CONESTOGA
There are two kinds of curtainside trailers, the Conestoga and the
Tautliner. Both trailers are of the flatbed variety and both are covered
with a tarp system or curtain which can quickly be moved out of the way,
thus offering ready access to the trailer for filling freight.
Conestoga curtainside trailers make use of a sliding tarp system. In
principle, this system works very just like an accordion. When pulled
forward, the tarp exposes the flatbed offering gain access to for side,
rear and overhead loading.
The main downside of the Conestoga curtainside trailer in comparison
to a Tautliner curtainside trailer, is that the curtain structure makes
the trailer as much as 107″ broad on the outside and allows an optimum
of 102″ clearance for the trailers freight. The Conestoga curtainside
trailer requires a strict adherence to the 102″ constraint of its
freight.
The Tautliner curtainside is a flatbed trailer consisting of a front, a
roofing system and rear doors, just like a van, yet having side curtains
that slide like a shower curtain. The Tautliner curtainside's main
drawback when weighed against the Conestoga remains in the limiting
factor relating to the capability to fill its cargo from overhead. The
framework of the moving curtains forbid overhead loading of the cargo.
Nevertheless, the Tautliner trailer has a lot more flexibility in
carrying items higher than 102 inches because it permits space for
mistake in packing its freight.
Conestoga trucks combine the advantages of dry vans and flatbeds.
Conestoga platforms are the best option if it is required to upload from
the sides or the top of the truck, or it is an oversized and it is
necessary to protect the load from weather conditions.