CURTAINSIDE TRAILER BLOG

A curtainside trailer is more than an adaptable trailer that blends the open access of a flatbed with the enclosure and security of an enclosed van. It’s also a customized moving billboard for your company logo and message—an artist’s palette of color and creative design in constant motion. Every company wants to heighten name recognition and brand, as well as advertise their trade and services offered. There’s no more effective means to establish a high profile than a fleet of billboards on the road every day, continuously keeping your name in the public eye. There’s also no better way to spend advertising dollars: the expense of renting a single stationary billboard situated along a high-traffic road for only one month is several times the expense of a pair of creative Roland curtains—lasting for years and displaying your message along countless miles down many roads.

New options for hauling freight have pushed the envelope of the old-school conventional trailer. Softside trailers—also known as curtainsides—have rapidly opened up a new world of flexibility to freight and logistics companies seeking ways to cover more bases with a single trailer. Profit opportunities previously left on the table because of the strictures imposed by a conventional box trailer are now exploitable with the diversity offered by softside trailers. Getting the job done is also more efficient and safer. Roland was a major driving force in the popularity of softside trailers in Europe. Beginning in 1986, Roland expanded to the U.S. as emerging demand for the flexibility and convenience of softsides swept across North America, as well.

Nationwide, cargo carriers have been discovering the many benefits of running curtainside trailers and are switching to this mode of operation because of the more profitable hauling and backhauling opportunities it provides. Some of the more beneficial aspects of curtainsides include:

A curtainside trailer will never be confused with a conventional box van or flatbed—not by freight managers or drivers at shipping companies that invest in curtainside solutions, nor by the shippers they serve. After achieving dominance in the Euro market (curtainsides are now the best-selling new freight trailer in the UK) the curtainside revolution spread across the Atlantic. Here are three unique features that illustrate why the U.S. market has been quick to embrace the benefits of curtainsides.

Tarping is both an art and an ordeal. 

Since it's required for much of the freight hauled by a flatbed, most experienced drivers refine their own creative tarping techniques to get the job done as efficiently as possible. Still tarping is, and always has been, an arduous and even dangerous job that most drivers—and their managers—learn to dread. The challenge of tarping is, in fact, why experienced flatbed drivers typically command higher pay than their colleagues in pulling dry-vans where the process isn't required. They earn it.

Today's fleet managers can't afford to leave profitable opportunities on the table.

One meaningful source of freight revenue are back-hauls. Most anyone can make money hauling freight from Point A to Point B. But if you're pulling an empty trailer or bobtailing all the way back to Point A afterwards, you're losing money on fuel and wear and tear on every one of those return miles. The opportunity to haul freight both ways helps compensate for the return trip to home base—but only if your trailer has the versatility to accommodate a diverse assortment of loads.

Fleet managers are always on the lookout for alternatives to increase the versatility of their fleet. Load requirements aren't static, so having the equipment to haul whatever freight presents itself at any given time is critical to a profitable operation. Unfortunately, a standard flatbed or an enclosed van trailer limit your options. That's why curtainside trailers have become game-changers in the freight business in the United States today, just as they were in Europe, previously.

Fleet managers have their hands full keeping trucks and freight in perpetual motion from Point A to Point B and back again, on-time and at the lowest cost.

Labor hours, fuel expenses, scheduling, dispatching—the job is complex enough as it is. So why should fleet managers use curtainside trailers? What freight managers don't need to deal with are gnarly loading issues and restrictions imposed by trailers that don't adapt to a diverse freight mix. A flatbed is ideal for some loads, but it can't fully replace an enclosed van trailer—which, by the way, will never serve as the sole substitute for a flatbed, either. The goal of accommodating ever-changing loads is a moving target you never quite achieve.

Difficult loads come with the territory in this business. For freight managers, drivers, or loaders, any load may present problems that turn a simple job into a challenge. Trailers can be one of the solutions to difficult loads—or they can be part of the problem. Because all freight isn't created equal, your fleet needs the flexibility to haul whatever the job demands. As the world's largest manufacturer of curtains for over 40 years, Roland also offers custom engineered curtainside trailers that bring side-access advantages to U.S. transportation fleets. While difficult loads will always be part of the challenge of keeping the wheels of commerce moving, we're helping smooth the road with adaptable Roland curtainsiders -- "Built stronger to last longer."

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.