Senior Reporter
Wabash Turns to Structural Composites for Next-Gen Trailer, Truck Bodies
Prototype refrigerated trailers using the material are scheduled for field tests with three fleets as well as two dealers to validate parts, service and repair.
Over the next 18 months, Wabash, the only publicly traded trailer maker, said it will put about 100 refrigerated trailers into the field in various working conditions and lanes, using Werner Enterprises, K&B Transportation Inc. and Combined Transport Logistics Group Inc.
The company also displayed its new TrustLock Plus System, the ID/Aux Stop Light System, and RIG-16 — a new rear-impact guard design.
The company made the announcements here Feb. 29 at the Technology & Maintenance Council’s annual meeting.
Wabash CEO Dick Giromini said the company had been working on the technology for three years. “There had been other designs before that," he said. "When you are developing the next generation of trailer design, you have a number of those things that you try, but then you walk away from, because it is not going to get you to the finish line.”
Giromini added: “Now we are into structural composites, a material many people thought wouldn’t ever enter into the trailer arena, but our guys have proven that to be untrue.”
The company said molded structural composites are used in a wide range of applications, including aerospace, automotive, marine and commercial construction. But this is the first time the technology is being used in trailer and truck body manufacturing.
In refrigerated van trailer and truck body applications, the material provides up to a 25% improvement in thermal performance and is up to 20% lighter compared with conventional designs. It also significantly improves puncture and damage resistance, according to Wabash. The molded structural composite floor systems support up to 24,000 pounds in the refrigerated van trailer.
