in 2020, Cuppers Carrosserieën delivered an unusual trailer to VAEX. The insulated cattle truck with cross ventilation is fitted with a cooling engine and refrigerated body. "Livestock is transported comfortably during tropical weather conditions," says Johnny Cuppers.
Customers come to Cuppers in Lichtenvoorde because of their specialist knowledge and experience in sustainable transport. "Aerodynamic form and the lightest possible construction keep fuel consumption to a minimum," explains the manager of Cuppers Carrosserieën. "We make the cargo space as smooth and seamless as possible, from the point of view of animal welfare and of optimal, fast cleaning”.
Keep on trucking
At Cuppers, innovation is a interaction between the vehicle body builder and and the client. So, in close consultation with VAEX, the problem of livestock transport during excessive heat could be tackled. European transport legislation forbids livestock transport when the outside temperatures are higher than 35 degrees Celsius. "If this means that a truck has to stand still for one day per year, that is not really a problem. But these regulations can be problematic for livestock transports to southern European countries," explains Cupper. "With the two extra cooling techniques in the trailer, VAEX was able to provide responsible livestock transport during hot weather. A practical answer to tighter legislation.”
More advanced technology is required for cooling a cattle truck than for the air conditioning in a car. It is impossible to recirculate air in a cattle truck and mix it with cooled fresh air. "The formation of ammonia has a disastrous effect on air conditioning technology. Furthermore, pigs produce moisture and heat and that has to be conducted away," according to Cuppers. "And cooling a whole truck to a comfortable temperature for pigs would take up about 10% of the available floor space”.
To keep the cooling costs down, we decided to install a Carrier cooling engine in the bulkhead. Cooled air is directed through special channels to the side where the outside air enters through the ventilation openings. This reduces the air temperature by a few degrees. Furthermore, the flow of cooler air helps to evaporate extra moisture from the animals. "This cooled trailer makes it possible to transport livestock even at tropical temperatures”, says Cuppers. "In addition to the tens of thousands of Euros in extra investments, about 2% of the cargo space is forfeited in favour of improved animal welfare”.
Spraying system
Another cooling technique is wetting the outside of the cattle truck. When a livestock truck is in motion the effect of direct heat from the sun is cancelled by the driving wind. But when a truck stands still the hot sun can soon cause problems for the livestock. Cooling the bodywork with a spraying system reduces the radiation effect. "Evaporative water cools the outside of the trailer. But the fan systems need to keep running at full capacity to make sure that the level of relative humidity does not rise too high around the animals," explains Cuppers. "Therefore, placing sprinklers in the cargo area with animals is not such a good solution in that type of situation”. Cuppers believes that air-conditioned livestock transport will become more popular due to animal welfare needs and image improvement. "Transport of breeding cattle must comply with high standards for air quality and animal well-being such as virus filtering and maximum hygiene.
Farmers of fattening pigs have discovered that piglets delivered in air-conditioned trucks are ready for slaughter a week earlier, and they want nothing else now. But Cuppers believes that transport of fattening pigs needs to remain economically viable. "All extras on the trucks cost more money and this has to be earned back."