working across the UK.