Have some questions about Liftgate Trailers.

Very curious, as I'm thinking along the same lines. A driver with Landstar told me once he was getting very high paying loads with a lift gate. These were multiple drop loads and the trailer was his of course, but the money he was talking about was extremely good.

 

Yes it can be used for bumping docks for the occasional liftgate deliveries.

The liftgate in your pic is a slide out liftgate that is used more for swing doors, like the one in this video....



It'll give a more flush seal to the docks compared to a roll-up door that has a liftgate. There tends to be a large gap with liftgate trailers and it doesn't completely seal to the docks like swing doors does. That's why some DC's won't load liftgate trailers...for safety reasons. Plus there's no place to latch the hook if they do use them locking arms instead of wheel chocks. But this guy in the video MAY have a solution to that....



But if you're gonna to use the trailer PRIMARILY for liftgate deliveries, I would probably go with a tuck under liftgate with roll-up doors. There's a reason why practically all LTL P&D/City Drivers use this type of configuration...for speed and ease of use. It makes it easier for bumping docks instead of jumping out at every stop to open the swing doors...especially if you're backing in off a busy street. This video shows what most LTL City Drivers use for liftgate deliveries.....

 

I've had lift gate trailers for a long time, they can't lock it to the dock and only have issues at the following places - GM, Ford, Cat, Bridgestone and some food distributors - these are the places that give my drivers crap about it but still load the truck.

 

Yes they are used for both regular shipments and specialized (delivery with no dock).

Nothing gets into the way.