Trailer Engineering Design
The popularity of trailers within Australia is currently at an all time high, with all areas of the trailer manufacturing industry experiencing high demand. Trailers used in freight tasks such as converter dollies, tipper trailers, skeletal trailers and curtainside trailers are all critical in fulfilling consumer demand.
With the introduction of the Road Vehicle Standards Act compliance of light trailers has been brought into legislation under federal control, putting the onus on manufacturers to ensure their designs are up to standard.
Understanding Trailer Engineering Design
The design process of a trailer must take into consideration any regulatory requirements, with the main legislative instrument covering trailer design being the Australian Design Rules (ADR). These should be a starting point for any custom design as a non-compliance identified at the end of the design can result in the project needing to start again.
Part of ensuring a design meets the required safety specifications is the structural analysis. For all trailers, analysis must be completed ensuring that the drawbar or kingpin mounting meets the ADR requirements. More detail on this can be found here. There are no specific chassis structural design requirements for a trailer, however the industry standard for a light trailer is a factor of safety of 3:1. As a manufacturer, you must ensure that any design has a focus on your specific needs - there is no point having a design with a load case that is not relevant to the intended use!
Trailers must ensure that their component selection is appropriate for the specific requirements of a custom design. There are a number of lighting and marking devices that a trailer must have fitted and these all have their own placement requirements. The type of coupling and safety chain should be chosen with the towing vehicle in mind. The axle group must also be fit for purpose and especially for heavy trailers consider the on-road braking performance.
Finally some of the most important considerations for any trailer manufacturer when at the design stage is the availability and cost of materials. For a custom design to be viable it needs to make business sense.
Our Trailer Engineering Design Services
BTT Engineering are capable of meeting your specific requirements as a trailer manufacturer, whether this be
Assessing an existing design
Turning a concept into reality
A bespoke custom trailer design
Our team of engineers are capable of working with both light trailers and heavy trailers of all body types and axle configurations and are capable of assisting with understanding of any regulations that may apply to a particular trailer.
As part of our trailer compliance offerings we specialise in generation of quality 3D models which can be used for design analysis and compilation of trailer plans, complete with material cut lists and individual drawings. These can then form part of your Quality Management System which needs to meet the requirements of a vehicle type approval holder if being manufactured on a larger scale.
Benefits of Professional Trailer Design
Having your trailer design assessed or completed by our engineers at BTT Engineering has numerous benefits, such as
Improved safety and reliability, preventing costly repairs or damage to reputation
Enhanced performance and efficiency.
Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
Increased lifespan and durability of the trailer.
Why Choose BTT Engineering for Trailer Engineering Design?
Our team of engineers has an extensive range of experience in both the light and heavy trailer industry through both working for manufacturers requiring a design to be compiled and validated and also through assisting customers with ATM upgrades to in-service trailers. We have the skills to handle all stages of the trailer design and approval process, including RVS-approved testing, analysis, technical drawings and compliance approval submissions.
Some examples of light and heavy trailer custom design projects we have worked on are:
A fleet of light plant trailers for a local council needing to transport machinery
Split quad axle heavy duty widening semi trailer
Mobile event screen trailer
10t rated skeletal trailer for transporting tiny houses
A low profile 8t tri axle aluminium boat trailer to suit a custom boat build
Related services that we can help with
For further information on some of our particular ROVER services, please follow the links below:
Need help with your trailer engineering design project?
Get in contact with us today to find out how we can help you!