In 2003, an electric cooperative company based out of southern Minnesota was looking for an alternative trailer supplier that was locally based.
Having heard of Felling Trailers, the co-op made the call and was put in touch with Laurie Engle, one of Felling's trailer sales consultants. At that time, Felling had been building cable reel trailers for about 10 years and was considered relatively new to the utility industry. Engle worked with the cooperative to configure a triple reel trailer to meet their company's needs, which was the start of a 15-year partnership.
The cable reel trailer that started the partnership was retired from service, and the cooperative placed a new unit, an FT-30-3 Triple Reel, in service in early 2018. The cooperative currently has five Felling cable reel trailers in service, with varying features and capacities.
A few of the features that were incorporated into the build of the FT-30-3 Triple Reel were selected to increase time efficiency and worker safety.
- A-frame reel stands: The trailer is equipped with three bolt-on reel stands. The design of the reel stands provides accessibility for the operators to load cable reels by use of a forklift vs. loading with a boom truck. The versatility to load reels this way saves the operator time and reduces safety risks. A bonus with the reel stands being bolt on is they can be moved when there is a need to adjust the tongue load, ensuring proper weight distribution when towing.
- Custom air tank: The large air tank is located in the hitch with a pressure gauge, shut-off valve and air line for the operation of the air brake system. According to the cooperative's operations manager, it is common for the cooperative to deliver the reel trailer to jobsites loaded with cable so that the contractors can start boring the cable underground before the cooperative's crew is needed on site. The air tank feature provides the necessary air pressure for operation of the air brake system, allowing the trailer to be moved to the needed location on the jobsite.
- Catwalk: As with the majority of electric cooperatives, the spring and fall of the year are the co-op's busiest times of year. With them comes a variance of weather extremes, especially in Minnesota. It is not out of the ordinary to have ice and snow in late May or in early October. The varying weather and working conditions played a strong factor in the construction of the FT-30-3 Triple Reel's catwalk feature. The catwalk runs the length of the trailer from headboard to fender and then from fender to tailboard. Constructed with grip strut with an approximate width of 10 in., bracing then runs underneath with a rear lip to prevent fall through.
- Safety & Stability: Additional features that were selected for this trailer were two rear pull pin stabilizer legs and rubber wheel chocks. When deployed, these two features work together to maintain the stability of the trailer and the integrity of the load.
The FT-30-3 Triple Reel trailers are used to haul large underground cable from job to job, but these units represent only a few of the Felling trailers that the co-op has in its fleet. The fleet consists of 35 trailers, 20 of which are Felling trailers. Their capacity and functio range from dump boxes (hydraulic dump trailers), to cable trailers and flatbeds (drop deck and deck over).
The dump boxes are used to haul dirt and sand to and from jobsites, as well as haul logs and tree debris when crews are trimming trees. The newest update to the co-op's drop deck trailers is galvanizing. Since they are used in the winter hauling mini-excavators to and from jobsites, the galvanizing will help them last longer and ensure the work runs smoothly.
