Felling Trailers Delivers a Custom Solution to Canadian Municipality

SAUK CENTRE, Minn. (March 30, 2026) — For the city of Leithbridge, a Canadian municipality, efficient utility fleet operations meant balancing cost, safety and flexibility. Their electric operations team faced the challenge of transporting utility poles, streetlight poles, transformers and other heavy materials across active municipal worksites. Standard pole trailers couldn’t accommodate their diverse load requirements. Equipment trailers couldn’t handle the overall length of the utility poles. Their existing trailers could no longer keep pace. They needed an upgrade: one trailer capable of handling demanding payloads, accommodating long pole lengths, and withstanding the rigors of daily utility work.

The city issued a request for quotation with detailed specifications. What they needed was a manufacturer willing to take on the challenge and capable of engineering a purpose-built solution, on spec, on budget and built to last. NCCHD, a Felling Trailers dealer serving the region, received the city’s RFQ and immediately brought Felling into the conversation. Mark Rapp, Felling’s utility telecom product specialist, collaborated with Kirk May of NCCHD, and the city of Lethbridge through extensive back-and-forth clarification sessions.

Trailer Specifications: How They Were Built

Two custom FT-24-3 UPT (Utility Pole/Material Trailers), engineered specifically for the city of Lethbridge. Every feature was driven by one question: What does this crew actually need to do the job?

Capacity

• GVWR: 27,600 pounds | GAWR: 24,000 pounds
• Cargo capacity: 19,700 pounds | Empty weight: 7,900 pounds
• Axles: (3) 8,000 pound oil bath | Tires: 215/75R 17.5 H, 8 bolt plate wheels

Telescopic Tongue 

• Retracted: 32 feet | Extended: 42 feet with 10-foot telescopic tongue
• 2 ¼-inch pin with slot and tab-locking system, no linchpin required
• Transport utility poles up to 67 feet in length
• Wiring: Heavy-duty energy chain (cat track) inside tongue

Pole Handling & Load Securement

• Bolster: (3) 5-inch double C-channel bolsters (tongue, front bed, rear bed) for poles to rest on
• Lock stanchion: (2) 21-inch-tall sliding, removable lever lock stanchions per bolster
• Streetlight bar/cradle: 9-foot removable horizontal cross bar rear bolster for davit poles
• Tie-downs: C-track with (5) 4-inch sliding barrel winches, (5) 4-inch x 30-foot nylon straps with flat hooks 
• Tie-downs: Rub rails with stake pockets on both sides

Main Deck/Cargo Area

• Deck: 32 feet long by 102 inches wide, ample room to haul transformers and miscellaneous materials
• Deck type: 2-inch white oak with antiskid coating for load stability and crew safety
• (2) 48-inch aluminum toolboxes at rear, store removable pole light bar, tie-downs, tools
• Traffic advisory light bar with multisetting with control module in toolbox

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