It comes as no surprise that container transport is big business in Australia. Spread out across our vast land is over 500,000+ registered trucks delivering containers, packages, produce and the like to consumers and businesses. 50% of truck and trailer combinations are meant for long-distance intrastate and the rest are local movements, so it’s only natural container transportation companies would invest in a durable container skel trailer that can go the distance, in both local and intrastate.
O’Phee Trailers are no stranger when it comes to skel trailer combinations. Used by a number of container transportation businesses including many high profile clients Skel trailers are the go-to model for carrying and transporting containers.
In 2017, O’Phee Trailers unveiled a new model and has now entered the next generation of container skels, with their higher performance and the lower tare weight in the Australian market – The Retract-X.
A total departure
This is no ordinary Retractable skel trailer. Constructed of high tensile steel, the Retract-X Container Skel offers ease of operation and variable kingpin and lock pin locations than what’s currently on the market. These combinations coupled with the outstanding new design Hi-Tensile low tare frame are designed to maximise various transport weights while maintaining optimal safety when loading, unloading and during transportation.
This model has the user in mind. The Retract-X skel trailer offers transport operators incomparable versatility, maneuverability and simple, yet safe, loading and unloading of containers.
O’Phee Trailer’s clients aren’t the only ones to feel the charm of the new retractable design. The industry responded positively when it was launched in 2017 with a nomination in the Best Australian Manufactured Innovation Award category at the Brisbane Truck Show Awards.
The O’Phee Trailers Retract-X features include:
- High tensile Q & T steel construction
- Low tare weight for larger payloads
- Shorter length in 20’ travel operation, for ease of maneuvering around tight areas
- Variable kingpin and lock pin locations
- Innovative rigid box frame design, making it user-friendly, easier to extend and retract with different payloads
- Two-pack paint, applied over a grit blasted and primed base to ensure a long-lasting appearance
History of pushing the envelope
O’Phee Trailers have a history of shaking up the industry with each trailer development. As pioneers of the PBS-scheme, their designs took a new direction with their A-double design in 2009, following the successful trials that validated the A-double concept by the QTMR, which was capable of running at 79 tonnes Gross Combination Mass (GCM). The first generation of the A-double consisted of a single trailer which could carry one 20-foot container, which used a converter dolly to pull a second trailer capable of carrying two more 20-foot containers of a single 20/40. This later evolved into the 40/40 combination that was able to handle 85 tonnes GCM, that we see on our roads today.
The new Container Retract-X Skel from O’Phee Trailers is likely to have the same disruptive effect. If you’d like to further the productivity of your business with a Retractable skel trailer from O’Phee, get in contact with The Drake Group today.
