Getting Your Transfer Act Together

When it comes to speccing your transfer fleet, where efficiency, productivity, safety, and maintainability are crucial to your success, augmenting your trailers and prime movers with the appropriate tarps, lifters, floors, onboard scales, and wheel products will help you achieve those goals.

“The low bid that meets the specifications normally gets the award,” says Russell Warren Sr., president of Warren Equipment. “Everybody’s looking to how can we get the waste moved at the lowest possible cost but yet still get it moved efficiently and timely.”

Warren Equipment manufactures a diversified range of aluminum and steel transfer trailers, both with a moving floor and with an ejector. “We make open-top and closed-top, compactor compatible, you name it,” Warren says. Suspensions are customer-driven with the standard being a four-spring suspension, although the company has also built trailers with air rides or other types of suspensions.

While his company’s offerings may not be that much different from others in the marketplace-which Warren says is fairly mature at this point-for manufacturers it comes down to meeting governmental agency’s bid specifications.

“Safety is a big issue right now with fleets and all end users,” points out Shawn Fredritz, product manager for transfer trailers for Mac Trailer. “Municipalities want ways to keep the driver from having to climb over the top of the trailer and in and out of it.”

Mac Trailer makes a welded aluminum sheet and post trailer with side skins to a gauge of .250 or a smooth-sided Mac Vertical Panel (MVP) Maclock configuration incorporating two-and-one-quarter-inch hollow core aluminum extruded panels. Both can be configured with live floors or for use with tippers.

For those seeking maximum payloads and are unloading using a tipping platform, the Mac Tipper is designed to lengths of 53 feet and volumes of up to 148 cubic yards. It is designed with either a fully welded sheet and post or a larger capacity MVP Maclock extruded aluminum panel construction. The company also manufactures multi-axle transfer trailers from triaxle to eight axles, and multiple spreads and lifts or sliders.

One of the most requested features by end users is the Mac man door, a bulkhead access giving drivers the freedom to not have to walk the top rails or jump out of the rear of trailers. Another is the airflow gate, a door within a door designed for the inner panel to be locked against the inner sidewall, allowing for the airstream to be unrestricted when traveling empty to help increase fuel economy.

“The bulk-end man door has been huge,” says Fredritz. “The driver can walk right from the deck of the truck into the trailer and doesn’t have to climb out the front or back of it to get in and sweep it out. The airflow gate with the price of fuel has been huge. It’s a gate that opens up to the inside of the trailer and locks on to the sidewall-that way if the guy is traveling back empty, there is less wind resistance for the air to go through and he can save fuel costs.”

End users looking to haul more volume prefer the smooth-side trailer, says Fredritz. “You gain roughly 6 more cubic yards on a smooth side than a sheet post,” he adds.

Hilco Transport in Greensboro, NC, uses 150 Mac trailers in its operation, which includes hauling municipal waste and other materials. The company uses the live-floor Mac trailers and tippers.

Chief Executive Officer Gurney Long says he favors the Mac product because “They spec it heavy enough to do the job and are extremely good on warranties.

“It’s built heavy enough for all different conditions that you run into in either the transfer station or the landfills,” he says. “If anything, they over-spec it a little bit. We’ve always felt they’ve done an extremely good job of that while still keeping in mind the weight factor.”

Long also likes that Mac has been willing to change elements on its standard design to accommodate his company’s needs.

Titan Trailers offers trailers custom-built to customers’ needs, says Mike Kloepfer, president of Titan Trailers.

Inspired by customer requests, the company has introduced a number of elements to its trailers, such as Thinwall aluminum panels, a liftable shredder to simplify maintenance and cleanout, a stainless-steel liner, one-piece front gusset, anticorrosion bi-metal, front access door, protective light housing, stainless steel lines, cross braces, and a V-Plow cleanout system.

Kloepfer notes that in the last three years there has been a movement away from the use of tipper trailers for dumping waste toward the use of live floors.

“Materials have been shifted to a different region in the country, and the recycling has taken effect,” he says. “Where once you used the tipper trailer to just haul garbage one way, they now want to take a walking floor, haul garbage to the dump site and pick up a load of recyclables to go to another part of the country. Most guys are starting to get loaded both ways instead of straight one way.”

Example: Verspeeten Cartage. Based in Ingersoll, ON, the company provides just-in-time service to automotive assembly plants throughout North America. In January 2011, the company added 37 new Titan Trailers moving floor trailers to its fleet to handle an increased load of delivering municipal trash to fulfill a contract to haul from Toronto to the city’s new Green Lane landfill site 120 miles west near the city of London. The company had already been delivering waste since 1998 in a Toronto to Michigan run.

Verspeeten’s general manager, Scott Verspeeten, says his company sought a 10-year trailer. He was familiar with Titan’s Thinwall body construction of lightweight interlocking extruded aluminum panels. Verspeeten bought its first Titan trailer-a traditional steel-post and panel construction-in 2003.

