When you brand a trailer, “Champion,” it means that it never gets a day off. It never stops improving because it never stops competing. And today’s freight challenges weigh-in as the heaviest the industry has ever experienced. The latest evolution of the Great Dane Champion dry van lineup is tougher and slimmer with a lighter overall weight. Today’s Champion Sheet & Post van is 120 pounds lighter while the Champion Composite van is 300 pounds lighter, thanks to design changes to the front wall, side walls, rear frame and upper coupler.
Improvements include:
- A top rail to side panel joint that improves sealing and simplifies assembly
- Common front wall sheet width and wrapped front top rail
- Bottom rail updates that include a new water-tight flex seal and an improved design to accept the thinner composite floors
Another goal of the design changes was to create common parts among the Champion models, improving serviceability, with a simpler design that is more durable and water-resistant to protect your product.
One of the most notable features of the updated Champion offering is the rear impact guard, RIG30, which has been updated to meet the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) 30-percent offset test. The new RIG30 sports thicker, stronger top plates, a taller, stronger back brace and a larger, stronger tube. In addition, the traditional bolt-on vertical design of the RIG30 will allow Great Dane to offer a retrofit option for 2007 and later models.
