It’s been around six months since Haulmark Trailers first launched its live bottom trailers, developed in conjunction with Canadian company Gincor, into the Australian market.
They made their debut at the Brisbane Truck Show in May and since then, 12 of these live bottom trailers have hit the road – ranging from rigids through to road train configuration.
Currently, they’re in use across South Australia, as well as Sydney, Melbourne and Townsville.
From its network of branches in Brisbane, Darwin, Townsville and Adelaide, Haulmark designs and manufactures a range of specialised products, including cattle trailers, road-train dollies, low loaders, drop deck trailers, skeletals, side tippers, prairie wagons and dangerous goods tankers.
Haulmark’s partnership with Gincor marks the company’s first move into live bottom trailers.
Haulmark Trailers was established in Brisbane in 1963 and Gincor has also been producing trailers for many decades, having spent over 40 years in the trailer space.
As National Sales and Marketing Manager at Haulmark Trailers, Mark Crossling explained, “We have about a dozen live bottom trailers out in the field at the moment and another 24 soon coming into the country from Gincor, Canada.
“The bodies are imported and then we fit them out with our axles, suspensions and other components, to build them up into an Australian trailer that suits our unique needs.”
These live bottom floor trailers are ideal for asphalt/hot mix due to their excellent thermal retention, however can also be used for a wide variety of other bulk products.
As Mark reiterated, “The live bottom trailers we have out there are all being used for asphalt road construction. That’s predominantly what they’re designed for – hot mix and asphalt – because of their ability to insulate and retain heat.
“What we’re hearing from our customers is that these trailers are able to retain heat better than many of the other trailers out there.”
The live bottom floor trailers feature Gincor’s unique anti-binding fork on the roller chain assembly drives, aimed at reducing downtime and costly repairs. The anti-binding fork is strategically positioned in proximity to the roller chain sprocket to prevent the chain from doubling backwards and binding during operation.
Another major advantage of these trailers, says Mark, is their ease of operation. “They are fully remote controlled but can be taken back to manual control if someone prefers to use the manual override.”
In terms of capacity, these trailers range from 29 to 34 cubic metres, depending on specifications and can achieve up to 35 tonne payloads for site work.
Haulmark is hoping more operators recognise the benefits of its new live bottom trailers and as a result, the company has five demo models available.
“We’re very big on trying to get customers to take them out and see for themselves,” said Mark.
“There are demo models available in Adelaide, Syndey, Brisbane, Darwin and Townsville – and we can also send them down to Melbourne for people wanting to try them out there.
“The demos are at each of our four locations, and in Sydney we have one at our agent, Borcat Trailers.
“The biggest thing we’ve found, is that once someone uses the trailer, they see the benefits and usually end up ordering one. It’s just about getting them to trial the trailer to see the benefits for themselves.”
Along with these live bottom trailers being tried and true, Mark says Haulmark Trailers backs up a high quality product with the service to match.
“These trailers are a far superior live bottom trailer in my opinion. However what we strive to do is also provide excellent back-up service and aftersales service.
“That’s one area that customers can be let down on but we back all of our products. From our customers, the feedback that we’ve had is that we strive in our aftersales service.”
For more information about your trailer needs, visit the website at haulmark.com.au.