Utility introduces double deck loading system

Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co. introduced a new optional double deck loading system for its dry vans March 23 in Louisville, Ky.

The new system is “…designed for maximizing trailer cube space and to increase overall freight capacity,” the company said. It can support up to 500 pounds per square foot with a 26,000-lb. total rating. It uses a system of tracks and beams to create a second deck to increase freight capacity without exceeding the allowable weight limit. It provides several different configurations for freight in unusual configurations. The second deck allows freight to be stacked with some portions above the rest without damaging fragile items.

The system uses the K2 Kaptive Beam System manufactured by Kinedyne Corp. It is made of aluminum and engineered to add minimum weight without compromising durability or deck strength. A spring-loaded mechanism automatically locks to the beam, securing it to the track slots.

Craig Bennett, Utility vice president of sales and marketing, listed features of the Utility 3000R refrigerated trailer. “A fully loaded 3000R equipped with the SmartWay Verifed, CARB-compliant side skirt weighs less than 14,000 pounds.”

Other features include a foaming procedure in manufacturing that uses a mandrel to spread the foam and allows continuous foam rather than foam panels with seams that must be sealed, thus helping prevent future moisture absorption by the foam.

Other standard features include full length hardwood floor fillers, dock board guide plates, and a high-impact lining that is four times as resistant to impact damage from loading devices as the company’s previously used lining. The lining itself also has a moisture barrier, critical in protecting foam from deterioration of its insulating ability.

The company also announced addition of a second assembly line at its Glad Spring, Va., dry van manufacturing facility. The plant was struck by a tornado last year, but is back in full operation. Seventy workers will be added to meet the growing demand for Utility’s 4000D-X Composite dry van trailer.

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Bennett said the trailer gets its composite designation because it’s a hybrid of a composite plate and a sheet and post design that’s a “lighter alternative to a panel plate trailer. Customers want to put more freight in fewer trailers these days,” he said.

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