Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co., a California-based manufacturer of dry freight vans, flatbeds, refrigerated vans and curtainsided trailers, said Mesilla Valley Transport has taken delivery of 260 new Utility 3000D dry vans
with the recently developed Utility/Hendrickson "Wide Track System."
The 3000D dry freight van takes advantage of the weight savings and increased fuel economy of Michelin's wide single tire, the X-One. Utility's wide track suspension system also includes a Hendrickson air ride slider with 6-inch wider suspension centers and 6-inch longer axles. This system can be used with either "zero" offset aluminum wheels or with the new "zero" offset Motorwheel steel wheel. This new Utility "Wide Track System" also allows the use of any, industry standard wheel end and bearing system without a reduction in bearing life or gross axle weight rating.
Preliminary evaluations done by Hendrickson International and Michelin engineers at Michelin's facility in South Carolina have revealed that "Utility's Wide Track System, combined with the Michelin X One tire, have generated a higher roll stiffness on the trailer unit when compared to a conventional combination."