Many manufacturers claim to build an aluminum trailer. Visit a few retail outlets and you can find several manufacturers who claim to build an aluminum trailer. Aluminum trailers to most mean that they contain some aluminum in the frame of the trailer…similar to what many think of wheat bread. Wheat bread can be made with wheat flour or 100% whole grain wheat. At ATC Trailers, our aluminum trailer frame and structure are 100% aluminum. The carriage around the running gear, and the tongue area particularly on gooseneck and fifth wheel trailers are typical areas where our competitors use steel. These areas are areas of high stress, and our competitors use steel because it is cheaper and easier than engineering a structure using high grade structural aluminum. What is the benefit of an aluminum trailer over its steel counterpart? Aluminum weighs less than steel and…the same structure in aluminum is 10-15% lighter than a similar steel trailer. Replacing aluminum with steel decreases the weight difference, minimizing this benefit. Aluminum is resistant to road salt, water, and the other corrosive materials that destroy steel. In most aluminum trailers, the under carriage area and the tongue area are the most vulnerable to these corrosive materials when traveling so once again the benefit of aluminum is minimized on our competitors’ trailers. Take a look underneath the competitors’ trailers and then look under an ATC brand trailer! That’s where you can really see what an all aluminum trailer really looks like…and the next time you need bread, reach for that 100% whole wheat loaf.
Tags: Aluminum Trailer, ATC, Motiv Trailers
