Trailers' Technology * USA - Mesilla reports saving 60,000 gallons of fuel using

Messilla,CAL,USA -Logistic Manager, by Jack Roberts -February 8, 2011: -- Mesilla Valley Transportation executive vice president Jimmy Ray says tractor-trailers in his fleet have logged over 8 million miles equipped with ATDynamics’ TrailerTail rear-drag aerodynamic panels and, as a result, have saved 60,000 gallons of fuel since August of 2010... To date, Ray says 650 trailers in the Mesilla Valley fleet have been outfitted with TrailerTail rear-drag panels and have driven over 8 million highway miles since last summer. “According to our studies, the addition of TrailerTail panels to a trailer works out to a fuel economy gain of 4/10s of a gallon of fuel per mile. That figure rises to 8/10s of a gallon per mile when you combine a trailer tail with side skirts” ... Ray says Mesilla Valley is currently retrofitting its entire fleet of over 3,500 trailers with TrailerTail technology...   (Photo from roadtransport.com/blogs/big-lorry-blog: TrailerTail )

* USA - Laydon shows new low-cost trailer side skirt

(Photo from csswebform: Laydon Composites. Laydon Skirt)
Tampa,FL,USA -Fleet Owner -Feb 9, 2011: -- Laydon Composites introduced a new lower-cost trailer side skirt... The maker said the product is designed to be easily fitted to a trailer in about an hour... Laydon said the Hybrid TrailerSkirt resulted from a partnership with Crane Composites. Crane designed the panels and Laydon provided what it called the unique injection molded and patent–pending “mono clamp” and strut to attach the panels to the trailer... The patent-pending flexible spring struts for the side skirts are made from woven fiberglass polypropylene. Because the fiberglass strands are orientated at Zero, 90 & 45 degrees, it allows the skirts to withstand a higher level of stress, he noted...

* USA - Timpte unveils remote trap-opening system, new trailer

David City,NE,USA -Penton Media/Fleet Owner -Feb 17, 2011: -- Timpte Trailers has released a new remote-control trap opening system and a new combo trailer... The Easy Flow hydraulic remote control trap opening system uses two hydraulic cylinders on each side of the trap frame. The operator can open the trap from the side of the trailer, the cab, or with an RF wireless standard remote. Electrical connectors and a radio receiver are enclosed inside a control box to provide them from the elements... The company also unveiled its new combo/tender hopper multi-purpose grain hopper trailer... The trailer includes a removable auger system that is designed to be removed after fertilizer season to create a conventional grain hopper. It dispenses material up to 4,000 lbs. per minute, said Timpte... (Photo from timpte: Trailer Models/conv4TN)