Haulmark drop-deck widener 2022 Review

Queensland-based Haulmark trailers is well known for its quality livestock trailers and pioneering 'through loader' system. So it came as no surprise when a request for a specialised low loader to transport new combine harvesters arrived at Haulmark's office in the Brisbane suburb of Rocklea, and it didn't take long for the firm’s engineers to draw up the plans.

John Deere combine harvesters are among the largest agricultural machines the company produces. The John Deere S680 combine on the back of this Haulmark drop-deck widener weighs nearly 16.38 tonnes, is 4.28 metres wide, 6.68 metres long, and has a height of 3.98 metres. When loaded onto the trailer for transportation, it's even higher.

Once you step outside the square of regular freight and enter the world of Over Dimension transport, costs rise exponentially as the height, width and weight of the machines increase in size. However, when the width of the load exceeds five metres and the height stretches higher than 4.6 metres, not only does the amount of paperwork required to get a permit jump significantly, but so too does the personnel needed to shift it, which raises transportation costs substantially higher.

Consequently, one of the biggest challenges with this project for Haulmark engineers was trying to get the overall travelling height of the combine harvester to under 4.6 metres when the machine was sitting on the low loader.

Furthermore, given that John Deere doesn't sell one of these large combine harvesters every day, the trailer's design needed to enable it to carry a variety of machines and other freight.

Thankfully, John Deere tractors and combine harvesters are not heavy machines like earthmoving behemoths, so the standard Haulmark drop-deck trailer became the platform for this unique project.

In addition, Haulmark already had a deck-widening option available in its drop-deck model range, which nicely suited the application. Also on the options list were bi-fold ramps and a small petrol electric-start hydraulic power pack.

Getting the deck height as low as possible was the first hurdle. Haulmark’s engineers achieved this by incorporating FUWA K-Hitch KT250U air suspension with low profile 215/75R17.5 tyres. The KT250U air suspension has ride height settings available from just 140mm up to 356mm. In fact, the engineers lowered the deck to below one metre, or 960mm to be precise.

But adding 960mm to the 3.98-metre height of the S680 combine harvester was still 340mm too high. So the next step required some clever engineering to scallop out wheel wells into the deck floor for the large combine harvester's tyres. This now enabled the machine to fit neatly under the required 4.6-metre overall height requirement.

The removable cut-out sections of the deck floor include forklift tine slots to facilitate easy removal and replacement of the units to suit the machine to be transported. The removable units are pinned and secured with hitch pin locking spring clips.

The hydraulic bi-fold ramps are attached to the widening travelling section of the deck and move in and out as the deck width changes. The deck widens to a maximum width of four metres and retracts to the standard 2.5-metre travelling width.

Chain tie-down points and container twist lock pins are integrated into the deck floor to add further application flexibility. Additionally, container lock stands are stored on either side of the trailer chassis to enable containers to be secured when placed over the gooseneck.

The gooseneck includes fold-down ramps that enable smaller machines to drive right up on top of the gooseneck. The gooseneck is non-widening, but there is enough room on it to carry a small 1025R tractor or Gator utility vehicle. At the same time, a larger lightweight machine like the R4023 John Deere self-propelled sprayer will ride nicely on the lower deck.

Like most Haulmark trailers, this widening drop deck includes a chassis-mounted toolbox on the left side and a single spare carrier on the right side. The lights are all Hella LED for ease of maintenance. There is a 60-litre plastic water tank with a hand cleaner bottle, and the landing gear is a two-speed Holland with S-type feet.

Haulmark is one of few Australian trailer manufacturers that can genuinely trace its roots back to the birth of modern road transport, as we know it today. But from its inception in 1963, Haulmark's engineering and manufacturing mantra has remained unchanged: 'continually innovate'. This company is not interested in copying others' ideas. Instead, it’s in the business of developing new transport solutions that deliver improved outcomes for transport operators, their customers, and the broader community.

For instance, back in the early days of motorised outback trucking, Haulmark’s innovation in livestock transport equipment design brought unprecedented efficiencies to outback cattle transport. The firm’s big six-deck triple road train cattle trailers significantly reduced the time it took cattle to get from remote outback stations to market, thereby improving the health of the travelling livestock significantly.

Today that same engineering and manufacturing philosophy fits perfectly with modern, highly specialised transport industry requirements. From its Rocklea headquarters, Haulmark can custom design and manufacture specialised trailers and transport equipment that optimise productivity and efficiency while minimising whole-of-life operating costs. Such is the case with this purpose-built combine harvester transport trailer.

Further underlining Haulmark’s commitment to quality is the long list of the specialised equipment it supplies to the Australian Defence Force. That list includes military trailers for various applications, including the transportation of tanks, armoured fighting vehicles, plant and equipment, general freight, fuel, ammunition, stores, containerised cargo and mobile shelters.

Every piece of road transport equipment that Haulmark produces has a complete and detailed set of engineering and manufacturing drawings to ensure ongoing traceability and client support. It's part of Haulmark's rigorous ISO9001:2008 quality assurance and certification process, which confirms every trailer meets Australian Design Rule (ADR) compliance, while delivering design integrity and meeting each customer’s exacting needs.

Make: Haulmark
Model: Drop-deck widener
Type: 3x4
Axles/suspension: FUWA K-Hitch KT250U hydraulics with 6.5hp Honda pull-start power-pack
Storage: Toolbox, left-hand-side
Ramps: Bi-fold hydraulic
Spare wheel carrier: One, right-hand-side
Lights: Hella LED
Kingpin: 50mm fixed
Skid plate: Fixed
Gooseneck: Fold-down ramps
More information: https://haulmark.com.au/