Trailers: Which one is right for your freight?
Trailers: Which one is right for your freight?
As leaders in the transportation industry, we know that different trailers are designed for different purposes and none are the same. We’ve compiled this list of trailer types to help you choose the right trailer for your trucking freight.
- Auto transport/car hauler/portable parking lot – a trailer used for transporting vehicles
- Belly dump/bottom dump – a dump trailer with a floor shaped like a funnel for unloading through the bottom
- Beverage trailer – a trailer measuring between 26 and 29 feet, used for transporting beverages; also referred to as a sidebanger, sideloader or route trailer
- Bullwagon/livestock trailer –
- Chip van – an open-top trailer specially designed for bulk dry goods like wood byproducts
- Container – standardized-sized metal container for intermodal transport
- Container skeletal trailer – the chassis with which to carry a container trailer
- Covered wagon/side kit – named after its resemblance to horse-drawn carriages, this trailer has flatbed, specially fitted side plates and curved ribs with a tarp covering
- Curtainside – refers to two types of trailers: a dry box with tarp sides or a flatbed with a moveable frame of squared ribs supporting a tarp
- Deep-drop van – a trailer that maximizes interior space with a low floor and high ceiling, usually used for transporting relatively light goods like furniture and electronics
- Double-decker – this type of trailer has two floors to maximize space and quantity of goods it can carry
- Doubles trailer –
- Dropdeck/stepdeck/lowboy/gooseneck lowboy –
- Dry bulk – similar to liquid tank trailers with a funnel-shaped bottom for bottom unloading, but used for transporting bulk dry powder; usually loads through holes in the top
- Dry van – a standard, enclosed, non-climate-controlled trailer for carrying general goods like food that doesn’t require refrigeration; unloaded and loaded through rear doors
- Dump – bucket-shaped trailer commonly used for hauling gravel, sand, dirt and other bulk dry goods
- Flatbed/skateboard/platform – a flat trailer without sides or doors that can be loaded without the use of a forklift
- Grain/hopper – a rectangular-shaped trailer with an open top and covered with a tarp used for transporting grain or fertilizer
- Live bottom – a dry trailer with either a solid roof or openable roof and moveable, mechanized floor for unloading
- Logger/timber – specialized trailer involving a chassis and vertical stakes along the side; used for transporting logs
- Pup – a 26 to 29 foot trailer used for congested areas
- Rear dump – a variation on the dump trailer, allows for the front of the cargo area to be lifted and unloaded through the back
- Refrigerated van/reefer – a climate-controlled refrigerated and insulated trailer used for transporting food and other products
- Sideloader/sidelifter – a container trailer with cranes on the front and back to allow for unloading and loading
- Tank/tanker – a cylinder-shaped trailer that is enclosed and used for transporting large quantities of liquid like fuel
If you need transportation services, find out more about J&R Hall Transport Inc., serving Ontario, Western Canada and points in between.
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