Edscha Trailer Systems, Europe’s market and technology leader for sliding truck roofs, added two innovations to its range of products at IAA 2018. The company showcased OpenBox sliding roofs for sliding floor vehicles and trailers with fixed wall structures and E-Drive, a fully-automatic system for the electrical opening and closing of roofs.
Edscha’s own sliding roof concept TipperRoof for modern dumper vehicles laid the foundation for the development of a sliding roof for trailers with fixed wall structures. With the OpenBox solutions Edscha is now setting a further milestone in the manufacture of roofs that not only protect the cargo from the effects of the weather but also saves fuel. The latter was proven by tests in the wind tunnel: trailers with the closed OpenBox sliding roof are substantially more aerodynamic, offer less wind resistance and thus save fuel.
The new OpenBox roof can be closed and opened quickly and safely by the driver from the ground. The robust structure stays smooth and sealed, even with bulges of 2 up to +/-30 mm. The service-friendly modular structure, comprising steel rails and exchangeable segments, drastically reduces repair time. The heart of the structure is the floating suspension of the steel rail system, which has been registered for patent approval and is also used on freight cars.
Driverless trucks, warehouses without staff, pickers and pick-ups without operators – in the times of Logistics 4.0 DTS (driverless transport systems) are taking over the loading and unloading of driverless trucks. This makes the Edscha pull rod that every trucker is familiar with for pulling back the roof useless; the Edscha E-Drive takes over this job. The electric drive is operated using an adjustable capstan winch, and the system can be operated at any time, almost wear-free, and has a manual emergency function. This modular concept, which has been registered for patent approval, allows adaptation to various structures. Controls for use with a hydraulic flap are integrated.
Mr. Roger Remmel, Area Sales & Brand Manager, Edscha Trailer Systems GmbH, said: “The E-Drive can be controlled using a switch on the trailer and a switch in the cab with a tilt indicator and overload protection and with its own Android app via Bluetooth. A connection for external operation and a CAN-bus are also integrated. Another plus point is the low power consumption of under 20 amps at 24 volt, which is unique compared to its competition. Thus, there is no problem connecting the Edscha E-Drive to the existing electrical system on the vehicle. No additional protection is necessary.”
The company also showcased a light-weight solution for last mile applications, on which Mr. Remmel remarked: “We have a compact roof wherein on a 4.6 m body you can save 200 kg of weight compared to the regular body design. It has the lightest possible roof, all aluminum body, and the curtains include steel in place of planks which makes it ergonomics and gives an anti-theft tarpaulin cover. We have always strived to fulfill and surpass our customer requirements by helping them with a new generation of motor logistics equipments, which is different from what they are using at present or were using in the past, not only in India but globally.”