Meeting the Changing Needs of the Cattle Industry in Trailer Design. Trailer Design Evolution

Transcription

1 Meeting the Changing Needs of the Cattle Industry in Trailer Design Trailer Design Evolution

2 Merritt Trailers Inc. Henderson, CO Merritt Trailers considers itself part of the food chain and will strive to execute a design philosophy that is centered on four basic tenants: Safety: Designing trailers that are safe to operate with a focus on animal safety and care. Ease of operation: Equipment that is easy to operate and reduces stress on the operator as well as the livestock. Animal health: Providing a trailer that supplies maximum clearances, adequate ventilation, reasonable loading angles, rounded corners and non-slip floors. Light weight durability: Design the lightest weight equipment possible that delivers the highest payload and lowest life cycle cost in the industry.

3 The Biggest Box on the Road

4 FULL HIGH TAPERED FRONT- This provides consistent clearance in the top nose while maintaining an improved, truck friendly turning radius.

5 Crank up adjustable nose- Manually adjustable solid nose floor allows for multiple settings for different sizes of livestock. Nose back clearances up to 56 ½ up & down, depending on height of the trailer. 1) Straight through fat cattle loading without ramping up & down. 2) Double deck feeder cattle & calves. 3) Top storage for maximum clearance into the bottom nose.

6 14 over all height & 46 fifth wheel height- These coupled together will increase inside clearance in the nose by over 8, allowing for fewer back bruises on taller framed cattle. Maximizing clearance requires smaller trailer and truck tires.

7 89 long front ramp-longer front load ramp keeps load angles at approx. 23 degrees, in line with recommendations. Two widths are available for operator convenience.

8 Rear roll up door width- Maintaining a 36 roll up door allows large bellied steers to enter & exit without severely rubbing the sides of the belly. Most fat cattle are bigger in girth at the midsections than the narrow door frames on some trailers and those frames will cause bruising as cattle enter & exit the trailer.

9 Fold to wall rear load ramp- Installed in place of a traditional pull out ramp, the fold to wall ramp is spaced away from the wall for cleaning and eliminates the 4 step up at the top of the ramp to walk into the top center deck. Flattening out the loading angle can also be addressed using this optional ramp.

10 No brackets hanging down Design features addressed: Fold to wall rear load ramp # 2- Eliminates the need for brackets hanging down into the loading chute to the belly which effectively increases back clearance.

11 Up to 62.5 w/o deck cut back Reduced step down to 6 Design features addressed: Reduced load angle basket chute & reduced belly step- Increased back clearance into the lower belly up to 62 at the pinch point will reduce back mid-line bruising. Reduced step into belly allows less slipping and more control for the animals.

12 Optional chute extension- This optional item will eliminate the belly step all together. Appears to help cattle stop jumping from the rear to the belly as there is no perceived drop off.

13 Rear Doghouse Clearance: Deeper back end designs lower the rear floor to increase back clearance and reduce bruise potential inside the rear compartment.

14 Rear Doghouse Clearance: Clearance loading under the laydown doghouse has been increased by lowering the rear floor and we now have 3 different rear floor heights to work with. Moving to a 14 tall trailer will provide the most clearance possible in the rear deck. Clearances up to 65 under and 57.5 on top will allow sorting of even the biggest, tallest cattle around. Up to 65 back clearance

15 12 deck cut back Design features addressed: Top deck cut back: Cutting back the top deck will result in an increase in back clearance of 3 loading into the belly. However, it will decrease loading space on the top deck and require a longer, heavier ramp to the top deck to maintain the same loading angle.,

16 Livestock Semi: Other considerations in overall design Legality Federal & State laws Federal & State Bridge Laws Safety Requirements- DOT, ICC, NHTSA, Etc. Stake holder recommendations Customer Requests & Requirements Vendor Capabilities Liability & Warranty