Used trailers

Trailers are the least glamorous and most continuously worked assets in any equipment fleet. They are also where corrosion and fatigue accumulate quietly, and where a cheap purchase becomes an expensive one.

Types in UAE demand

• Lowbed and lowloader trailers — heavy equipment transport, the highest-demand type in a market that moves machines constantly
• Flatbed trailers — general cargo, steel, pipe and containerised freight
• Tipping trailers — bulk material haulage on longer runs than a rigid tipper serves
• Tank trailers — liquid carriage, product-specific
• Extendable trailers — long loads including piling and structural steel

Specifying a lowbed

Deck height and loaded overall height determine what you can legally move without permits and route survey. Axle count and configuration determine payload against UAE axle weight limits. Ramps, whether hydraulic or mechanical, and their loading angle determine what machines can actually be loaded — a low-clearance machine on a steep ramp will ground.

Get these three right before price. A cheap lowbed that cannot legally or practically carry your machines is not an asset.

Inspection

Chassis and frame for cracking, corrosion and prior repair, particularly at the neck, around suspension mountings and at the rear. Deck condition, whether timber or steel. Axles, suspension — air or mechanical — and the landing legs. Brake system throughout and the air lines. Tyres and their matching. Kingpin and fifth wheel plate wear. Ramps and their hydraulics on a lowbed. Lighting and electrical.

Then registration and test status for a trailer already in the UAE, and whether it will pass inspection in its present condition.