New trailer keeps Red Arrows flying
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Specified by Lex Defence, which manages the Ministry of Defence’s 14,000-strong ‘white fleet’ of non-combat vehicles, the new trailer will carry engineering equipment and spares to Red Arrows display venues around the country.
Capable of carrying an optimum payload of 35.5 tonnes, the bespoke trailer is13.8m long. It has a host of features such as a hydraulic tilting floor that allows easy loading to the upper deck and a full width, full height rear ramp that in addition to assisting with loading also closes to form the rear door of the trailer.
King worked with Lawrence David to fit the 4000mm high curtainsider body, which includes a slim-line aerodynamic bulkhead, a sliding roof and Armoursheet tapered load-bearing curtains liveried with the striking red, white and blue Red Arrows logo.
To further assist with loading and unloading the vehicle has a radio remote controlled 12,000lb hydraulic winch. Equipment is secured via 10 pairs of deck lashings and two steel storage boxes fitted to the main deck provide extra storage. Mick Graham, fleet engineer at Lex Transfleet, says: ‘King is one of our preferred suppliers. It has unrivalled expertise and experience of providing equipment for military logistical operations.
The new Red Arrow curtainsider was built to an unusual specification and involved the development of a number of challenging design requirements that King was successfully able to meet and deliver.’
