Lawrence David goes pillarless
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• Peterborough-based bodybuilder Lawrence David has followed the example of York and Southfields and is now offering its own pillarless curtainsided semi-trailer.
According to the company, however, the latest 12-metrelong curtainsider marks a breakthrough in the pillarless concept as its weight increase is 'negligible', while the price for a pillarless model is only .U00 more than that for a conventional trailer.
Extra rigidity has been built into the roof by increasing the
depth of the steel top cant rails, but without reducing side access height. This is achieved by using a gentle taper of 70mm over the length, taking advantage of the slightly sloping attitude of semi-trailers when coupled to tractors. The floor slopes down slightly from front to rear, but the roof remains horizontal.
As a result, the rear aperture is rather higher than usual and there is no loss of interior headroom.
The pillarless Lawrence Daivd curtainsider in only 40kg heavier than a model with intermediate pillars, and prototype trailers have already completed a two-year evaluation programme in service.