Key points
- ArrowXL is replacing its step-frame double-deckers with 45 Don-Bur Lifting Deck Adapt trailers offering 18% more floor space.
- In theory, 18% more space means around 15% fewer trips for the same volume, with savings on fuel, tolls and driver hours.
- Double-deckers pay off for light, bulky, non-stackable goods on regular routes.
- For heavy or mixed loads, the extra cost and weight can wipe out the benefit.
ArrowXL, which joined France’s Jacky Perrenot group, delivers bulky items to homes across the UK: white goods, furniture, beds, mattresses, TVs and garden equipment. These products come in very different sizes, so the trailer usually fills up long before it reaches its weight limit.
What the new trailers offer
The Don-Bur Lifting Deck Adapt has a three-quarter-length lifting deck at the front and a full-height loading area at the rear. Its main features:
- 18% more usable floor space than ArrowXL’s existing step-frame double-deckers,
- an upper deck rated at 8,000 kg (uniformly distributed load),
- an electro-hydraulic system to raise and lower the deck,
- a height of 4.95 m at the front, with a sloping roof towards the rear.
According to ArrowXL procurement and supply chain lead Ian Pearson, the trailers give the company more capacity and flexibility. The full-height rear section also lets larger items be loaded later in the process.
The maths behind it
The logic is simple. If a trailer carries 18% more, an operator needs around 15% fewer trips to move the same volume: roughly 85 trips instead of 100. Every trip saved means less fuel, fewer tolls and fewer driver hours.
That matters more than ever. UK diesel has passed £2 a litre, and the Road Haulage Association says hauliers are paying around £350 more per truck each week than before the Middle East conflict. With margins of around 2%, fitting more into each trip is one of the few savings an operator controls.
When a double-decker makes sense
Double-deck trailers work best when:
- the load is light but bulky, so space runs out before weight does,
- goods cannot be stacked, as with many retail, furniture and parcel loads,
- the trailer runs regular hub-to-hub routes with full loads, ideally in both directions,
- loading docks and staff are set up for two decks.
That is why they are common among UK retailers, parcel networks and home delivery firms.
When it does not
For many operators the numbers do not add up:
- Heavy goods: the lifting deck adds weight and reduces payload, so a dense load gains nothing.
- Mixed or irregular work: if the trailer often runs part-full or carries tall items, the second deck sits unused.
- Cost: double-deckers cost more to buy and maintain, and loading takes more planning and time.
- Height: trailers close to 5 metres need careful route planning to avoid low bridges.
The continental version
Geography matters too. The UK allows much taller trailers than most of continental Europe, where the limit is usually 4 metres. Manufacturers there work within that limit: a double-deck Vario trailer offers 62 pallet spaces, and Germany’s CTV plans to start series production of its 66-pallet FUTURO trailer in early 2027.
The takeaway for operators: before ordering, check what actually limits your loads today, space or weight, and how often your trailers run full. If it is space, and the routes are regular, a double-decker can be one of the fastest ways to cut the cost of every pallet you move.
