Barker Retractable Skel: Review

Flexibility with carrying and loading options is the key to Barker's Retractable Skel trailer, which has a tri-axle group that can be rolled back for unloading and loading of short trailers and for improved axle weight distribution.

Barker trailers are manufactured in Woodend, Victoria. The company was founded by two brothers, Arthur and Ernie Barker, in 1974, when they commenced building custom-made trailers for a select group of customers.

Today the firm's manufacturing facilities encompass two factories, one in Woodend and one in the central Victorian town of Maryborough, with a combined footprint of 30,000 square metres and a staff of around 200 employees.

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This particular retractable skel trailer is part of logistics specialist Gibson Freight's container handling fleet based out of Brisbane, and it has three main configurations for different container sizes.

When retracted, it's used to unload a 20-foot container at a loading dock. When extended, the large overlap between the front and rear sections ensures adequate strength. When it's semi-extended it can carry a 23-tonne, 20-foot container at 20 tonne gross on the tri-axle, with the container mid-way on the trailer. And when it's fully extended, it can carry either two 20-foot containers or one 40-foot container, up to a payload of 26 tonnes with 20 tonnes gross on the tri-axle.

At the rear the container is supported by convenient fold-up pedestals and can be unloaded by reversing into a loading dock.

At Royal Wolf's Banyo depot, we were able to put the retractable skel through its paces and see how the features of this trailer worked in the field.

With the trailer stretched out to its full length, the rear folding pedestals were in a standing position to be level with the front deck, while the twist locks were placed in the loading position ready for a 40-foot container to be placed on its back.

Twist locks are fitted midway along the trailer to allow a single loaded 20-foot container to be placed in the middle of the trailer for optimum weight distribution, or for two 20-foot containers to be accommodating: one at the front and the other at the rear.

To demonstrate the flexibility of the trailer, the 40-foot container was removed and the folding pedestals placed in their lowered position. The middle twist locks were placed into the loading position and a 20-foot container placed in the centre of the trailer. The trailer locks were deactivated, the red flag extended out at the landing legs to indicate the locking pins were unlocked. Then the trailer was closed up and the locks activated. Now the rear of the container was at the rear of the trailer and capable of being unloaded at a loading dock.

When the twist locks are not in use they can be retracted to provide a clean, flat surface. There's also provision for a fire extinguisher on the right-hand trailer leg.

The trailer's rolling frame uses Borkey industrial roller skates located on each side of the frame. These allow the chassis suspension to roll forwards and backwards to enable the top deck to roll back effortlessly with a fully loaded container on board.

To slide the suspension in or out, it is simply a matter of applying the trailer's brakes while slowly driving the prime mover forwards or backwards till the locking pins lock in the appropriate hole.

When in the forward or rearward position, the rolling part of the skel is locked securely by ultra-strong failsafe air-operated locking pins. A bright red safety flag protrudes when the pins are not correctly locked, warning the driver not to move the trailer.

The trailer is finished in high-quality two-pack paint, which is applied over a grit-blasted and primed base to ensure long-lasting good looks. LED lights are standard on the Barker retractable skel; they provide long and reliable life but importantly adapt automatically to varying voltages in truck power supplies.

To ensure axle weights are within legal limits, the retractable trailer is equipped with Right Weigh on-board scales. The Right Weigh scales connect to the trailer's air suspension and display the amount of pressure in the airbags as a weight measurement.

This makes it easy for driver to see the weight over the trailer axle group at a glance. The more weight on the trailer, the greater the pressure in the air suspension to maintain the ride height.

This particular trailer came equipped with the cheaper axle and suspension option from Fuwa K-Hitch. The suspension is KT250T, which has an underslung axle with U-bolt mount. The axle features drum brakes with auto slack adjusters and ABS braking. Goodride AS678 11R22 tyres are mounted on steel 10-stud rims.

To keep accurate records of the trailer's use for maintenance purposes, a Stemco Datatrac electronic Hubometer has been installed on the middle axle on the right-hand side. The compact size of the Stemco Datatrac makes it easy to mount and dismount tyres without needing to remove the Datatrac from the wheel. One of the advantages of this meter is the large, easy-to-read LCD screen, which makes data retrieval both simple and accurate.

To finish of the rear of the trailer a full-length mudflap is fitted to the light bar, along with fold-up 'Oversize' signage for convenience with when coupled to B-Double.

Barker Retractable Skel specifications:
Length: 9300mm/12,200mm
Twist lock height: 1405mm
Skid plate height: 1270mm
Skid plate: 8mm with 50mm bolt-in king pin
King pin location: 1100mm
Suspension location: 5690mm (retracted); 7925mm (partially extended); 8550mm (fully extended)
Safety cables: PVC sleeves
Tyre carrier: One tyre, vertical left-hand side
Suspension: KT250T
Brakes: 420mm x 178mm S-Cam to ADR/3803
Electrical: Multi-volt LED