As the business model changed, Verspeeten changed with it. At the old Michigan landfill, the site maintained a clear lane for trailers to unload on a tipper stand; the new landfill is set up so trailers drive the trash to their designated unloading area to self-unload with a moving floor.

Also, customers are now paying its contractors by the truckload, not by weight. With maximum weights demands for each load, the payload capacity of the trailer has become a critical factor.

Highway distances, site conditions and payload requirements led to Verspeeten’s choice of Titan’s Thinwall trailers. The extruded panels are assembled horizontally, allowing the trailer to resist twisting stresses as it flexes over uneven ground. The all-aluminum body is designed to achieve significant weight reductions while the extruded hollow-core panel allows higher cubic capacity than traditional post and panel trailers.

At the Toronto transfer station, Verspeeten’s closed-top trailers are loaded using compactors, which can add significant stresses to the sidewalls and bulkheads.

Verspeeten says he believes the Titans will take the pressure for the 10 years he’s expecting to get from them, based on his observation that while the bulkheads were bowing under the pressure, they returned to form as soon as the load came off with no visible stress cracking.

Verspeeten works with transfer station operators to moderate compaction pressures and to distribute loads more evenly, with focused concerns on too much wet material concentrated at the front.

The company also has worked with Titan to modify components on the trailer to meet specific challenges, such as the operation of steering axle suspension.

Because the steering axles were still rubbing over the ground while in the lift position as the trailer rolled through a hole, Titan modified the axles with longer shocks and switched to low-profile super single tires providing suspension with 10 inches of up-travel.

East Manufacturing Corp.’s transfer trailers for the refuse industry are favored for their 2-inch extruded panels, says Mark Sabol, director of retail and refuse sales.

“Our Genesis model gives eight times the strength to the sheet post model. We weld both inside and outside on our extruded panels for more strength and durability,” says Sabol. “We use a deeper cross member for more resistance to bending movement in the top load
operation.”

The East Manufacturing Corp. serves the refuse market with four trailers, including:

The Genesis Smooth-side Tipping Platform Trailer, a 120-cubic yard trailer that can be as light as 12,985 pounds and is aerodynamically designed to offer up to 10% better mileage.

The Genesis Smooth-side Live-Floor Trailer features Hallco and Keith floors. The Genesis trailers’ smooth side is designed to maximize payload capacity, durability and operating savings. Its aerodynamics is designed to offer 5% to 10% improved fuel mileage. In both the tipping and live-floor trailers, the 2-inch-thick extruded sidewall panels are supported by internal ribs every 3 inches. The rib spacing offers eight times the support of external posts positioned every 25 inches. The width is increased 4 inches for up to 5.75 cubic yards of extra payload. The trailer features double-wall construction as well as floor-to-wall attachment with cross-members and floor plates that interlock into bottom rub rail, which forms a pocket to accept sidewalls.

East’s Unloader trailers feature thick walls with continually welded posts. Extruded 7-inch bottom rail allows maximum strength welding of side posts and side wall sheet directly onto the bottom rail before the dirt-shedding wedge plate is added. A heavy-duty 5.5-inch by 9-inch by five-eighth-inch top rail has integral rail reinforcement to help eliminate side bow and damage to side wall from overhead loading. Stronger 5.25-inch extruded I-beam floor cross-members offer 30% more bending resistance than typical 4-inch cross-members.

Western Trailers offers a drop center and express floor trailer for the refuse industry, as well as tipper trailers.

 

The aluminum drop center trailer has a rollover top and dump door at the rear. Upon arriving at the dumpsite, the operator releases the locked door and the site’s hydraulic dumper continues the work as the load slides out the back.

The trailer is manufactured for a variety of floors, lengths and axle configurations. The top hinge rear door features a replaceable, stainless steel bolt-on lower wear strip; grease fittings and a ratchet adjuster on all door paddle latches; three-quarter-inch exterior grade plywood liners and heavy-duty aluminum door framework.

The dent-resistant steel flooring is huck-bolted to heat-treated five-inch deep aluminum crossmembers. Stainless-steel rivets attach the impact and wear resistant one-eighth-inch aluminum overlapped side skin to the chassis and side posts.

“We do sheet and post construction as opposed to welded construction, so if the side of the trailer is damaged, the operation can buy pre-punched sheets and posts from us,” says Dan Taylor, national sales and marketing manager for Western Trailers.

Taylor adds that sheet and post is more commonly used in the West, where welded is more popular in the East.

“It minimizes the downtime, makes repairs quicker and you can localize the repair,” Taylor says of sheet and post.

The trailer comes with either Hallco or Keith Walking Floors according to customer preference.

