Trailer blazers

A pair of gigantic trailers nearly 15 times the capacity of the average trailer made their way from King Country agricultural manufacturer Giltrap Ag to a new home last week.

Giltrap Ag area manager Tony Jones with two gigantic trailers his team built in Ōtorohanga.

Giltrap Ag area manager Tony Jones said the trailers measured 14.2 metres long, 5.7 metres high, and 4.1 metres wide and had a capacity of 148 cubic tonnes.

“They are 14 times the size of an ordinary trailer,” Jones said.

“This was a fully custom designed project for a commercial customer. We completed a very fast design turnaround of approximately three months from initial concept to the start of manufacturing.”

He would not be drawn on their cost.

Special features included triple axles with independent hydraulic suspension on each wheel and front and rear steering axles.

The rear axle suspension locks when the tipping hoist is raised for stability and an electronic side angle interlock prevents tipping except on level ground for safety.

They set off from Giltrap Ag, on Main North Road, Ōtorohanga, at 3am under managed road conditions and had special permits – lines companies lifted power poles in places to get them through. They made their way up State Highway 3, across SH21 Airport Rd and onto SH1 Waikato Expressway at Tamahere and then to a Huntly client who will use them off road.Giltrap Ag has manufactured agricultural equipment since it was founded by Wilfred Giltrap in 1959. It is now owned by Caig and Belinda Mulgrew. It also has plants in Timaru, in the South Island, and Melbourne, Australia. Giltrap Ag exports agricultural equipment to 12 countries.

Giltrap Ag area manager Tony Jones

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