If the old adage "time is money" has ever been appropriate, it has never been more so than in the trucking industry. As a truck owner/operator or truck fleet manager, anything that can safely save time or add efficiency to your operation should definitely be worth considering, and a curtainside van does both. If you're not yet fully familiar with the benefits a curtainside van can provide, including the savings of both time and money, here are a few facts you may find useful.
Three Reasons to Consider Going Curtainside
Improved Time Efficiency
The chief advantage a curtainside van has over both a conventional box trailer and a flatbed is improved time efficiency. Compared to a box trailer, which only has one point of entry for loading, the curtainside configuration allows for on- and off-loading from both sides and the rear simultaneously. Rather than sitting and waiting for loading dock access, your trailers can be loaded or unloaded by several forklifts from all three access points, speeding up the entire process and getting your rig back on the road as quickly as possible.
While a flatbed offers a similar loading and unloading efficiency as a curtainside trailer, once the load is set another hour or two may be needed for securing tarps to protect the cargo. Not only is this wasted time that could have been spent driving down the road, but the whole process of securing a tarp is tedious, labor intensive and somewhat risky. It's not uncommon for accidents to occur to someone while securing a tarp over a large load but, with a curtainside trailer setup, this entire exercise is eliminated.
Driver Benefits
In addition to removing the odious need for tarping, which not only saves valuable time but also makes a driver's life much easier, the risk of a potential fall while climbing atop your load is also removed. In addition, easy access to all parts of a load makes partial drops simpler and quicker than ever. Obviously, this gives drivers more flexibility in their delivery scheduling and may even reduce the potential of having to deadhead back home.
Another driver benefit, when comparing curtainsides to flatbeds, include the capability of keeping your cargo hidden from view, which may alleviate some stress when having to leave your truck unattended for a period of time.
Dollar Savings
Most every advantage provided by curtainside vans can be translated into dollar savings. Certainly owning a single curtainside trailer is less expensive than owning both a flatbed and a dry-van trailer.
The full color graphics that can be applied to the sides of curtainside trailers allow for a continual, ever-moving canvas for your company's advertising efforts. This advertising venue need only be purchased once, yet will provide the benefit of brand exposure on an ongoing basis.
Removing the need to tarp loads is not only beneficial to drivers for the reasons discussed above, it's also beneficial to your bottom line by reducing the injury liability that could potentially spell workman's comp claims. Also, with fewer drivers being injured, fewer replacement drivers will need to be brought in to make up the shortage.
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