CURTAINSIDE TRAILER BLOG

Optimizing fleet efficiency means acquiring more efficient trailers as well as making more efficient use of existing trailers. Buying curtainside trailers can be one strategy that addresses both issues. Fine-tuning the fleet mix to meet the freight demands of any given day—not to mention the unforeseeable future—requires flexibility and getting maximum use out of what you’ve got already. If your fleet includes too many flatbeds simply taking up space on the lot waiting for a rare oversized load, or a conventional van trailer that sometimes sits idle because shipments require side-loading, you’re not operating at maximum efficiency.

One of the benefits of curtain side trailers is that the large retractable curtain can serve also as a mobile billboard to get your logo and company brand out to the public in numbers a stationary sign or other ad media can’t match. Eye-catching graphics and brief, concise informational or promotional text gets millions of views a year as your trucks travel the roads daily. Unlike a permanent painting on a standard solid-wall trailer, however, the curtain can be readily changed when it's time to update your look or change your message. Your design should be composed by a qualified graphic artist—today, there are even graphic design firms that specialize entirely in truck trailer advertising art—and then printed on the PVC-coated polyester curtain, followed by a clear-coat for UV protection so colors and images stay vivid through long miles on the road.

With somewhere around 1.5 million curtainside trailers in use worldwide, it's interesting to note that only about 40,000 of these are being operated in the United States. They have long been a favorite in the U.K. and several other European countries, which isn't surprising inasmuch as they offer a significant competitive advantage when compared to traditional box trailers, not only because they are less expensive to purchase but also offer:

For certain loads, no conventional semi-trailer beats the open access of a flatbed. However, the bad news about flatbeds can be expressed in two words: the tarp. Many flatbed loads require tarping for protection from the elements as well as security. Any driver who regularly manhandles tarps can tell you about heaving a 65 to 100-pound canvas cover over a load, adjusting its position, tucking in corners, and tying it all down neatly with straps and bungies. This painstaking, arduous process adds at least an hour to the driver’s schedule at every pick-up. In bad weather, it can be hazardous work as well.