Cottrell Screw Trailers

Well, we've talked to quite a few folks here and there about the Boydstun screw trailers and reported our findings here; now it's time to take a look at Cottrell car haulers.

Recently, I was chatting with a large mid-western car hauler who is currently building up his fleet of Cottrell screw units. He said that his drivers complained at first about the speed of the screw actuators. Looking at actual load times, however, none of the top brass could see much of a difference. The consensus is (much like with Boydstun) that even if the deck goes up a bit slower, the fact that you don't have to pin the decks saves that extra time.

The folks at Boydstun have done test loads of the same type of cars using the same driver and found that THEIR screw trailer loads faster than THEIR chain truck. I think they said the screws loaded in 20 minutes less time than the chain truck plus or minus.

There are several things I'd like to see with respect to Cottrell screw trailers and Boydstun screw trailers.

1. Base model comparison within each brand chain vs. strap truck: purchase price, maintenance schedule and costs, insurance costs, fuel costs and avg load times. Warranty period and coverages. Available options.

2. Comparison of Boydstun screw vs Cottrell screw along those same lines.

I asked the gentleman I spoke with earlier if they had any data as far as reduced worker's comp claims, and he said it was really too soon to tell, plus the percentage of his fleet that were strap trucks was still pretty small.

A sign of the times-- his strap truck fleet will go from thirty or so to over a hundred this year!

Post Script:

The biggest negative we've heard about screw trailers has to do with making load height. Seems like the automotive engineers in charge of vehicle design don't stop and consider the effect of their decisions on roof-height. This, more than anything has led a lot of drivers to use their chain ratchet systems do double duty as an auto tie-down tool AND a load-height adjustment device. The strap trucks take away that ability. In a perfect world, vehicle manufacturers wouldn't keep adding inches to their vehicles and expect lower delivery costs. Overpass heights would actually BE what the sign said. Until that day comes, we strongly urge the use of a height stick, lest that Sierra on your head rack turn into a convertible.

Blue Thunder Auto Tranport Equipment Auction Results

Model # of Units Price
2000 Sterling Boydstun 9178 2 $46,000
2000 Sterling Boydstun 9178 1 $56,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 8 $96,000
2000 Sterling Boydstun 9178 1 $54,000 $54,000
2001 FTL Boydstun 9101 5 $63,000 $315,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 3 $60,000 $180,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 4 $62,500 $250,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 9 $66,000 $594,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 11 $69,000 $759,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 12 $70,000 $840,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 12 $72,000 $864,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 3 $73,000 $219,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 4 $86,000 $344,000
2002 Sterling Boydstun 9178 10 $89,000 $890,000
2003 Sterling Boydstun 9178 4 $89,000 $356,000
2003 Sterling Boydstun 9178 9 $90,000 $810,000
2004 Sterling Boydstun 9178 1 $81,000 $81,000
2004 Sterling Boydstun 9178 9 $82,000 $738,000
2004 Sterling Boydstun 9178 3 $82,500 $247,500
2004 Sterling Boydstun 9178 8 $89,000 $712,000
2001 FTL 2004 Boydstun 9178 1 $44,000
2000 Sterling Boydstun 9178 4 $54,000
2004 Boydstun Enclosed 2 $52,000
2001 FTL Boydstun 9101 2 $44,000