How does a low bed trailer work?

Type of trailer

View Details

For the item of furniture, see Lowboy

A lowboy (low-loader in British English, low-bed in western Canada and South Africa or float in Australia and eastern Canada) is a semi-trailer with two drops in deck height: one right after the gooseneck and one right before the wheels. This allows the deck to be extremely low compared with other trailers. It offers the ability to carry legal loads up to 12 ft (3.66 m) tall, which other trailers cannot. Lowboys are used to haul heavy equipment such as bulldozers and large industrial equipment.

History

[

edit

]

The first lowboy trailer was invented in the s; it featured a riveted gooseneck and solid rubber tires. The first detachable gooseneck trailer, referred to as an RGN (Removable goose neck), was invented in .[1]

Types

[

edit

]

The lowboy trailer comes in several types, for a wide range of tasks. Some types are:

• Fixed gooseneck (FGN): allows a longer deck length and has the lightest weight. These are lower trailers than normal, with low-profile tires, usually with drop ramps in the rear to facilitate loading of equipment, but are not actually considered "lowboys". The neck is arched in such a way that, when lowered, it becomes a ramp, thus allowing the front tires of equipment to be pulled onto the deck.[2]
• Fixed-neck: the neck is fixed to trailers; offers the lightest weight, but sacrifices the ability to detach and load over the front
• Hydraulic detachable gooseneck (hydraulic RGN or HRGN)): fastest and easiest to detach, at the expense of weight and deck length. It is the most common and versatile of lowboy trailers; the gooseneck is detached using large hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower the trailer and a small cylinder shores the neck to the truck, removing the neck so a large piece of equipment can be driven over the front onto the deck of the trailer for transport. The hydraulics can be run from the truck auxiliary or from a pony motor mounted in the neck of the trailer.[3]
• Mechanically-detachable gooseneck (mechanical RGN or MRGN): while usually lighter than the hydraulic detachable gooseneck, users sacrifice ease and speed of detaching. Used for long specialty hauls.[4]
• Mechanical folding gooseneck (MFGN): The deck folds down to ground level to provide a ramp for trailer loading.[5]

Features

[

edit

]

Lowboy trailer features include:

Suspension types

[

edit

]

• Spring ride: lowest cost; however, it has a rougher ride and adds more stress to the trailer
• Air-ride: smoother ride, adding to the life of the trailer frame. Air rides can also be adjusted for a higher or lower deck height.
• Hydraulic suspension: an oil-filled system, allowing wide variation of axle movement
• Independent suspension: a double wishbone, hydraulic suspension, which offers more stability, greater steering angle and more travel

Structural types

[

edit

]

AUTONE contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.

• Main structural steel type: mill rolled beams save money; although being around 4,000&#;6,000 lb (1,814&#;2,722 kg) heavier, they also reverse camber after a few years due to the much-lower strength of the main beams.
• T1 or A514 beams save weight and allow more versatile engineering of the trailer; they are cut to the highest-strength shape possible and welded together.

Gallery

[

edit

]

See also

[

edit

]

References

[

edit

]

When maintaining your tires, inflation is the most important thing to check. Carefully and regularly check the tires on your low bed trailer. Purchase a pressure gauge that you can trust to give you an accurate reading of the inflation level.

Check the inflation after the tires have cooled down. At the heaviest load a low bed trailer can carry, the tires can be inflated to the maximum atmospheric pressure limit. However, this limit should not be exceeded no matter how heavy the load is.

Use valve stem caps to maintain air tightness at all times. Valve caps also help keep dust and moisture out. Even if a tire is properly inflated, its sides may bulge.

Bulging is caused by low tire pressure, which is the worst-case scenario for trailer tires. After checking and inflating your tires, check the pressure again within 48 hours. To avoid crashes, don&#;t forget to inflate your tires in a safe cage.

Due to the increased temperature, the tire pressure will rise when using the tires. It is possible for the pressure to rise as high as 10 or 15 psi. such a high pressure means that the tire is underinflated, overinflated, or the wrong size.

High pressure also indicates that you are driving too fast. When several of these conditions occur at the same time, it can cause inflation to exceed healthy levels.

Always make sure that all drive lines have the right size tires and that the load remains within the specified limits. Don&#;t drive too fast, especially if the trailer is fully loaded.

Make sure the axles are aligned in place. If the wheels are not properly aligned, it can make the road rougher. Because of this, tires wear out faster and more severely.

You know the reasons why tires are under or over-inflated. Make sure you fix the problem before you travel. Don&#;t rely on past inflation records.

Air pressure should be checked with a good gauge before each transport or at least once a week. When checking your tires, don&#;t forget to look for cracked, warped, and rusted rims.

In other words, if the rims are bent or cracked, don&#;t weld them. Instead, repair the rims the way the manufacturer tells you to. If you weld a broken rim, you may cause more damage to the tire and wheel.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website modular low bed semi trailers.