When you think about shipping freight on the road, you
likely picture a standard semi-truck with a fully enclosed trailer. While these
rigs are appropriate for much of the cargo that travels via American roadways,
other trailer types, like livestock carriers and flatbeds, are also essential
to road freight transportation.
In this blog, we discuss five reasons why you may want to
opt for a flatbed trailer style for your truck.
1. Cargo Comes in Various Shapes
When you load up an enclosed truck trailer, you want to be
able to pack items closely together to minimize any movement during the
shipping process. This prospect can be difficult if your cargo includes items
with many different shapes.
When you choose a flatbed trailer, you can adjust the
position of your cargo as necessary during the loading process. This ability
makes packing a trailer full of many differently shaped or sized items easier
with a flatbed.
2. Easy Access at the Endpoint Is Necessary
In order to begin using the items shipped in an enclosed
trailer, workers may need to unload every item inside. The unloading process
can take a long period of time and create delays in other processes, like
construction or fabrication.
Flatbeds can be unloaded by hand or with lifting equipment
from any angle. The ability for multiple workers to access the trailer from all
directions simultaneously allows for rapid and easier unloading.
3. Multiple Drop Points Are Along the Route
In many cases, your cargo will travel from point A to point
B. However, not all trucking routes are direct, and not all of your freight may
have the same final destination. If you plan to ship partial loads to multiple
locations, an enclosed trailer may cause similar issues to those discussed in
the previous section.
Whenever you have multiple cargo stops, you should consider
an alternative to an enclosed trailer. In many cases, the best alternative will
be a flatbed.
4. The Freight Is Highly Oversized
The fact that flatbed trailers do not have any walls or
other perimeter barriers means that these trailers can carry oversized loads
better than any other. The all-sided access allows for more thorough tethering,
which provides better safety for the truck operator and any cars that he or she
may pass on the route.
Flatbed trailers are the only type of trailer considered for
many of the largest road-legal loads, such as windmill components, manufactured
homes, and industrial or agricultural machinery.
5. The Load Would Otherwise Be Too Difficult to Load
Even if your load is not particularly large, it can still be
unwieldy. For example, cylindrical objects like industrial spools or
large-scale pipes can be difficult to keep in one place when you load them into
the back of an enclosed trailer.
When you load hypothetical cylinders and other tricky
items onto a flatbed, workers can run a strap through as many of the cylinders
as necessary to create a stable load with evenly distributed weight.
Additionally, as discussed in previous sections, flatbeds
allow for access from any angle, which can be as useful during loading as
during unloading. For example, overhead lifting equipment like cranes can be
used to put particularly heavy items, like steel beams, into precisely the
right position on a flatbed trailer.
Whether you ship toys or tractor components, use the
guidelines above in order to ensure that you choose the appropriate vehicle to
transport your cargo to its final destination.
For comprehensive truck body manufacturing and design
services, including custom accessories, parts, and professional insight, trust
the experienced team at Diamond
Truck Body Manufacturing Inc.
