Long Eaton has a long history of building vehicles, if not road ones. Railway wagon manufacturing was one of the two industries that came to employ many people in the growing town, alongside lace-making, and Toton Sidings, a large railway yard, grew up just north of it. The trailers and rigids working from the town today need the same practical attention when their bodywork gets damaged.
The everyday causes
Most curtain and body damage comes from routine work: a forklift tine catching the rear or side of a trailer, a load moving on a roundabout and bulging the curtain, straps and buckles wearing out from daily fastening, rain getting into a small tear, and slow-speed bumps in yards and at bays. None of it is dramatic. All of it can take a trailer out of service.
Why it can't wait
A torn curtain cannot secure a load, and a buckle or strap that will not fasten is no use at all. DVSA publishes guidance on securing loads, and a trailer with damaged load security fittings can be stopped from continuing its journey at a roadside check. On the M1 or the A52, wind at speed works on a small tear quickly, so a split noticed on a walkaround in Long Eaton is far cheaper to repair that day than after another week of motorway running.
What we repair
On the curtain side, that means the curtain itself, its buckles and straps, and the fittings that hold it all together. On the body, it means panels, gates and doors. And where metal has cracked or bent, we weld: bodies, frames, brackets and fittings on trailers, rigids and light commercial bodies. Structural damage, or anything that compromises load security, is the kind of thing an inspector will mark, so it is best put right before the PMI or test date.
Repair or replace
We will tell you straight which makes sense. Some curtains are well worth patching; some have reached the end. You should not pay for a new part when a repair would do, or for a repair that won't last.
Where the work happens
Some smaller repairs can be carried out at your site in Long Eaton. Welding and larger repairs are better done in our workshop at Calke Mill Farm, Melbourne, off junction 3 of the A50, open for planned work Monday to Friday from 07:30 to 17:00. If a service or inspection is due soon, we can book the bodywork in at the same visit so the trailer is only off the road once.
Getting it booked
Ring 01332 916028 with the trailer or vehicle and a description of the damage, and send a photo if you can. It helps us decide whether the job is one for your yard or our workshop.
