The purpose of a roller track system is to facilitate the movement of heavy or bulk loads into and out of trailers. Gray & Adams have experience of building rollerbed trailers for the airline industry, which eliminate the need for manual handling and enable safer loading and unloading of airfreight pallets and cargo. Rollerbeds have the added advantage of significantly reducing loading and unloading times.

Depending on the operation’s requirements, Gray & Adams roller bed trailers/bodies can be comprised of four, five or six pneumatic roller tracks, which do not compromise the internal load space of the vehicle.  The stand-alone drive unit is externally mounted and does not require any external power source.  The equipment is easy to use and maintain and the floors are robust enough to withstand the use of pallet trucks within the trailer.  Gray & Adams roller track systems are compatible with most modern loading bays and docking areas.    

As with all Gray & Adams products, these trailers can be bespoke designed to meet individual customer’s requirements and are finished to the highest quality standards. Features such as flip-up pallet stops and track end impact rollers can be integrated into the design to prevent damage to the trailer and the cargo, keep loads in position and enhance safety for operators.

A removable roller track system is also available for increased flexibility and these have the added advantage of being reusable as they can be removed from one trailer and put into a new one when the life of the original trailer has expired.   

While Rollerbed designs are most suited to the airfreight industry, they can be adapted to suit a wide range of purposes for operators concerned with bulk handling.  

Gray and Adams offer intermodal trailer designs for road and rail applications.  A container similar to the body of a standard trailer has locating bolts, which allow them to be located and locked onto either a road chassis or rail car for transportation using either mode.  The trailer is therefore moved on the road on a chassis but is then available for transfer for rail transportation using a crane grab mechanism that lifts the container from the chassis to the rail carrier.  This is done using features that are integrated into the trailer body, such as lifting pockets in the sidewalls and sling lift points incorporating stainless steel sections on the roof to minimise damage during this operation.

Key Features for Intermodal Trailers:

• The floor of the trailer is reinforced with steel, which provides strength and rigidity when it is lifted during interchange from road to rail mode.
• Options for refrigerated intermodal trailers for specialised temperature controlled applications.  These can incorporate interior bulkheads for multi-temperature purposes.
• Options for load restraint systems and internal and external protective features similar to those used in standard Gray & Adams trailers can be included.

The command steer system affords increased manoeuvrability and enables the use of longer length trailers in areas where access is restricted. These trailers are particularly useful for negotiating areas where narrow roads, small roundabouts and tight corners make the use of a conventional articulated vehicle difficult. An additional advantage of the command steer trailer is that lower lateral tyre forces means that tyre wear and road damage is reduced, compared to standard systems.

In a typical command steer system, the rear axle in a tandem axle trailer is steered by rods and hydraulics, which enable the trailer to follow the same path as the tractor unit, therefore enhancing manoeuvrability. Depending on length, a command steer trailer can manoeuvre into a space that a six wheel rigid will not fit.

• Command steer trailers are constructed using the same insulated panels as standard refrigerated Gray & Adams trailers and can benefit from all of the performance enhancing features that the standard trailers can incorporate, such as door and floor options, lighting, and load restraint options, protective features and ancillary equipment, such as tail lifts and refrigeration.
• Command steer trailers can also be single or multi-temperature and can include variable stow or mattress type bulkheads.