Cattle Trailers
The Merritt Cattle Drive provides our customers with the biggest box on the road, loaded with key animal welfare features to deliver the highest quality product and are available in multiple axle configurations.
Standard Cattle Trailer Features
Roof Construction
Merritt’s roof is designed to haul livestock. Built with .050 aluminum skin fully riveted to the roof bows, it will resist flexing and stop costly roof repairs.
Welded Floors with 3″ I-Beam Cross Members
The strongest floor in the business is built with 3″ I-beam welded to a .125 thick floor plate. I-beam cross members don’t flatten out after years of use, and with no rivets to vibrate loose, the floor will stay in place.
Sheet and Post Design
High-grade aluminum alloys that are heat-treated to resist dents and tears. This also provides unmatched inside width for maximum livestock comfort.
Winter Panel Kits
Lightweight, low-maintenance and easy to clean make this the best way to help ensure biosecurity along with animal comfort.
Bull Nose
Merritt’s bull nose is an innovative design that couples good looks with better fuel economy, resulting in a smoother inside surface that doesn’t bruise livestock.
Roll-Up Door/Swing Gate
Keeps livestock where you want them. Tube-style gate closes off the rear door for easier cattle handling.
Steel Sub Frame
All Merritt trailers are built with a welded steel subframe, designed to maximize strength, durability, and the overall longevity of your trailer. Our steel frames undergo a two-part painting process, providing enhanced protection against corrosion and electrolysis, ensuring your trailer remains reliable and resilient for years to come.
Single-Handed Drop Ramp
Drop ramps at the nose and doghouse create an easy one-handed operation creating a safer work space for drivers.
Superior Ventilation
The 3” round hole creates an air vortex that literally sucks air into the trailer as it travels down the road. No other design can create this effect. The double-embossed large viewing hole will resist dents and allow for better visual inspection of your livestock. Using punched side doors your Merritt will have superior ventilation that provides positive airflow and ventilation in any conditions.
The Biggest Box On The Road
Merritt has always believed that cattle being hauled should come off the trailer clean, with less bruising and stress. This way of thinking has always led us to have a slightly more expensive trailer but now with more interior clearance than our competition. This has become more apparent with Merritt’s leadership in designing and promoting the “DEEPER BACK END” trailer designs. We now have three backend styles to choose from that will give you the best-condition cattle coming out of the truck.
The Strongest Deck in the Industry – Top View
Merritt uses a thicker .125 tread plate with six stiffener corrugations in the floor to reduce slipping and split outs by livestock and dipping over time. Longitudinal floor plates eliminate unnecessary butt joint seams in the floor which have been proven to crack when the floor flexes. The longitudinal seam is overlapped and welded both top & bottom to give you the strongest deck in the industry. No floor rivets mean no bio-security problems for you.
The Strongest Deck in the Industry – Bottom View
Our 3” custom I-Beam cross-member that is welded in has outperformed any “Z” or “U” style riveted in cross-members in every way. Thicker where it needs to be and resistant to torsional stress, it is stronger, lighter and provides a solid base using 13” centers for the deck structure.
Popular Cattle Trailer Options
Crank-Up Front Deck
No need to throw deck any more. Two or three-position crank-up decks are fast and easy and provide better animal footing than regular planks. A solid deck section means less freezing and worn hinges after years of use.
Extra Divide Gates
Need more compartments to haul split loads? Adding extra center gates is the answer.
Front Funnel Gate
Tube or panel style for better and safer livestock handling. Double-locking stainless steel pins mean more strength when you need it. Shown with optional threshold cleating.
Roll-Up Door/Swing Gate
Keeps livestock where you want them. Tube style gate closes off rear door for easier cattle handling. Completely removable if needed and works with the main access door.
Stainless Steel Sheeting
Shine up your front & rear with the high-polished, 14 gauge, full sheet & post stainless steel package. This is not a glue-on or wrap-around.
Threshold Deck Cleating
Deck cleating at ramps and thresholds increases traction and allows for better footing at these critical areas.
Wall Straddle Angles
Keeps you out of the way of the loading and unloading area.
Technical Specs
Length:
48’ to 53’ total lengths
Width:
102” total width; 100” inside width
Height:
13’6”, 13’ 7/16” and 14’ tall
Nose:
Innovative tapered front nose; deck boards or crank lift and tilt options
Side Sheet:
.080 aluminum walls, extruded aluminum post
LED Lights:
2” mirrored truck light, ¾” penny-style lights, load lights
Roofs:
0.50" aluminum skinned fully riveted to roof bows
Flooring:
Standard with .125 high grip diamond plate or optional .157 flat flooring welded to 3" I-beam construction
Gates:
Panel and tube-style gates with multiple hardware options
Rear Frame:
Stationary, ¾, or full laydown
Decks:
Standard two-deck pots, or multiple hog and sheep decks options with varying deck clearance
Suspensions:
Hendrickson Intraax air ride suspensions
Axles:
Hendrickson 22,500 # axles, 5” round with auto slack adjusters
Brakes:
Extended life 16.5 x 7 air brakes, and Maxx22T air disc
Hubs:
Aluminum Hubs – 10-hole uni-mount
Drums:
Centrifuge brake drums
Tires:
Michelin and Goodyear tires
See how quality, design, durability, lightweight and animal health and handling can all come together.
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