Heavy-Duty Crushed Car Carrier

Hauling crushed cars is something that William J. Wright of Pittsgrove, New Jersey, has done for many years. His Mack R 686ST seen here pulls a 1993 Dorsey 48-foot drop-deck trailer. This unique trailer was built by Shafer Bros. Body Builders of Newfield, New Jersey, to specs supplied by Camden Iron & Metal. In the not-so-distant past, crushed cars were frequently carried on flatbed trucks and trailers, which was very dangerous because many of the vehicle’s parts would come loose and fall off the load. The old Dorsey trailer seen here was a major improvement, but even it required some fine tuning – during the trailer’s inaugural voyage with a load, the first left-hand turn almost upset the whole trailer because of too much weight on the left-hand side. To counterbalance this uneven distribution of weight, a heavy piece of steel 48 feet long, 12 inches wide and 2 inches thick was laid down on the right-hand side. Nowadays, newer units use a lot of screening to reduce weight and keep the load secure. The empty weight for this Mack and heavy car carrier trailer is a whopping 44,000 pounds! This old Mack and Dorsey trailer might not look like much, but it has sure earned its keep over the many years of service it has provided to its owner.