UK-based contractor, J W Cantrell Haulage Contractors, has invested in five new S.KI tipper trailers from Schmitz Cargobull after being impressed with the performance and reduced maintenance costs of a demonstrator vehicle.

J W Cantrell Haulage Contractors Managing Director, Derrick Cantrell, originally purchased the demonstrator at an exhibition and has now invested in five new S.KI 24 3AT 9.6m trailers.

Each vehicle features a rounded steel body and has been specially fitted with an adaptive chassis to fit three-axle tractor units and meet the UK’s 44-tonne truck compliance rules.

The ultra-reliable trailers which joined Cantrell’s 17-strong mixed commercial vehicle fleet are now helping the Stoke-based haulage firm cut downtime and maintenance costs while transporting incinerator bottom ash across the Midlands.

“Once tried and tested, I had to go back to Schmitz Cargobull again,” Cantrell said.

“The payoff between a good payload and a strong trailer is a very fine line, but I think Schmitz Cargobull gets it spot on.”

“I’ve been hugely impressed with how the vehicles are managing our heavy-duty loads.”

“We were using aluminium trailers before and spending far too long doing costly repairs on them because the materials we carry are very abrasive and wear the bodies out.”

Designed to maximise payload with the greatest reliability, the S.KI tippers have a 36 cubic metre capacity and are specified with a 6mm steel floor, 5mm steel sidewalls, full LED lighting system, Alcoa alloy wheels and manual PVC roller top sheet.

“The steel bodies of the S.KI tippers are proving to be very durable and have helped massively in reducing maintenance time and costs,” Cantrell said.

“I’ll be looking to get many years of use out of them.”

Each vehicle is expected to clock up around 60,000km per year for the business.