After installing tie-downs and other hardware, Western Distributing dedicated one refrigerated trailer for auto transport. Although it can transport only three vehicles rather than six, the trailer can be used to haul produce on return loads when no automobile loads are available.
In February 2004, Western Distributing Transportation Corp. was presented with a sudden opportunity for diversification. Most of the Denver-based carrier’s 210-truck fleet is dedicated to hauling produce in refrigerated trailers, although WDTC at the time owned a few small divisions involved in armored transport, flatbed and towing.
A personal friend of WDTC’s owners owned an enclosed automobile transport business and was looking for an exit strategy. The operation hauled high-dollar value automobiles around the country, and many of its clients were celebrities and professional athletes. WDTC took the plunge, buying the business and retaining its former owner, Leroy Koop, as its manager.
WDTC was faced almost immediately with some decisions, says Dino Guadagni, WDTC’s vice president and head of all the transportation divisions, including automobile transport. Perhaps the most important financial decision was what to do about the trailers, which were leased and in some disrepair. They were about eight years old and rusting badly, he says.
Guadagni looked at the standard equipment for enclosed automobile transport and was struck at how ill-designed it was for the task. “The trailers that everyone else uses are Kentucky dry vans outfitted to haul cars,” he says. “It’s not the most efficient configuration. They are basically drop-decks with sides on them.”
In addition to operating a trucking company, Guadagni’s father has competed in drag racing for about 18 years. For most of that time, the family has purchased its racing trailers from Competition Trailers, a custom specialty trailer manufacturer based in Henderson, Texas.
Guadagni quickly realized that the trailer the team used to transport its drag racer around the country was an ideal design for an enclosed auto transporter. The problem with the common drop-deck design is that it doesn’t maximize the available trailer height. With a standard trailer, for example, transporting a large SUV might reduce the total number of vehicles that could be hauled. That’s important, Guadagni notes, because luxury SUVs rapidly are becoming a vehicle of choice for the wealthy. Another limitation is the air ride suspension used in certain premium makes, such as Cadillac, Mercedes or Lexus. Those suspensions tend to flex, requiring more vertical clearance. “You need every inch of the drop belly,” Guadagni says.
