If you have some freight that you need to ship and get to a destination in a timely manner, one of the best ways to do that is by hiring a trailer service to transport your goods. When it comes to hiring a transportation company, you need to know what type of trailer would be best for your goods.
Trailer Type #1: Flatbed
One of the most common types of trailers is a flatbed trailer. A flatbed trailer is an open-air trailer that doesn't have any sides. Flatbed trailers are easy to load. You can load goods onto a flatbed trailer using a forklift or using a crane. Flatbed trailers come in different lengths, with the shortest being around 24 feet and the longest 53 feet, with the average trailer being 48 feet long. Flatbed trailers can carry a lot of weight on them.
When using a flatbed trailer, you need to be shipping goods that are secure. You can't just put a tarp over your load to protect it. If you are shipping a pallet of goods, for example, you want everything in the pallet to be securely packaged and wrapped up.
Trailer Type #2: Enclosed Trailer
Next up is an enclosed trailer. An enclosed trailer is the big box trailer style you see semi-trucks pulling on the freeways. They have similar dimensions to a flatbed trailer, only an enclosed trailer has sides and a ceiling. With an enclosed trailer, you can use a forklift or a pallet mover to load things onto the trailer; however, you can't use a crane.
Enclosed trailers are great for transporting more sensitive goods, as well as goods that you want a higher security level for.
Trailer Type #3: Refrigerated Trailers
Refrigerated trailers are trailers where the temperature is kept cool the entire time the goods are being transported, regardless of it the truck is on or not.
Refrigerated trailers usually have less usable space inside and cost more to hire. Refrigerated trailers can be used to transport anything that needs to be kept at a cool temperature, such as frozen food or even pharmaceuticals or chemicals that need to be kept cold.
Trailer Type #4: Lowboy Trailers
Lowboy trailers ride lower to the ground than flatbed trailers, although they are also open bed like a flatbed. A lowboy trailer is used to transport items that would be too tall to safely transport on a flatbed, such as farming or building equipment and tools.
Lowboy trailers can also carry more weight than flatbed trailers, allowing for the transportation of things such as bulldozers on the trailer.
When it comes to transporting goods, a flatbed or box trailer are the two most common types of trailers used. There are also specialty trailers that can be used, such as refrigerated trailers or lowboy trailers. The key is to know exactly what you need to transport, so you can find the right trailer for the job.
To learn more about trailers, contact a trailer service in your area.