3.0 m 1 Ton Tandem Flatdeck

Two builds carry this name on the manufacturer price list, and reading their specifications side by side shows they are not quite the same trailer. Both are a braked 3 m tandem flatdeck trailer on twin 1 500 kg rubber sprung axles at 580 kg tare, and both publish a 1 000 kg payload against a 1 580 kg gross vehicle mass. The railed build has a 3 000 mm body. The jerrycan holder build has a 3 100 mm body, a 300 mm nose cone and a wider track, and it costs less.

Reading the two published builds honestly

• With rails and brakes: body 3 000 mm, overall 4 400 mm, inside width 1 520 mm, overall width 2 010 mm, side height 1 200 mm with 780 mm rails, overall height 1 700 mm, ground clearance 245 mm.
• With rails and jerrycan holders: body 3 100 mm, overall 4 730 mm, inside width 1 525 mm, overall width 2 075 mm, side height 1 280 mm with 785 mm rails, overall height 1 740 mm, ground clearance 250 mm, plus a published 300 mm nose cone.
• Tare, gross vehicle mass, payload, braking, axles, suspension and wheel size are published identically on both at 580 kg, 1 580 kg, 1 000 kg, run-in brakes, 1 500 kg x 2, rubber suspension and 165 x 13 inch.
• The longer, wider build is the cheaper of the two. We publish that as it stands rather than explaining it away, and we would rather you asked us to confirm the dimensions in writing than assumed the two decks are interchangeable.

Published specification

The 3 m tandem flatdeck trailer under load

Twin axles on this deck do not raise the published payload above the 1 000 kg the manufacturer gives its single axle 3.0 m trailer. What they change is behaviour. Four wheels under a three metre deck spread the load, cut pitching over a corrugated farm road and hold the trailer settled behind the tow vehicle at highway speed. They also give you a wheel in reserve: a puncture on a tandem is an inconvenience rather than an emergency, because the remaining three wheels keep the deck off the ground while you pull over.

The jerrycan holder build

Jerrycan holders put diesel, water or two-stroke mix on the trailer instead of loose in the load bed, which matters on long farm runs, game farm work and remote plant service. Combined with the longer body and the nose cone, this build is the one to look at if you refuel machinery away from a yard tank.

Payload, GVM and licensing

At 1 580 kg gross this trailer is a braked unit by law as well as by design. The rule is straightforward: above 750 kg gross vehicle mass a trailer must be braked, and run-in brakes are published as standard here. The limits that catch buyers out sit on the tow vehicle rather than the trailer, so check the braked towing capacity on your own plate, and read the requirements in the National Road Traffic Act before you load fuel or plant on a public road.

How it sits against its siblings

The 2.4 m tandem flatdeck runs the same twin 1 500 kg axles under a shorter deck at 500 to 550 kg tare, and it is the better buy for dense, short loads in a tight yard. This 3 m deck is the one for length. Both, and the heavier dropside, sit in our double-axle cargo trailers category.

What the extra money buys

A budget tandem covering similar ground costs around half as much on our own list and suits lighter, less frequent work. Here the price reflects a published tare and gross figure you can plan against, factory fitted brakes, two rated axles with rubber suspension, and rails supplied rather than fabricated. On a trailer that carries fuel or plant every week, published numbers and a known specification are worth paying for.

Delivery, warranty and ordering

Delivery is free on orders over R20 000 and runs countrywide, with the conditions set out on our delivery page. Collection from the Hartswater yard in the Northern Cape is welcome. The builder warranty applies and we administer it on your behalf; the terms are on our warranty page. If you want the two builds compared against your own load, send the detail through our quote request form.