L.D. Malady & Sons is a third generation family owned and operated business based in Trafalgar , Victoria . The company is now headed by Lawrence Malady and his two sons Jamie Malady and Terry Malady. With a fleet of 12 trucks and 12 trailers, it specialises in general cartage and bulk commodities throughout the east coast of Australia . L.D. Malady carts all types of grain products such wheat, barley, malt and oats, as well as other products such as garden supplies, sand, rock and supa.
The fleet is made up of three tri combinations, seven quad combinations and two B doubles including its most recent addition from Hamelex White. The new B double combination is being used to cart grain to Victoria from NSW and Queensland . It is on the road everyday and has travelled as far as Brisbane to pick up a load. Terry has a long-standing relationship with Peter White and actually bought one of the first pig trailers made by Hamelex White – formerly known as White Transport in the early 1970s.
 “When we decided we needed to invest in a new rollback grain trailer, we called Hamelex White to discuss our needs and they were very obliging. They were quick, efficient, reasonably priced and the job was done well. The trailer was picked up in late August and has been out on the road since. We have never had any worries with Hamelex White, they were excellent throughout the whole process and took us through the factory to show us various stages of the trailer being built,” says Jamie.
“The driver loves the new trailer. It tracks beautifully and makes tipping a breeze. Everything worked from day one.”
In this combination, the A trailer has a 26 cubic metre capacity. Because of a sloping tailgate, its length is varies from 5.5 at the top of the trailer to 6.1 metres at the base of the trailer. It has a width of 2.48 metres and height of 1.9 metres. The B trailer is capable of carrying 48 cubic metres and measures 10.48 metres long, with the same height and width as the A trailer. Sides are constructed from 5mm aluminium, while the floor is made from 6mm aluminium. Grain locks are fitted to the left and right sides of the tailgates, 600mm above the floor.
The new B double has a rollback feature to the A trailer whereby it sits closer to the front of the combination for better weight distribution. Instead of just using the one hoist to lift the body when the trailer needs to be tipped, another hoist slides the body to the end of the trailer and the product is tipped over the back, without having to tip through the axles. “We opted to have this rollback feature to do away with some of the tare weight and make it a little more flexible and easy to use,” explains Jamie.
As well, a fully automatic lift axle has been fitted to the front of the A and B trailer with a Hamelex White arm, and TMC airbag and control box mounting. “This is the first time we have taken up this option, the main reasons being for reduced tyre wear when running on empty and better fuel economy. It's still early days so it's difficult to tell of the differences it is making to our fuel figures, but in time I'm sure that will tell us something.”
CentriFuse brake drums and dual 10/285 PCD preset alloy preset hubs were also fitted to the trailer in order to keep the tare weight down. Other equipment includes TMC axles and TMC LMV underslung air suspension, Emax Air Weigh digital air gauges, Holland Hitch landing legs with self levelling feet and Razor winding kit, greaseless Holland Hitch FW352 fifth wheel, Alcoa 10 stud 285 PCD 22.5” machined aluminium wheels to the inside, Durabright polished wheels to the outside, Bridgestone R285 11R 22.5” tyres, Tipper Tarps headboard style rollover tarp system, tipping cylinders Hoist Hydraulics, Narva LED lights, Powauto manual diverter valve, lockable aluminium toolbox, polished aluminium water tank and Maxus full cover plastic mudguards. The trailers have been finished off in blue and yellow Dulux Glasurit paint.
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