About Double-Drop Trailers
Double-drop trailers are a common sight on the road; they are designed to haul large, heavy cargo, with a lower deck that accommodates a wide range of load types, including very large, heavy construction and ag equipment and much more. Double-drops are similar in several respects to lowboy trailers, but have a distinctive raised front deck atop their gooseneck (which may be fixed or removable, depending on the manufacturer and model) that’s often about 10 feet (3 meters) long. The drop behind this deck and the one in front of another raised deck at the rear over their axles is where double-drop trailers get their name.
XL Specialized XL80 MFG Double-Drop Trailer
Construction & Specs
These trailers have frames made of aluminum, steel, or some combination of both, and often have flooring of aluminum or planks of hardwood such as apitong to provide strong but relatively lightweight support for the wheels or tracks of their cargo, if present. They have payload capacities ranging from approximately 30 to 45 tons (27 to 41 metric tons) or more. Like a lowboy trailer, a double-drop’s low center deck (with as little as 12 inches/30.4 centimeters of ground clearance) provides approximately an extra 3 ft (0.9 m) of clearance at the top of their load, allowing them to transport taller loads and comply with roadway height regulations for non-oversized loads.
Like other semitrailer types, double-drop trailers are usually around 48 to 53 ft (14.6 to 16.1 m) long, but several manufacturers including Fontaine, Trail King, XL Specialized, and others offer extendable models that can stretch to lengths of around 80 ft (24 m), increasing the length of the center deck from around 29 ft (8.8 m) to 50 ft (15.2 m) to accommodate longer cargo items.
Cargo Types
Double-drop trailers provide haulage companies with not one but two levels of storage and, as a result, increase the number of items carried in each shipment. For example, they allow transporting 66 to 86 pallets in one run. However, professional drivers note that double-drops are best-suited for non-stackable items, such as cranes, dozers, combines and other types of heavy equipment that are especially large and heavy, require special loading considerations (such as loading and unloading by crane), and that won’t be adversely affected by inclement weather.
Find The Right Double-Drop Trailer Today
Finding the right trailer can be challenging but if you know your cargo will be abnormally shaped, browse the selection of new and used double-deck trailers for sale on TruckPaper.com. A wide selection of models from manufacturers such as Alpha HD, BWS, Fontaine, Jet, Kalyn Siebert, Talbert, Trail King, Vawdrey, XL Specialized, and many others is available on the site. You can narrow your search by choosing a specific floor type, composition, suspension, and number of rear axles.
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