The smart move to LatchLiner

Whitehaul Transport has taken delivery of a LatchLiner and two Performance-Based Standards–approved drop deck B-double combinations from Vawdrey Australia to lead a more efficient and productive fleet.

A specialist in the cartage of general and express freight, Whitehaul Transport provides its customers with high levels of service. Managing Director, Ryan Whitehead, oversees all aspects of the operation, coordinating freight tasks from Mount Gambier to Melbourne to Adelaide and back.

Late last year, Whitehaul took delivery of two drop deck B-double sets – Performance-Based Standards (PBS) approved, 4.6m high cubic capacity – and a LatchLiner from Vawdrey.

“All trailers in our fleet carry a large range of general freight and timber – the new PBS drop decks were built to accommodate predominately mail and timber,” Ryan says – adding that business of late has been booming and so he has had capacity to grow the fleet. “The drop decks enable the business to use higher mass while still being able to carry high cube freight.”

Vawdrey Australia Director, Paul Vawdrey, says the PBS units are carting high cube freight on one leg and HML freight on another leg.

“We worked with Ryan and his team to custom build the trailers to suit his specific freight task,” he says. “Ryan involves all his key staff in the decision-making process and takes pride in the look of his fleet with all his equipment kept in showroom condition.”

In terms of performance gains, Ryan has been able to increase the number of stillages that Whitehaul can carry by more than 40 per cent.

“Vawdrey have gone to a lot of effort in the design and build process to produce 34-pallet B-double combinations to trail our T909 Kenworths with 50” bunks and still be in-line with 26m length requirements,” he says. “We are very happy with the result and have had no issues.”

The latest B-double combinations from Vawdrey Australia, according to Ryan, were purchased to meet demand with existing and new contracts. “Previously, we didn’t have any high cube equipment,” he says. “We are still doing the same number of trips but have the ability to increase the freight carried on each trip which means greater payloads.”

Whitehaul Compliance Manager Anthony Greene worked alongside Vawdrey to manage the PBS approvals, according to Ryan. “Vawdrey made it easy by completing the PBS vehicle approvals,” Ryan says. “We then applied for the PBS vehicle access permit which covers approved routes for travel.”

“Our in-house PBS expert made the process easy,” Paul says. “We are very familiar with the requirements necessary for fleets to run truck-trailer combinations under the high productivity scheme. Without PBS, 4.6m-high trailers have a weight penalty. The PBS approval enables Ryan to load up to a gross weight of 68,500kg of timber. Australia Post stillages are loaded to maximum height but not to maximum weight whereas the timber is at maximum weight but not maximum height. The trailer design is versatile being able to load high cube postage stillages on one leg and heavy timber on another.”

Meanwhile, the LatchLiner is quick to load and unload and stands out for being easy to vehicle operators to use.

“Our main requirement was to be able to have the 34-pallet combination behind the T909 Kenworth, which Vawdrey have delivered and excelled at,” Ryan says – emphasising his experience with the independent trailer manufacturer has been excellent. “I cannot praise the team at Vawdrey enough. They were good to deal with during the build process and their after sales support is spot on.”

Fast Fact: Vawdrey’s patented LatchLiner buckle-less curtain system is designed to increase delivery times as well as improve vehicle operator safety. The robust construction of the latch and hook mechanism of the curtain assemblies ensure a long service life.