A national heavy equipment rental company and longtime customer of Felling Trailers was faced with a dilemma. One of its national accounts, a renewable energy contractor, was working on a solar project that spanned several locations in its coverage area. The company needed several heavy-duty triple reel trailers capable of hauling three 97-inch diameter x 77-inch x 10,000-lb-wide reels for medium voltage (MV) underground cable.
Lead-time was of the utmost importance. With the solar projects in progress, the trailers were needed inside a four-week time frame. Standard build time for a reel trailer needing to carry three reels weighing 10,000 lbs each would be 10 weeks or longer when starting with a new build. That kind of timeline was not acceptable.
THE SOLUTION
Felling Trailers stocks millions of dollars of trailer inventory in various configurations and builds. The national rental company previously used Felling Trailers’ stock inventory in the past, and its decision-makers knew Felling Trailers could assist this time around, too. When the rental company spoke to its Felling Trailers’ account representative, he put them in touch with Mark Rapp, Felling Trailers’ Utility and Telecom product specialist. After learning the project’s details, Rapp suggested the FT-30-2 LP (low profile) 15-ton tag trailer. The FT-30-2 LP is a Felling Trailers model that is a standard inventoried trailer. Rapp thought it would be a perfect model to convert to a heavy three-reel hauler.
THE CONFIGURATION
The FT-30-2 LPs were mounted with a one-piece, three-reel rack assembly bolted directly to the flat deck surface. The reel rack assembly was manufactured with 3-inch x 3-inch heavy wall steel tubing. The assembly was equipped with a 2.88-inch-diameter reel bar that spins on a 660 SAE continuous cast bronze bushing saddles. The reel bars were fitted with a cross arm to tie the reel spool to the reel bar and a locking collar to keep the reels centered. Both the cross arm and locking collar were equipped with lifting hooks to safely aid in loading/unloading reels onto the rack assembly.
THE WORK
The renewable energy contractor uses the triple reel FT-30-2 LP units to bring the power from the solar fields. The rental company has ordered eight of these trailers that have gone directly to the jobsites and are presently ordering the reel rack/trailer package for its rental inventory. Along with the FT-30-2s, the rental company recently added a set of FT-24-2 LP triple reels with smaller and lighter reels for the contractor’s task of providing conductor for the substations the main feeds are brought to for the solar project.
ALWAYS IN USE
A removable reel rack on an equipment trailer ensures the trailer will remain in use throughout its life. Too many times, a dedicated reel trailer is purchased for a specific application or project. Then, when that job is complete, the reel trailer sits unused. This package allows the reel rack to be easily removed, and the trailer can then be used to haul equipment, materials, etc. When the need again arises, the reel rack assembly is easily placed back on the trailer and mounted to the trailer deck.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Felling Trailers is a family-owned and operated Full Line Trailer Manufacturer located in Central Minnesota. Started in 1974, Felling Trailers, Inc. has grown from a small shop to a factory and office complex that today covers over 325,000 sq ft. Felling’s differentiation is its customized trailer division. Its engineers use the latest Industry-leading design techniques, and its experienced metal craftspeople use cutting-edge technology to turn its customers’ conceptual trailer needs into a tangible product. Felling has provided innovative trailer solutions to the transportation industry for over 45 years. Felling Trailers’ current capabilities allow the company to provide a high-quality product that is distributed across North America and internationally. Find out more, visit www.felling.com.
