Curtainside trailers can be a good choice for you if you want to choose your transport vehicle smartly. You need to know which trailer to use if you want to run a successful freight transportation business. We’ll discuss everything you need to know about curtainsiders in this article.
Definition of a Curtainside Trailer
Curtainsiders are a type of trailer that don’t have solid walls on the sides. You’ll find flexible fabric or tarps on both sides of these trailers. The roof, floor, front, and back are pretty much the same as other common trailers like a dry van. You can slide and retract the tarps or curtains at your convenience for cargo handling. The curtains usually have a belt and buckle system to stay attached to the floor.
You’ll find curtainside trailers in the two most common sizes. The smaller ones are 48 feet long and the larger ones are 53 feet long. The width of curtainsiders is usually 8 and a half feet. The usual height is 8 feet but some companies might offer you 9-feet-high trailers. You might find slightly different sizes based on the company and the model.
Features and Capacity of a Curtainside Trailer
A curtainside trailer has a flatbed floor and a metal roof just like a dry van. The front and rear are also built with metal. You’ll find swinging doors at the back for loading and unloading. The best part is that you can also use the sliding tarps to load or unload cargo. The tarps will also save your cargo from the elements and keep them dry. So, you can haul goods that need protection from moisture.
You can measure trailer capacity in two ways. You can either weigh it or measure the volume. Let’s take a look at how much a curtainside trailer can carry:
- Weight Capacity: 40,000 to 45,000 pounds.
- Volume Capacity: 91 cubic meters or 3200-3300 cubic feet.
Applications of a Curtainside Trailer: Goods You Can Haul
In curtainside trailers, you can carry freight that you can easily load or unload from the sides. That means palletized cargo can easily be transported with these trailers. Moisture-sensitive goods are the most common freight people carry in curtainsiders. Anything you can carry in dry vans, you can carry in curtainside trailers. Below is a list of goods you can transport in these trailers:
- Raw materials like steel, iron, lumber, pipes, etc.
- Food, beverage, canned goods, and other retail items
- Landscaping items like trees, rocks, soil, etc.
- Moisture-sensitive machinery and other industrial equipment
- Hospitality industry items
- Furniture and appliances
- Motor vehicles
- Military equipment
- Agricultural items
- Small or oversized palletized goods
- Aerospace materials
- Chemicals and automotive parts
Benefits of Curtainside Trailers
If you use curtainside trailers, you have these benefits at your side:
- It protects your cargo from the elements.
- You can load and unload through the sides or the rear doors.
- You can transport freight even in poor weather conditions.
- These weigh less than dry vans or reefers.
- You can carry a heavier load.
- You save fuel as they weigh less.
- You can load and unload at docks or transport yards.
- You can load and unload faster.
Tips for Using Curtainsiders
If you use curtainside trailers to haul your goods, you should keep these tips in mind:
- Always keep the tarps damage-free.
- Check the curtain’s tension regularly.
- Tighten the tarps properly after loading.
- Maintain moderate speed in windy conditions.
- Keep the curtains clean to avoid damage.
- Conduct inspections and safety checks regularly.
- Drive carefully because strong winds can affect the curtains.
Conclusion
Now that you know everything about curtainsiders you can use them to carry certain types of freight in them. These trailers can definitely save you expenses as they allow you to carry more weight. You can now make smarter choices by knowing the specifics of your cargo and trailers.
