The basic road trailer has changed little over the decades, although angle iron has given way to box section and there may be three axles where there were once two, but they are essentially the same.
All that has now changed with the formation of Eco-Mova, a start-up company from Co. Mayo which has taken the humble car trailer and has applied a good deal of science and engineering to the concept.
That science has been applied in conjunction with University College Dublin (UCD), who has worked with the company to create the profiles and structures that go to make up the trailers chassis and body.
Theory and practice
The result is a system of trailer construction that is not only proven to work on the computer, but also out in the real world, with a prototype (pictured above) having happily survived two years of abuse from Co. Mayo farmers and fisherman.
The key feature of the trailers is that they are made entirely of aluminium, any ferrous components being confined mainly to the side hinges and a few fasteners.
But it is not a case of just swapping over similar shaped components, one for the other, each new item has been created and tested using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) – a form of computing which assesses the stress loads likely to be experienced by individual elements and the trailer as a whole.
The result is a form of construction that relies on specially extruded aluminium profiles that are slotted together to form strong, durable products that are not at all reminiscent of bendy tin foil items that might be associated with the material.
This design philosophy extends even to the axles which are independent units that rely upon the compression of rubber elements between a hollow box section and inner square rod, and these too are made of aluminium.
Even the wheel centres are of this material and where steel has to be used, then it is stainless and rustproof.
A trailer forever
Such is the confidence that the company has in its products, that it will be offering an eight-year guarantee, confidence that is well placed when looking at the prototype which has obviously been well-used to bring peat in from the bog and lobster pots from the sea.
There are two great advantages of aluminium, the first is it is light in weight – the trailers weigh around 60% of comparable steel items.
Second is the longevity – they are built not just for this life, but also that of the next generation.
Eco-Mova claims that the trailers offer a 20% saving in fuel costs over steel, which saves money and reduces emissions. It is these attributes which have already attracted investors from the UK and Ireland.