The Refuse Express Floor trailer is manufactured with either an open or solid top. It features a Keith Walking Floor Pressure Seal Floor with heavy-duty extruded, full-length aluminum slats. The floor is sealed either by pressure or seals and is anchored to a unitized, high-tensile steel frame.

The trailer has a Western Rollover Tarp with ratchet-style tarp latches, with rollover tarps taking customer preference over flip tarps, Taylor says.

All of Western Trailers’ straightforward trailers are compactor-compatible.

“We seem to see more people heading towards tipper-style trailers,” Taylor says. “It seems like if you’re in a fleet above 10, we’re seeing more tipper trailers due to trailer volume. It’s lighter. There’s less to maintain. Fewer moving pieces.”

Among the products offered by KNL Holdings for the municipal solid waste industry is the Peerless Live Floor Refuse Transport Trailer.

Designed to empty an entire load in eight to 12 minutes, the trailer is constructed of heavy-duty aluminum side posts, skin, and live floors.

All 24 channels move 10 inches to the rear to unload and every third channel sequentially retracts until all are in original position, ready to move 10 inches to the rear again.

The channels slide on polyethylene bearings located at each cross member and across the wheel wells. I-Beams on 12-inch centers provide support for capacity loads while keeping trailer weight at a minimum. Wet kits, including a PTO unit and a hydraulic pump to power the live floor when necessary, are available for live floor transport.

“The lightweight trailer gives you more payload, more volume and fewer loads to be made,” notes Phil Williams, sales and marketing manager for KNL Holdings.

Ruan Transport Corporation utilizes KNL’s Peerless trailers in its operations.

Mitch McFarland is operations manager in the Dallas/Fort Worth region for Ruan.

“The decision was made to go with that trailer because we had success utilizing that equipment before at another operation, so we purchased those units for the operation that I’m currently running for Republic Services,” he says.

“The trailers are low maintenance and does the job we need it to do in a very efficient manner,” McFarland says. “It’s very user friendly for the drivers, and we really haven’t had any major issues at all.”

The four units at the operation include a walking floor and Roll-Rite tarp system, he adds.

As for prime movers, municipal solid waste operations have many choices in the market.

Freightliner Trucks supplies the municipal waste hauling segment with a number of different platforms depending on the application need, says Mark Faro, the company’s vocational segment manager and product marketing.

For example, the Freightliner Business Class M2 106 and M2 112 chassis are regularly used for truck-body neighborhood waste collection; the Cascadia and Coronado tractors are commonly utilized for larger construction dump and refuse transfer trailers.

In 2011, Freightliner Trucks introduced the 108SD and 114SD severe duty vocational trucks, designed for rugged vocational applications and environments.

“These new heavy-duty work trucks were developed specifically for tough service demands like landfill operation as well as close-quarters duty in tight urban environments,” says Faro.

The key tradeoff decision for transfer station utilization versus direct haul is the facility operation costs and the cost of the transfer haul, says Faro.

“This is driven by the transfer haul payload capacity, which factors to the trucking cost in dollars per mile,” he adds. “From the truck OEM side, we can influence these costs by increasing fuel economy and maximizing available payload for the end user.

“This means using lighter-weight components, improving aerodynamics and maximizing engine and power train efficiencies.”

The 114SD severe duty platform is standard with the Detroit Diesel DD13 12.8L engine, available from 350 to 470 horsepower and from 1,250 to 1,650 lb.-ft. torque.

The DD13’s BlueTec emissions technology is designed to provide up to five percent better fuel economy over EPA 2007 engines with comparable engine ratings and load weights, “which is important due to ever-increasing fuel costs and their impact on the bottom line,” notes Faro.

Additional lightweight power train component options can further reduce chassis weight and increase available payload, he adds.

“Aerodynamic roof and chassis fairings, as well as cab side extenders, are available on Freightliner’s heavy-duty tractor products to further reduce drag and increase fuel economy,” Faro says.

A larger, more efficient air cleaner system on the SD product holds up to 20% more dust and debris and an available hood-plenum mounted passive pre-cleaner provides additional engine protection in severe conditions while also reducing maintenance intervals,
he adds.

Freightliner’s M2 and SD products both utilize a rugged steel-reinforced aluminum vocational cab that reduces weight without sacrificing strength, Faro says.

“The cab interior focuses on ergonomics and is designed to increase safety and reduce driver fatigue,” he says. “Critical switches and controls are within easy reach and are positioned to keep the driver’s eyes on the road. A tilt and telescopic adjustable steering column adjusts to drivers of all sizes to maximize driver space and comfort.”

A key factor for this type of operation is safety, not only for the operator but also for transfer station personnel, Faro says.

