If you know the trippy movie Inception, you know that the characters carry totems to make sure they don’t stumble into another character’s dream. One character’s totem is a weighted red die. Another is a spinning tractricoid. Only the totem’s owner knows its distinct weight, balance and feel. If they get caught into someone else’s dream, the totem will feel slightly off in their hands (and the bad guys win).
Why are we babbling about totems? Because we recently produced a custom truck designed to transport a 10,000-pound totem, that’s why. A global satellite provider needed an application to transport proof masses—large metal pieces with known weights used to calibrate instruments.
With four swivel casters featuring Ergo-Glide mold on polyurethane wheels, this truck repels foreign objects and debris with quiet vigilance. The caster assemblies are removable so the deck can be stored without putting weight on the casters. Simply jack it up, remove the casters, set it back down, and it’s sleepy time until the next totem ride.
Can you imagine the kind of dreams this truck has? Huge!
Here are the tech specs:
When it comes to trailer applications, there’s no one-size-fits-all. Many variables affect performance and cost—load size, wheel arrangement, deck size and steering type, to name a few.
So how do you choose the right trailer for the job? Study all your options and select the system that makes the best sense for the specific application. This handy Hamilton white paper breaks down everything you need to know, including:
Check out all Hamilton white papers here.
Just because we love creating indestructible carts and casters doesn’t mean we don’t have a softer side. Take a recent custom trailer we completed for one of the world’s top producers of plastics.
It’s designed to haul 800-pound vertical eductors that are part of a chemical plant’s infrastructure. Macho stuff, right? Well, the cart also features four cradle assemblies with adjustable heights to not only accommodate different eductor sizes but also raise and rotate them in place as they’re being repaired. Each cradle includes protective rubber pads to ensure gentle handling, while clamps provide added control. For even more agile positioning, the modular cart uses four swivel casters with position locks on each caster for high maneuverability.
Call us crazy, but we like to coddle our cargo just right.
Here are the specs:
Hamilton carts and trailers help customers move giant, heavy things with greater ease and efficiency. It may not be sexy. But it literally helps the world go ‘round.
Take this 30-ton capacity custom truck we recently designed for one of the world’s largest energy and industrial giants. The customer needed a beast of a trailer, tough enough to haul giant transformers for repair at their apparatus service center. Some of the transformers weigh as much as 420,000 lbs. The customer had previously been using rail carts to tote the transformers along railroad tracks. Limiting!
We designed a four-wheel reversible trailer with auto steer and a four-point lift, capable of transporting giant cargo around the service center any which way. Here she is, with her slick safety yellow finish. Isn’t she a beauty, with her towing tongues at both ends? Couldn’t you just look at her all day, while she glides across your factory floor, making heavy lifting look easy and carefree? Don’t you want to take her home to mom?
Here’s her dating profile:
You know that trailers come in all shapes and sizes. But you should also know that there are all types of steering options, too. The way your steering system operates can make or break any application. Good thing we’ve summarized everything you need to know below.
Type 1: Caster Steer trailers
Type 2: Fifth Wheel Steer trailers
Type 3: Four Wheel Steer trailers
Auto Steer trailers (general)
Two Wheel Auto Steer trailers
Four Wheel Auto Steer trailers
Other good things to know
We love it when a trailer works overtime to speed up productivity. Case in point: A custom cart we recently created to haul water distribution equipment castings (think fire hydrants) from manufacturing to storage and shipping. The deck’s free-spinning conveyer rollers make it much easier to load and unload the castings from either side. Easy rolling wheels with special ergonomic polyurethane treads help this cart function safely even when moved manually under load.
No wonder this trailer was created as part of the customer’s lean improvement processes. Hamilton puts the skinny in lean manufacturing.
Every day, companies across the world trust Hamilton carts to tow their precious cargo. That’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly—especially when the haul involves nuclear waste, as is the case with a recent custom job of ours for a massive environmental cleanup commissioned by the Department of Energy (DOE).
These waste carts are being used to help disassemble a massive government nuclear power plant from the 1950s. The carts are carrying heavy pieces of equipment once used in the process of enriching uranium, so it’s critical that disassembly is done properly and safely. Deactivating and decommissioning a facility involves removing hazardous and radioactive materials, verifying that criticality isn’t possible, and de-energizing and disconnecting nonessential systems. In other words, tricky stuff.
The trailer deck also doubles as a work platform while equipment is being loaded atop the trailer. To make sure any towing tongues don’t get in the way while they’re working on equipment, our tongue stows neatly underneath the frame to avoid the trip hazard.
Just another day doing our part to make sure people stay safe and work smart.
Tech specs:
In the world of heavy-duty manufacturing, space can sometimes be at a premium. And that’s okay, when you’ve got Hamilton custom carts on the case.
We recently helped a world leader in wire and coating haul heavy coils in tight spaces. The customer had previously been racking up costly bills using expensive semi-trailer trucks to move product across the street from one building to the other. They needed a more user-friendly, cost-effective way to get the job done 24/7. And because there was no room to turn the trailers, Hamilton designed a reversible train system that easily changes direction. Tongue couplers at both ends make it easy to attach and disconnect tuggers moving to and from the two buildings.
Toot, toot. All aboard that gravy train to better productivity.
Nothing says productivity plus like a trailer built to save money and human muscle. Case in point: This custom trailer we recently designed to haul large circulating water pump motors from warehouse to power plant.
The customer had previously been using heavy timbers to mount and house the motors. Not only were the timbers cumbersome for crews to remove manually; the motors also required expensive crane rentals for transport. The customer was also keenly aware of how towing is safer than lifting with a crane, due to less inherent risk.
We designed a special square trailer that doubles as both storage platform and hauling hero. The motors can safely rest on Hamilton trailers until moving day—all that’s needed is a forklift hookup and they’re ready to roll. With an 80,000-pound capacity, the trailers also give the 54,000-pound motors plenty of breathing room. We also provided a hole in the truck’s center for the motor’s coupling to pass through. Added chain hooks keep cargo snug and secure on the decks.
Because, you know, safety first.
They may not be Ansel Adams or Annie Leibowitz, but we sure think they’re something special. The marketing team here at Hamilton has invested in some photographic masterpieces over the years and rather than store these gems away in our electronic vaults, we thought we’d share a nice collection of our flagship and custom engineered products.
We updated the caster flagship, truck flagship, and truck archive galleries. From inline stainless steel casters to custom trailers for oilfield platforms, to a behemoth caster toting a whopping 100,000 lbs. we show you some of our pride and joys.
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