Long Story

T here has been a lot of interest in equipment conversions lately. But not everyone wants to figure out how to turn slow-selling off-lease condo sleepers into day cabs.

Responding to a strong demand for 48-foot intermodal trailers, Transport International Pool’s (TIP) Intermodal Services division launched a two-year, $15-million “trailer stretch” program to convert 45-footers into 48s.

While 45s still make up the largest part of the company’s North American trailer fleet, TIP says interest in 48-foot intermodal containers is on the rise. Intermodal trailer loading statistics during 2000 show that the 48-foot trailer market share increased from 46% to 50%, while 45s dropped from 53% to 50%. Anticipating the trend, TIP says it wants 48-foot trailers with radial tires to represent more than 80% of its entire fleet.

The conversion process involves making one side-to-side cut in the trailer floor in front of the tandem-axle bogie, and another in the roof just in front of the rear doors, effectively cutting the trailer in two. The rear portion of the trailer is then pulled out and extended by three feet. The framerails and floor are repaired, and new side and roof panels are dropped into the gaps at the back.

Although this is the first large-scale conversion from 45-footers to 48-foot trailers, Alan Messing, vice-president of TIP’s trailer division, says the process is not new.

“We did it in the ’80s, when we stretched 40-foot trailers to 45-footers. That’s when the technique was originally perfected,” he says.