New Talon Trailer Restraint Provides Next-Generation Safety for Loading Docks
After much preparation and anticipation, 4Front Engineered Solutions has officially introduced the company’s newest innovation in loading dock safety equipment: the Talon trailer restraint.
The newest Kelley-branded offering, Talon isn’t just any trailer restraint. Talon is the next-generation approach to securing docked trucks, delivering key improvements in safe and effective trailer loading and unloading.
Needed: a different approach to trailer restraint
Due to pending National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations affecting the design of trailer rear impact guard (RIG) bars, many trailer restraints are no longer compatible or are simply less effective at restraining and releasing trailers causing increased risk. As a result, newer-style five-sided RIG bars with pentagonal cross-sections or tilted configurations require a different approach to trailer restraint design.
To keep redesigned RIG bars more secure during loading and unloading trailers, the Talon trailer restraint from 4Front Engineered Solutions provides true four-sided RIG bar capture, which is much more effective than two or three-sided capture.
Talon also does its job effectively as the first trailer restraint without powered hydraulics or a motor, resulting in less maintenance costs, reliability, and a lower total cost of ownership.
“The addition of Talon cements Kelley as one of the leaders in loading dock safety solutions. Its clever design means that it works better with a wider range of trailers, cutting down on complexity while making it the most advanced trailer restraint system out there,” said Ryan Talbot, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at 4Front Engineered Solutions.
Not just a trailer restraint redesign
“As the RIG bar has evolved, so too has the Kelley brand in terms of our approach to trailer restraint design, according to Rich Schlesinger, Director, U.S. Distribution Sales at 4Front Engineered Solutions. “While other trailer restraint manufacturers are merely iterating on their existing products to accommodate multiple RIG bar designs, Talon doesn’t represent just a modification of an existing restraint. Talon was designed from the ground up. It represents an entirely novel industry approach to keeping a trailer securely restrained at the loading dock and then releasing it with no issues, regardless of a RIG bar’s design.”
Instead of a trailer restraint’s hook contacting only two or three sides of a RIG bar, and much like the Talons on a bird of prey, the Talon trailer restraint makes complete contact with and surrounds all five surfaces of the pentagonal RIG bar while also eliminating restraint release failure (commonly known as hook pinch).
Many trailer restraints have anywhere from two to eight inches of play (running room) between the restraint and RIG bar during forklift movement. To eliminate running room issues, as a trailer moves toward the loading dock bumpers and engages with the Talon trailer restraint, it will increasingly ratchet itself until it fully grabs the RIG bar and locks it in place. External red and green LED indicators inform the driver whether the restraint is still engaged or disengaged so the trailer can safely depart.
So in summary, Talon’s primary benefits include:
Compatibility with ALL existing and planned RIG bar designs
Talon’s revolutionary design with patented upper hook effectively captures all known four and newer five-sided RIG bar designs on the market today, as well as those RIG bar designs currently in the planning stages.
No more restraint release failure
No matter what level of pressure a RIG bar is placed under, Talon’s unique proprietary locking mechanism ensures that the restraint will release as intended at the appropriate time, every time. This provides a safe departure for both the truck and trailer.
Eliminates trailer “hop”
True four-sided capture eliminates trailer “hop” when a RIG bar hops over the restraint and the trailer becomes detached. Talon’s 4-sided hook system encapsulates the RIG bar, preventing it from hopping over the hook and releasing the trailer from the loading dock.
Eliminates trailer movement or “creep”
Talon’s unique 3-position slide lock design positions the RIG bar close to the loading dock which keeps the trailer from “creeping” forward when a forklift is driven into it. This leads to a more stable loading environment and eliminates the danger resulting from a dock leveler lip falling off the trailer bed and the forklift colliding with the leveler when it reverses out of the trailer.
Make your move to the next level
Based on 4Front Engineered Solutions’ deep industry experience combined with working through multiple design iterations, we firmly believe that we’ve arrived at the ultimate trailer restraint. The capability to lock in any type of RIG bar in use today, keep it tightly restrained, and then releasing it efficiently may sound simple, but Talon is the only trailer restraint on the market that can make such a promise.
When your warehouse, distribution center, or manufacturing facility is ready to make the move to the next level with the most effective trailer restraint approach in the industry, Talon is now available to order through the Kelley distribution network.