New product: Freighter AutoHold

Freighter's new AutoHold trailer features auto-fastening load-restraint curtains with a patented pneumatic sequential closing system

Australian trailer manufacturer Freighter has unveiled its next-generation AutoHold trailer to the nation's transport industry media.

At the heart of the AutoHold system are load-restraint Tautliner curtains with an automatic opening and closing system – a system Freighter says has some important advantages over other comparable products.

Monday, June 30, saw journalists assemble at the Melbourne headquarters of MaxiTRANS – Freighter's parent company – to learn more about AutoHold and see the new curtains in action.

Freighter released its Safe-T-Liner load-restraint curtains in 2005 and its EziLiner pneumatically secured standard curtains in 2008 but AutoHold sees the basic benefits of both combined in the one product, with an innovative pneumatic automated closure system mated with the firm's LoadHold load-restraint curtains.

The standard AutoHold system comes with side curtain buckles for adjustment and a spring return curtain controlled from the front of the trailer, but a buckle-free version is also available along with a two-way control switch that allows the system to be controlled from either end of the trailer.

The curtains are secured by a number of steel paddles that hook into heavy-duty steel clips along the bottom of each curtain. A pneumatic system that runs off the auxiliary air tank operates a series of valves and pins which in turn either lower the paddles to secure the curtain, or raise them to open it.

When retracted, the paddles sit flush in the edge of the trailer's deck, just above the coaming, while the actuating mechanism is mounted just beneath the deck.

Once the bottom of the curtain is free it can be manually retracted or closed by pulling it along its top rail in the usual Tautliner manner, but it's AutoHold's closure system that Freighter general manager, Mario Colosimo (pictured), says is a true innovation.

"AutoHold has a sequential closing system that sees the outside ends close first before finishing in the centre," he says.

"In this way you can close the curtains even if it's windy or if you're on uneven ground."

The sequential closure system has been patented by Freighter; it's one of four patents the company has taken out on AutoHold. While they all relate to the closure mechanism, the company is understandably keeping its cards close to its chest in terms of specific details.

Once the curtains are pulled tight along the length of the trailer they're secured with a ratchet-style handle.

Beyond its ease of operation, Mr Colosimo says AutoHold's appeal lies in its rugged construction.

"We've used a very simple mechanism," he says.

"We've stayed with pneumatics because pneumatics are very well understood and because we can use standard equipment that's being used out in the field on semi-trailers all over Australia without any issues."

After seeing the AutoHold system put through its paces, trucksales.com.au was impressed with its ease of operation. Granted, the demo was carried out on level ground on a still day, but the paddles engaged with the curtain clips in a neat and positive action.

The trailer almost appears to take on a life of its own as the pneumatic system is pressed into operation, the paddles closing the bottom of the curtain in segments from each end to the centre, all to an aural backdrop of hissing, pressurised air. When you think about it, the sequential closure system makes perfect sense – it ensures those curtain clips are never far away from their respective paddles, even if the wind is blowing.

It's certainly a quick and easy operation, taking well under a minute to transition from closed and tensioned to open and ready for loading or unloading.

AutoHold adds between 100 and 200kg per trailer depending on the length of the trailer, says Freighter, while it can be applied to straight-deck, drop-deck or double-drop trailers using either regular or insulated load-restraint curtains.

Mr Colosimo stresses that the key to maintaining load-restraint compliance with any load-restraint curtains is maintaining the correct tension.

"The simple way to achieve this is to keep the buckles," he says.

The buckles allow the driver to make manual adjustments to ensure the curtain is correctly tensioned and they also allow the curtains to be opened or closed manually if for some reason the vehicle has lost air.

"If the trailer has been parked for a week or two and you want to open it up this can still be done manually," says Colosimo.

"You're never going to be left stranded with a system that can't be opened because you've got the buckles. It's proven technology and it works."

A wire can be run through the buckles for additional security, as per a regular Tautliner, while the steel cover of the control switch box can be padlocked.

Customers after a cleaner look can opt for the AutoHold system without buckles. This provides a smooth 'blank canvas' for advertising and graphics but any adjustment to the curtain's vertical tension needs to be carried out in a workshop.

Freighter's AutoHold program began nearly three-and-a-half years ago but after several potential systems were examined, work began in earnest on this design in September 2013. The first prototype hit the road in February 2014 and Freighter says it's been trialled by 10 of its customers.

Two AutoHold trailers have already been purchased, both fitted with insulated curtains.

According to Freighter's Sales Manager, Western Region, Heath Menhennet, Melbourne-based road freight firm Sargeant Transport has trialled the AutoHold trailer and reports it's saving its driver an hour a day on multi-drop work involving at least three drops through the day.

Mr Colosimo says AutoHold offers a very compelling value proposition.

"It's something that's going to work, you're not going to have any problems with it, and if you have a bingle it's very simple to work on and maintain," he said.

Freighter's AutoHold trailers are available now, price on application, with a typical lead time of around eight weeks. For more information visit www.freighter.com.au.

New product: Freighter AutoHold

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