“The SD chassis provides up to a 50-degree wheel cut depending on wheel-end equipment, maximizing maneuverability and eliminating the need to backup and reposition,” he says. “The M2 and SD both feature an aerodynamic, sloped hood that provides superior visibility. Step-in heights and well-placed access grab handles were purpose-designed for applications requiring frequent entry and egress from the cabin to increase safety and reduce repetitive injury issues.”

Selecting the right suspension is key in all vocational applications, including transfer trailer hauling, Faro says.

“The industry utilizes a number of trailer configurations including closed and open top ejector-type, tipping platform, and moving floor designs, and can operate in varied terrain conditions,” he says. “In assessing an application, we work to achieve the right balance between ride quality, roll stiffness, articulation, load characteristics and serviceability. Freightliner Trucks offers a number of multi-leaf spring, air ride, rubber-bolster and walking-beam rear suspensions to meet any application as well as standard and wide-track rear axles.”

Peterbilt offers several prime movers for the municipal solid waste market. For roll-off and rear- or sideloader applications, the company offers the Model 348 with PACCAR PX-8, Model 382 with Cummins ISL9, Model 365 with PACCAR MX or Cummins ISL9, ISL-G, ISX11.9, and Model 367 with PACCAR MX or Cummins ISX11.9 or ISX15.

The company also offers Model 320 low cab forward with Cummins ISL9, ISL-G or ISX11.9.

To maximize productivity for the customer, Peterbilt offers a variety of components, says Charles Cook, Peterbilt product segment
manager.

That includes the standardization of air disc brakes on all Peterbilt Class 8 Models. “Air disc brakes offer the shortest stopping distances in the market today and provide a compact design, minimizing weight, reducing maintenance and improving both vehicle and operator efficiency,” says Cook.

The PACCAR MX engine provides a horsepower range of 380 horsepower to 485 horsepower and torque outputs up to 1,750 lb.-ft. with a displacement of 12.9 liters. It is the only commercial diesel engine to use Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) in both the cylinder block and head for light weight and noise reduction properties, says Cook. “CGI is 20% lighter and 75% stronger than traditional gray iron,” he says. “The MX utilizes a fully encapsulated wiring harness and a unique lubrication module that contribute to a B10 design life of one million miles and by using Selective Catalytic Reduction, the Model 587 meets the 2010 EPA diesel engine emissions regulations. The fully integrated systems with modular components reduce design complexity, resulting in longer service intervals, increased uptime, lower operating costs and higher resale value.”

Peterbilt’s SmartNav system, designed for Peterbilt trucks, features a navigation application providing truck-specific routing maps that factor in trucking parameters, including bridge heights and weight restrictions. The in-dash, technology system utilizes a high-resolution, 7-inch touch panel display. SmartNav also includes hands-free phoning with Bluetooth, back-up camera options, vehicle diagnostics data and audio controls, including satellite radio, AM/FM, CD, MP3 and USB. When a truck is not in motion, the driver can access the Internet and send and receive e-emails to enhance communications with dispatchers, logistics providers and shippers.

Peterbilt’s Front Air Leaf Suspension “is lightweight and features a 20% improvement in ride quality over taper leaf suspensions for an extremely soft ride and is compatible with air disc brakes as well as reduces tire wear,” says Cook.

Peterbilt’s SmartSound reduces noise by up to 50%. “Noise reduction not only improves driver concentration but also dramatically reduces driver fatigue through reduced external stress and distraction,” says Cook.

The company’s lightweight option package provides customers the ability to increase efficiency, maximize payload, enhance performance, and reduce operational costs, Cook says. The package includes a variety of weight-saving components that provide customers with day cabs as low as 14,200 pounds and sleeper configurations as low as 15,800 pounds.

Peterbilt is utilizing an increasing number of natural gas engines in conventional and low cab forward models, Cook says.

“Powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), Peterbilt’s Model 367 LNG, ideal for vocational applications, and Model 386 LNG, ideal for line, bulk, and tanker hauling, are both equipped with the Westport HD GX engine and offer up to 475 horsepower and 1,750 lbs.-ft. of torque,” he says. “The 15-litre engine uses high-pressure direct injection technology, specialized cryogenic fuel tanks, and associated electronic components to facilitate robust performance and reliable operation.

“This technology uses a low-cost, cleaner-burning fuel than diesel without compromising engine torque, power, fuel economy, or drivability, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25%,” he adds.

Peterbilt Models 320, 365, and 384 are equipped with the Cummins Westport ISL G engine, and can be coupled with either compressed natural gas (CNG) or LNG fuel systems.

Peterbilt also received accreditation for developing the industry’s first SmartWay designated alternative fuel vehicle, Cook says.

“The Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Program has recognized Peterbilt’s Model 386 liquefied natural gas (LNG) truck as meeting the established fuel-saving, low-emission equipment requirements set for Class 8 trucks,” says Cook.

Safety and efficiency also critical factors in%2