A plywood floor mounted flush with steel outer edges carries the cargo, which can include, say, an excavator or perhaps ground care machinery. Loading the trailer shouldn’t be too challenging thanks to the load bed’s low height and loading angle. Standard features include a spare wheel, a heavy-duty jockey wheel and at least ten cargo tie-down points.

Rear loading choices include a full-width ramp and either fixed or removable skids. Various winches can be specified too, as can removable steel dropsides. Payload capacity ranges from 2,236kg to 2,755kg depending on the model specified, with gross weights set at either 3,000kg or 3,500kg. Prices start at £2,670.

The Cynwyd, Corwen, Denbighshire trailer maker’s skills were recently recognised at the Safety and Health Practioner Awards. The fruits of its collaboration with Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, JCB and Kubota meant that the company was runner-up in the Partnership Initiative of the Year category.

Partnership Reaps Rewards

The collaboration, along with training provider Failsworth, involved getting around a table and coming up with ideas to make plant and machinery trailers safer to use. “We came up with a longer ramp fitted with side rails to eliminate any risk of slipping off during loading,” says Ifor Williams national account sales manager, Paul Davies.

Longer ramps make loading easier because of the reduced loading angle, and the awards’ judges were impressed with the lockable box fitted at the front of the trailer. “It can be used to store the drill attachment or breaker that fits on to the end of the dipper arm of an excavator,” Davies explains. “This means that for safe keeping the attachment no longer has to be put in the back of the van used to tow the trailer — it’s typically worth approximately £2,000 and Balfour Beatty has got around 200 of them — but is ready to hand inside the secure box when the excavator operator is about to start work.” Although it was originally developed for Balfour Beatty, the trailer is now available to other customers too.

Indespension

Not to be outdone, Bolton-based rival Indespension has come up with a new range of tandem-axle low-loader plant and general goods trailers employing 13in wheels. Features include a reduced bed height and a loading angle as low as 15°. Gross weights are either 2,700kg or 3,500kg for plant applications, while payload capacities range from 2,190kg to 2,826kg. Bed dimensions extend from 2,500mm x 1,226mm to 3,650mm x 1,720mm depending on the model selected.

The general goods trailers are marketed at the same grosses, while bed dimensions run from 2,510mm x 1,270mm to 3,670mm x 1,720mm. The sides are 350mm deep in all cases. Payload capacities range from 2,045kg to 2,852kg. Goods trailer prices start at £1,320.

Conway

Elsewhere, Conway is revamping its entire range. One of the first fruits of this effort is the single-axle MP750. Grossing at 750kg, as its designation suggests, it’s an open-backed trailer capable of handling a 540kg load. The load area is 1,225mm x 1,505mm with sides 305mm deep while the tailgate is 1,294mm tall and 1,262mm wide.

Virtually everything on the MP750 is galvanised, including the chassis, and it comes complete with a jockey wheel, rope hooks and rear prop stands. Options include a ladder rack and a winch. The trailer was originally designed to carry batteries used to power traffic lights set up at road works says Conway engineering manager, Steve Pennington. Bigger, longer versions are available too from the Wigan company. “They’re all the same width though,” he says.