Wabash showed its road-ready, refrigerated, all-composite trailer with a composite-metal hybrid floor at the Technology and Maintenance Council annual meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition in Nashville, TN, US.
The Molded Structural Composite Cold Chain Series refrigerated van offers 25% better thermal efficiency than traditional reefers, yet is 20% lighter than existing traditional vans. The trailer is manufactured with all-composite sides and top, using the sandwich technology. Structural Composites’ patented (more patents pending) CoCure Strain Tunable Resin, a mixture of commodity polyester with varying percentages of polyurethane, has been formulated for compatibility with the metal; the hybrid metal/composite structure is laminated and cured as a 53-ft long single part.
The innovative co-molded floor structure is about 11 centimeters thick (4.5 inches), compared to a conventional refrigerated van’s 22-centimeter floor. More importantly, the new design provides a 50% increase in floor rating, that is, how much fork lift load it can support. A standard reefer van floor is rated at 16,000 lbs, and current “dry” vans (those carrying dry goods, not refrigerated) are rated at 20,000 lbs.
With the hybrid floor, the Molded Structural Composite Cold Chain Series refrigerated van can be used for both refrigerated and dry loads, which improves profits for shippers with more “backhaul” opportunities.
