Trailer

The gooseneck detaches and lowers to form a ramp, so a dozer or excavator drives on from the front. On a typical plant move that removes the crane hire, the rigging crew and the waiting time in one step.

A gradual inclination system keeps the climb shallow enough for low-clearance tracked machines. Steep rear ramps are where undercarriages get damaged and where operators refuse to load.

A 300 mm drop deck with 350 mm ground clearance lowers the load height, which lowers the roll centre. On a 96,300 kg combination, stability in a bend is a structural specification, not a driving technique.

Double main beam construction with a 16 mm top flange, 8 mm web and 20 mm bottom flange handles the concentrated load of a single machine track. Lightweight monocoque decks do not survive that duty for long.

WABCO six-port relay valve, ABS across three axles, 12R22.5 18PR tyres and a 98# bolt-in kingpin. On a combination approaching 100 tonnes, "equivalent brand" is not an acceptable answer at the parts counter.

A 460 hp automated manual tractor unit matched to the trailer's kingpin height and air supply removes the two most common interface failures: wrong ride height and insufficient air for the trailer brake system.

Excavators, dozers, loaders and skid steers moved between sites several times a week, where a crane is never available at the destination.

Oversize machinery moved on unpaved haul roads, where the trailer must handle a 350 mm clearance and a deck that carries concentrated track load.

Tall, non-disassembled equipment where bridge height limits rule out a standard deck, and where the entry angle decides whether the rig can be loaded at all.

Repeated loading and unloading inside a terminal, where cycle time per move is the only metric that matters and a five-minute saving compounds across a shift.

Road, dam and rail projects where machinery arrives before the crane does, and where the trailer has to double as the loading system.

A 4×2 460 hp AMT tractor unit for 20 ft and 40 ft container work, port shuttles and regional trunking, paired with trailers from a shared pool.

Harvesters, forwarders and tractors, loaded from the front on soft ground where a crane cannot set up and a rear ramp would sink.

Moving damaged or immobilised heavy plant out of a site or road corridor, where the machine cannot be driven and cannot be lifted.

Frame welding, deck assembly and hydraulic fitment under an ISO 9001 certified system, with a documented inspection record per trailer.

China Compulsory Certification for the Foton tractor chassis where a complete tractor-trailer combination is supplied.

Gooseneck raise and lower cycle tested under load, latch plate and pin lock verified, braking system pressure checked before release.

ABS across all three axles with a WABCO six-port relay valve, dual air tanks and 24V electrics with PHILIPS 7-pin sockets and gladhands.

Certificate of Conformity, Certificate of Origin, invoice, packing list and bill of lading, with HS code 8716390000 declared for the lowboy.

SGS or TÜV pre-shipment inspection on request, with lashing and shielding photographs before the vessel departs.

Trailer, Tractor And Coupling Specified As One Combination

Most heavy-haul problems appear at the coupling, not in the frame. A trailer delivered without its tractor often arrives with the wrong kingpin height, a mismatched air supply and a fifth wheel that cannot carry the imposed load. We quote the combination: trailer, tractor, fifth wheel, air lines and electrical connection as one bill of materials.

The tractor side is the Foton Auman GTL programme, produced through the Daimler-Foton joint venture in Beijing — a partnership covered by Reuters and Automotive News Europe — with the 460 hp AMT driveline built for regional trunking rather than for peak power bragging. Trailer components are named rather than generic: FUWA axles, WABCO valves, JOST-compatible kingpin dimensions, PHILIPS sockets, LED lighting and an epoxy primer with polyurethane finish over shot-blasted steel.

Every unit ships with a one-year or 30,000 km warranty, 24-hour online after-sales support and factory-cost parts. Trailers can be shipped assembled or as knock-down kits where freight favours local assembly, and we supply the assembly drawing set with the kit.

100 medium and heavy trucks delivered to a major Senegalese construction company operating across building, roadwork, public projects and urban planning — the first collaboration between the two sides. The order mixed Auman R and Auman C models, specified for load capacity on West African road conditions and used to pull plant and material to infrastructure sites.

150 Auman R trucks delivered to a major industrial client in Accra — the largest single truck order in Ghana that year. Units were specified with Cummins engines and roughly 5 percent better fuel efficiency than comparable models, some with ZF automated manual transmissions and all with telematics included, which is the same driveline logic used for trailer pool work.

