Utility Trailer Manufacturing, the oldest trailer manufacturing company in America, has incorporated two new high strength steel options for the company’s 4000D-X Composite dry freight van. The high strength steel is used for the side panels of the DX-100. The first steel option is a substitute for the 0.040 inch thick aluminum side skin used routinely.
Dry Van from Utility Trailer Manufacturing
The purpose of introducing the high strength steel options is to counter the price fluctuations of aluminum. The side panel option employs the same resilient side skin material used for the exteriors of plate trailers and is made of pre-painted, 0.016 inch galvanized steel panels of high tensile strength 80,000 psi. The panels extend across the full length of the trailer and cover the front wall as well.
The second high strength steel option is for the side wall of the standard DX-101 dry freight van and the optional DX-100 dry freight van. The option features 18-gauge galvanized steel of 100,000 psi in the bay area for the side wall posts. The option facilitates substantial savings in weight for augmented freight capacity. According to Craig Bennett, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Utility Trailer Manufacturing, the collective deployment of high strength steel side panels and high strength steel side walls is a winning arrangement as it not only enables weight savings but also helps reduce costs to increase profitability. The family operated, privately owned company that operates five manufacturing facilities in the US, manufactures the 4000D-X dry vans at the facilities in Paragould, Arkansas and Glade Spring, Virginia.