Flatbed with no arch or curve

Isnt fontaine a steel trailer with no arch?

That pretty much eliminates aluminum trailers because that arch such as in the Ravens is required to belly load 52000 pound coils back in those days, they flatten out perfect under those.

Freuhauf is another that has no arch.

Otherwise it becomes a blocking issue under the cargo until you provide a flat surface to the item at both ends underneath it to the arched deck.

 

I havent read the whole thread but the easiest cure is variable thickness dunnage to absorb the arch and maintain the products flatness. Its not a big deal to nail a plywood or 2x strip to a standard 4x4 dunnage to build it up and give that with the shipment as sacrificial.

Quarry trailers are perfectly flat, if youre lucky anyway. And swayback saddled out if youre not... Cuz theyre smoked.

 

Lots of good ideas here.

What about the Carrier (s) that have hauled this equipment in the past? Sounds like a situation where keeping contact info would be beneficial.

 

Because you have special requirements for the trailer booking through a broker will keep giving you the same results.
I would call flatbed companies in your area and explain your requirements to their dispatch/management and see if they can supply the trailer you require.
When you find the unit you are looking for keep them on file and call ahead of time for the next load.
Expect to pay a bit more for a specialty trailer and if the driver they send does the move smoothly and to your satisfaction do not hesitate to request him next time.

 

I've got an all steel Fontaine with aluminum floor I'd sell. Strong trailer would be perfect.

 

Same thoughts here

 

Definitely not a load you’d want to trust to a broker. I’d like to know what the load is, and why dunnage under the skids wouldn’t work to level things out.

 

Wouldnt we all like to know.

ATS handled specailty flatbed lowboy or heavy haul in my time. One of the most first hand exotic loads was the A10 Intruder ####pit assembly and forward wings from a Hollywood Blockbuster Movie back in the 80's called Flight of the Intruder.

That particular assembly was going to I think the west coast for a museum there. But we were able to visit and examine it first hand while it was fueling with us one day in the west. The blocking under there was pretty interesting. Essentially custom work to make it all ride well. It had to be treated well, it was the actual movie set situation as shown in the film.

 

We haul a lot of extremely fragile aircraft parts. They are all in sturdy stands that we have to shim to compensate for the arch of the trailer. The stands base is usually made of steel I beams.

All that being said out stretch flatbeds are generally very flat when closed but they are not perfectly flat.

 

What year and size?