Commercial vehicle trailer and bodywork manufacturer Don-Bur has announced a major new HGV trailer supply deal with Royal Mail.
The new agreement includes 160 lifting deck trailers, 50 box van trailers with retractable tail-lifts and 51 box van trailers configured for dock loading.
The deal is said to continue a relationship between the two companies spanning more than 20 years, beginning with a one-off lifting deck prototype.
The new lifting deck trailers are designed to accommodate up to 95 roll cages across two decks, with 46 positions on the hydraulically operated upper deck and 49 below. The design is said to make greater use of the available internal volume, increasing carrying capacity for loads that reach their space limit before their maximum permitted weight.
The trailers feature Don-Bur’s Blade composite body construction and a full-length hydraulically operated upper deck with a 12,250kg safe working load. Roof-mounted solar panels are provided to support the trailers' independent electrical system and battery charging.
As for the box van trailers, these are 13.6-metre, tri-axle units, with heavy-duty flooring suitable for forklift and powered pallet-truck operation and extensive load-restraint equipment. The dock-loading variants also come with reinforced rear-frame protection.
All the new trailers and vans are equipped with Royal Mail's container tracking system.
Equipment designed for Royal Mail’s needs
Richard Low, fleet operations engineer at Royal Mail, said: “The scale and variety of our operation means the trailer fleet has to meet a wide range of requirements.
“This programme gives us high-capacity lifting decks alongside conventional box vans with different loading configurations, providing equipment suited to the practical demands of the network.”
Jon Davis, key accounts manager at Don-Bur, said: “We're proud to continue our long-standing relationship with Royal Mail through another significant UK-built trailer programme.
“Seeing 160 new lifting decks enter the fleet twenty years after the original prototype is a particularly satisfying milestone.”