American Carrier Equipment - a trailer manufacturer serving construction, aggregate, mining, refining, asphalt, refuse, chemical and industrial processing industries - announced that its new, ultra-high-tensile-strength steel bottom dump trailer is now delivering to customers in the western United States.
The all-steel, tandem-axle, semi-bottom-dump trailer is the culmination of a two-year research, development and field-testing program aimed at producing a tough, lightweight, super breed of trailer for severe-duty applications. The new trailer is 30 percent lighter, has 300 percent greater structural integrity and accommodates 12.5 percent greater load capacity than competitive offerings.
"My new trailer virtually pays for itself and then some," Don Reeve, president of Reeve Trucking in Stockton, Calif., said. "Its lightweight design saves me fuel, and its 24-cubic-yard, 28-ton load capacity allows me to haul three extra cubic yards of material with each load, or the equivalent of a 'free' load over the course of an average seven-load day."
Careful attention has also been paid to the new trailer's off-road performance and handling characteristics. American Carrier Equipment (ACE) employed advanced design techniques, including finite element analysis (FEA) testing, allowing its engineers to simulate a wide variety of dynamic stresses, from extreme heavy-haul loads to punishing off-road conditions and accelerated aging. In fact, the company was the first to taper its steel trailer's front and rear structural members, because FEA showed that tapering alleviates stress points throughout the trailer, creating a stronger framework and a lighter vehicle in the process.
Towing properties have also been enhanced through the addition of a unique, fully oscillating kingpin. Unlike the sleeve-type designs used in some trailer kingpins, the ACE bottom dump kingpin functions as a solid, finished bearing, helping to absorb and disperse the lateral stresses exerted on the trailer through pull and brake torque. Working as a technically advanced hauling system, the design of the new ACE bottom dump trailer makes it easier to load, tow and discharge on harsh and severely challenging terrains.
"Our new ACE bottom dump trailers haul more, handle better, unload cleaner and cost us much less in fuel and maintenance to operate," Reeve said. "We stay abreast of emerging trailer technology, and we're convinced that American Carrier Equipment deserves best-of-breed status when it comes to bottom dump trailers."
The new ACE bottom dump trailer has also been designed to provide superior discharge characteristics. The interior bed slope has been engineered to promote optimum load release flow when the gate is opened. The design promotes complete emptying and reduces the potential for load material, such as asphalt, to "bridge" or form into non-flowing masses that remain in the trailer bed.
"Our ACE belly dumps empty clean, and in our business, that saves us lots of time and money," Reeve said.
The standard features of the new trailer include ultra-high-tensile-strength steel construction, fuel-saving super single tires and lightweight aluminum wheels. The trailer can also be fitted with risers that extend the bed capacity, allowing it to haul larger volumes of lighter weight material. American Carrier Equipment offers the new trailer in tandem-axle, tri-axle and quad-axle configurations.
Compared to an industry average gross vehicle weight (GVW) of between 11,800 lbs. and 14,000 lbs for all-steel bottom dumps, the new ACE bottom dump trailer presents significant advantages. The vehicle's unique design and exceptional material construction make it the lightest all-steel bottom dump trailer available anywhere, and at 9,680 lbs. GVW, it's also lighter and much stronger than all-aluminum bottom dumps and dumps with a combination of steel and aluminum construction.
"We've built a better mousetrap that saves the end-user money by being lighter, stronger, more durable and higher functioning in the field," Rick Hutcheson, managing member, new business development for American Carrier Equipment, said. "Since its founding in 1934, ACE has built a reputation for intelligent design and quality construction, and I think the founders would be proud to see the brand name applied to this new trailer."