A trailer manufacturer reports annual lowbed shipments to African and Southeast Asian markets holding at roughly 100 units since 2021, with deliveries including the Philippines, Tanzania and Côte d'Ivoire. The pattern is consistent across the category: demand is driven by mining, road construction and plant hire rather than by general freight.

Do I need a detachable gooseneck or a standard lowbed?

ANSWERIf every load can be lifted on by a crane or driven up a rear ramp, a standard lowbed is cheaper and lighter. A detachable gooseneck is for machines that cannot climb a steep ramp and cannot be lifted — tracked excavators, dozers, rigs. In plant hire and mining, that is most of the fleet.

What does the 80-tonne rating actually include?

ANSWER80,000 kg of payload against a 96,300 kg gross vehicle weight with a 16,300 kg tare. The combination limit is then set by the tractor's gross train weight and by the axle-load rules on your route — both can be lower than the trailer rating, so check them before you plan the load.

How long does it take to detach and re-couple?

ANSWERThe system is designed for one operator using the control levers for rear lift, restriction, centre pin and front lift, with double-layer latch plates and a pin lock. In practice it is a minutes-scale operation, not an hours-scale one, which is what makes multi-drop plant moves economic.

Will it clear low bridges on my route?

ANSWERThe deck sits at 300 mm with 350 mm ground clearance, which lowers load height considerably against a flatbed. Whether that is enough depends on your machine height plus deck height; send the tallest load and we will confirm the combination before you commit to the trailer.

What is the frame built from?

ANSWERA double main beam structure with a 16 mm top flange, 8 mm web and 20 mm bottom flange, with 6 sets of leaf springs at 10 pieces × 16 mm × 100 mm and a 70 mm suspension pin. The bottom flange carries the tensile load, which is why it is the heaviest plate in the section.

Which axles and brakes are fitted?

ANSWERThree FUWA 16-tonne drum axles with mechanically adjusting arms on a P-shape straight spindle, ABS across all axles, a WABCO six-port relay valve and two air tanks, on 12R22.5 18PR tyres with 22.5 × 9.0 rims.

Can I have more axles or a longer deck?

ANSWERYes — 2, 3, 4 or more axles and decks from roughly 40 to 120 tonnes payload are configurable, with mechanical or air suspension, extendable or drop-side decks and swing-out outriggers for wide loads. Fixed-axle-count designs are cheaper; configurable ones cost lead time.

Does the tractor have to come from you as well?

ANSWERNo, but it should be specified against the trailer. Kingpin height, fifth-wheel imposed load, air supply volume and electrical socket type all have to match. If you already run tractors, send the model and fifth-wheel rating and we will confirm compatibility rather than assume it.

What is the tractor unit's driveline?

ANSWERA 4×2 GTL configuration at 460 hp with an automated manual transmission, built for regional trunking and port work where fuel per tonne-kilometre matters more than peak output. Where gradients are severe, tell us the route profile and we will quote a 6×4 alternative.

Left-hand drive and cab specification?

ANSWERLeft-hand drive is standard. The GTL cab is available in flat-roof and sleeper form with electric windows, central locking, electric mirrors and automatic air conditioning. Sleeper cabs are worth specifying for lowboy work, because plant moves frequently involve overnight positioning.

How is a 16-metre trailer shipped?

ANSWERAssembled on a flat rack, in bulk, or as a knock-down kit for local assembly. Knock-down saves significant freight on long routes and is the common choice for African and Southeast Asian destinations, where assembly drawings and a numbered parts list are supplied with the kit.

What is the minimum order and lead time?

ANSWEROne unit. Trailers with non-standard axle counts or deck lengths carry a longer build than catalogue configurations — allow one to three months at peak, and fix axle count, deck length and suspension type at quotation rather than at delivery.

What warranty and parts support apply?

ANSWEROne year or 30,000 km on the combination, whichever comes first, with 24-hour online after-sales support and factory-cost parts. Wear items on a lowboy — deck boards, ramps, latch plates — are consumables and should be included in a first-year spares order.

What do you need to specify a heavy-haul combination?

ANSWERHeaviest machine and its dimensions, track or wheelbase width, the tallest and lowest point on your route, axle-load limits, whether a crane is available at either end, emission bracket and destination port. With those we fix deck length, axle count, suspension and tractor rating.