A trailer is a vehicle pulled by some other powered vehicle. From agricultural and domestic to industrial, trailers are used today in a large range of operations. This is one of the major reasons why vehicle manufacturers today are designing trailers in a variety of structures suiting specific requirements of users.
While some trailers are structured primarily for carrying cargo, heavy goods and bulky materials, others are designed as caravans where people traveling from locality to another can reside while traveling.
Manufacturers today make trailers where the constituent equipments are assembled so as to form the five major types of semi-trailers, full trailers, simple trailers, travel trailers (A-trains, B-trains, C-trains) and bicycle trailers where the vehicles differ from each other according to their axle arrangement and combination. Semi-trailers consist of vehicles where the structure is supported at the front end by a fifth wheel placed on a truck and the back end is balanced by the trailer’s own wheels.
For transporting different volumes of things in minimum number of trips semi trailers are often specially designed as double-deck or step-frame trailers. In full trailers, supports are provided by axles located at both front and rear ends and the vehicles are pulled by means of draw bars. While simple trailers are designed so as to be pulled by single sets of axles, travel tractor trailers, most extensively used today for traveling and camping purposes, are classifiable as A-trains, B-trains or C-trains depending on their primary constituent structures and designs.
While A-trains are most commonly used in road trucks that carry bulky loads in remote areas of Australia, United States and Western Canada, B-trains and C-trains essentially consist of semi-trailers serially attached to other trailers. Although most trailer trucks are designed for transporting cargo and heavy materials from one place to another, different varieties of trailers are today specifically structured for storing materials and habitation of people traveling from one region to another.
There are three general categories for consideration with respect to “Good” trailer design: Strength, Stability, and Versatility (or function). This article discusses each of these on the following pages as they relate to trailers in general, and to utility trailers in specific.
Generally, a utility trailer is a simple flat bed (or flat bed with sides) that rides behind a vehicle and carries all sorts of “stuff”. More specific versions may have options like tall sides, a tailgate or a top — adding Versatility. However, there are a lot of basics that make the trailer pull well, and carry the required “stuff” as needed for years.It is key to note that not all items discussed will, or even can be present in every design. Also, some of the items discussed may not be desirable in your particular application. This article is not the end-all in trailer design. The intention is to give a better understanding of some of the things that make a difference in the pleasure of ownership, longevity and usefulness of your trailer.
