Flatdeck 3.5 m with Rails

Three and a half metres of deck, 1 700 mm of it between the rails, is what separates this flatdeck trailer with rails from every other braked single axle unit we stock. It is the longest and the widest deck in the single axle group, and the one buyers come to when a standard 3.0 m body has already been tried and found short. Tare is published at 480 kg and gross vehicle mass at 1 600 kg.

What the 3.5 m flatdeck trailer with rails is for

Long, awkward freight is the case for this deck. Roof sheeting, purlins, irrigation pipe, ladders, staging and pallet loads that run past the tailgate of a shorter trailer all sit inside the 3 500 mm body instead of hanging out the back of it. The 1 280 mm side height, made up of a sidewall plus high square section rails, contains a stacked load without the buyer needing to strap over the top of it on every trip.

Published specification

Two published figures worth reading twice

• Payload is published at 1 000 kg, yet gross vehicle mass less tare leaves 1 120 kg of headroom. We quote the manufacturer figure of 1 000 kg and advise buying to it, not to the arithmetic.
• Overall length is published at 4 220 mm even though the body alone measures 3 500 mm, which is shorter overall than the 3.0 m unit at 4 400 mm. Measure your gate and your yard against the published figure before ordering.
• The manufacturer publishes no body material for this listing, so we do not claim one. Ask us to confirm it in writing if the finish matters to your application.
• Wheels are published as 195 x 14 inch without a stud count on this record, unlike the 3.0 m deck which specifies six stud.

Payload, GVM and licensing

At 1 600 kg gross this trailer is far past the point where braking stops being optional. Any trailer over 750 kg gross vehicle mass must be braked, and run-in brakes are published as standard here. What the buyer still has to check is the other half of the equation: the braked towing capacity of the tow vehicle, the tow bar rating and the way the combination is licensed. Those requirements come from the National Road Traffic Act rather than from us, and they apply to the vehicle as much as to the trailer.

Running gear

One 1 830 mm axle rated at 1 800 kg carries a 1 600 kg gross figure, which leaves 200 kg of rating in hand. The 12 blade leaf pack is the heaviest spring specification in the single axle flatdeck group and it is chosen for load control rather than comfort. Expect a firm ride on an empty deck and a settled one when the trailer is working.

How it sits against its siblings

Against the 3.0 m 1 ton flatdeck you gain 500 mm of body and 180 mm of inside width at the same 480 kg tare, which is unusually good value in weight terms. What you do not gain is payload, because both are published at 1 000 kg. Choose on shape of load, not on capacity. Both models sit in our braked utility trailers category alongside the rest of the braked single axle decks.

What the extra money buys

A budget deck of roughly this size costs about half as much on our own price list and will carry a light load down a tar road perfectly well. The difference is in what is published and what is fitted: a stated tare and GVM you can plan a load against, a factory braked 1 800 kg axle, a 12 blade spring pack and a 1 700 mm inside width that takes a pallet crossways. None of that shows on a spec sheet until the deck is loaded to the top of its rails.

Delivery, warranty and ordering

Delivery runs countrywide from Hartswater in the Northern Cape and is free on orders over R20 000, with the conditions set out on our delivery page. Collection from the yard is always an option. The builder warranty applies, and we administer it on your behalf; the terms are on our warranty page. For a written quotation, or to ask about the unpublished body material, use our quote request form.