About Great Dane
The Great Dane story began in 1900 in Savannah, Georgia, in the U.S. when J.P. Wheless and T.H. McMillan started building infrastructure products for sawmills and factories. More than 120 years later, Great Dane is one of the trucking industry’s leading purveyors of dry van, reefer, and flatbed semitrailers and truck bodies, both nationally and internationally. In recent years, the manufacturer has begun developing complementary technologies to make its trailers better and more efficient, such as Great Dane’s proprietary ThermoGuard reefer lining and its FleetPulse Smart Trailer System for fleet management.
Great Dane Champion Dry Van Semitrailer
History & Expansion
Beginning as the Savannah Blow Pipe Company, Great Dane got its start building sheet metal systems to deal efficiently with sawmill byproducts, but by 1916 the company had diversified into a manufacturer of a broad portfolio of steel products, and became the Steel Products Company.
It was the mid-1930s when Steel Products Company built its first flatbeds, followed by tank and van trailers. Named after the Great Dane, a dog breed known for its considerable size and strength, the first Great Danes were made of thin, high-tensile steel. Lighter than other trailers of the day, they became popular for their ability to haul higher payloads and remain in compliance with early roadway weight regulations.
As was the case with many manufacturers, the company was tasked with building equipment for the war effort during World War II—in this case, high-tensile steel trailers for moving military materiel from place to place overseas. The company’s products and a number of manufacturing criteria earned it five prestigious U.S. Army-Navy “E” Awards for Excellence in Production.
Following the war in 1948, the Steel Products Company developed new cooling technology to allow its trailers to transport perishable foods across the U.S. The new reefer trailers had a special ice bunker and blower system that kept produce refrigerated for almost two days.
The company finally changed its name to Great Dane Trailers, Inc. on January 1, 1958, and added the red color to its dog and oval logo. By the early 1960s, Great Dane began building piggyback trailers and maritime freight containers that intertwined its products with the railroad and marine shipping industries.
The 1970s and 1980s were years of massive expansion and growth in both national and international markets that included Canada, England, Turkey, Mexico, and South America. Domestically, the company was investing in opening new plants and integrating computer technologies with its design and manufacturing processes. In 1974, Great Dane completed its 929-square-metre (10,000-square-foot) Savannah Engineering Research Lab, and in 1982 added computer road simulation equipment that’s still in use today.
Great Dane’s merger with Pines Trailer in 1997 helped the trailer manufacturer become one of the world's largest. In the early 2000s, before The Great Recession hit, Great Dane manufactured 60,000 trailers across nine U.S. plants and hit an all-time company record in 2006 by owning 33% of the market demand for reefer trailers and more than 28% for dry vans.
Trailer Tech Innovation
One of Great Dane’s most important technological innovations, ThermoGuard, is a lightweight composite thermal lining that helps maintain consistent temperatures inside Great Dane reefers, protecting cargo and making refrigeration more energy-efficient, saving operators and fleet managers money. Great Dane says its unique Microban technology further protects sensitive cargo and the trailer alike by reducing bacteria on the interior walls by 99.9%.
Another Great Dane breakthrough is FleetPulse, an innovative telematics system that delivers information about a truck’s location and ETA in a matter of seconds via a connected mobile device or PC. With the help of data collected from GPS trackers on the truck and available information about weather or road conditions, FleetPulse assists in navigation by suggesting safer reroute options as needed. The system also helps with predictive maintenance of the vehicle, as it closely monitors all systems of your trailer, ensuring its parts are replaced or repaired before they fail.
Product Line
Today, Great Dane produces refrigerated trailers, dry vans, and open-deck (flatbed) haulers. Reefer models include the Alpine, a lightweight option with unique side door design and a handy body tie-down system that enables efficient cargo mounting, and the Everest, which offers single- or multi-temp options for hauling multiple cargo types. The manufacturer also offers the Johnson line of refrigerated truck bodies, which come in walk-in C-Series models as well as multi-zone reach-in R-Series options.
Great Dane dry van options include the Champion line of box trailers and the Sahara line of dry van truck bodies. Both product families include sheet-and-post and composite construction options, characterized by lightweight yet durable construction and details like internal scuff bands to protect interior walls and plentiful cargo management features.
The manufacturer’s Freedom line of flatbed trailers likewise offer numerous standard and optional load security features, including secure side rails, stake pockets, pipe spools, and rub rails in addition to different locks, chain and rope ties, D rings, and more. Freedom flatbeds are available in all-steel, all-aluminum, or steel-aluminum combo construction; all-steel and steel-aluminum models allow an evenly distributed load capacity of 36,287 kilograms (80,000 pounds) and a concentrated load capacity of 22,680 kg (50,000 lbs). All-aluminum Freedom trailers can handle up 54,430 kg (120,000 lbs) in evenly distributed loads and up to 27,216 kg (60,000 lbs) in concentrated load capacity. Flooring options include aluminum and apitong wood decking.
Get The Right Great Dane Trailer Today
Find a wide selection of new and used Great Dane trailers for sale on MarketBook.ca today, including Alpine, Everest, and Johnson reefer trailers; Champion trailers and other dry van trailers; and versatile Freedom flatbed trailers.
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