Serco has developed a lightweight trailer ideal for use in urban areas, especially around commercial hubs and other places where there are vehicle height and parking restrictions.
The 6.9m trailer has a ten-pallet footprint load area and a payload of 8 tons as well as having a low deck height of 350mm with a body height of 2.9m, greatly simplifying loading and offloading operations for operators.
Serco developed the vehicle – commonly known as a pony trailer – after receiving a request from its client, Coke Fortune, a distributor for Coca-Cola. Coke Fortune wanted something that was relatively low cost, highly versatile, durable and could be pulled by a small truck tractor.
The truck tractor of choice was a rigid type Isuzu FRR500 converted and re-homologated to a truck tractor to cater for the pony and semi-trailer combination.
The Serco team went to work to develop a suitable solution. This was a tough assignment given there are no blueprints and the specification required certain unique requirements to make it work, but the company’s design department were up to the challenge.
The pony trailer has Whiting roll over side doors which are lockable for improved security. Also incorporated are aluminium floor planks fitted to a monocoque steel chassis resulting in a lightweight construction suitable to be pulled by the converted rigid truck tractor, which is economical to run even when compared to a conventional 4×2 truck tractor.
Serco design engineer, Travis Piek says: “The new trailer is proof of the benefits to be achieved through collaboration between the transporter and trailer builder. The final result is a cost effective vehicle which offers improved payload over a conventional truck body and the lower deck height makes for easier side access, coupled with the lockable side roll-over doors which makes for a versatile combination, ideal for local distribution.”
