Premature wear and tear is almost a given if you are hauling highly abrasive material. Even mulch can be a bit too much for the delicate features of aluminium slats.
That’s at least KEITH Walking Floor’s experience, so it came up with a solution – the J-MAX steel slat, which is a versatile choice for unloading a variety of materials.
Trailers outfitted with moving floor systems are used to unloading a wide range of materials. The horizontal unloading systems discharge material, meaning the trailer doesn’t need the assistance of a tipping platform. Instead, a series of hydraulically driven floor slats ‘walk’ the material out the rear of the trailer.
“Overall, the J-MAX floor slat offers durability, versatility, and efficient trailer unloading capabilities,” says KEITH Walking Floor Australia’s Zyggy Reinoga. “Whether it is handling abrasive materials or ensuring long-lasting performance, the J-MAX floor slat is designed to meet the demands of various industries and applications.”
KEITH Walking Floor dates back to the 1950s when Keith Foster started an agricultural equipment manufacturing company in Madras, Oregon. In the 1960s, Foster began designing and manufacturing self-loading trailers for crops and finally in the 70s, he launched the KEITH Walking Floor system.
Perfect for the harsh Australian environment, the company was introduced here in the 1980s with a Melbourne office opening 10 years later.
Made of roll-formed, high strength steel, the J-MAX floor system offers operators more versatility in the products they haul. In fact, it can handle not just bulk items like agricultural products or waste, but it also stands up to construction debris including glass.
Compared with standard aluminium flooring, the J-MAX has a longer slat life, ensuring that the floor can withstand the wear and tear of frequent unloading of abrasive material. The unique ‘J’ floor seal, located between the slats, reduces the sifting of material through the trailer floor. This makes the J-MAX flooring suitable for hauling loads of sand, mulch or similar materials.
“Another area in which the J-MAX slat excels is in specialty applications such as unloading mineral concentrates,” Zyggy says. “Materials like gypsum are not free flowing but tend to be sticky. Combined with the correct drive unit, the steel slat will do an impressive job of unloading the material.”
Meanwhile, the trailer subdeck is reinforced with full length floor bearings, with a hold down design. This provides a maximum support surface for the flooring, creating a forklift compatible system. Backhaul opportunities are expanded with the ability to handle pallets and bales.
Fast fact
The waste and recycling industry took notice of Walking Floor technology in the early 1980s when KEITH Walking Floor developed a system that could unload a 13.7 metre trailer in three minutes. Twenty years later, company founded Keith Foster was inducted into the Environmental Industry Association of America’s Hall of Fame for making the unloading of solid waste easier, safer and more efficient.
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