3 VHB™ Tapes for Smooth-Sided Trailers 1 Smooth look, smooth ride with confidence 2 3 4
3M™ VHB™ Tapes – giving trailer buyers what they want: smooth trailers Whether they haul horses, tools, equipment or racing vehicles, trailer owners know what they want. 3M solicited third party research with two primary groups of trailer owners and here are the results: 5 What horse trailer owners want 1. Durability 2. Horse comfort and safety 3. Aesthetics 6 What cargo trailer owners want 1. Durability 2.
Smooth Sided (3M™ VHB™ Tape) vs. Mechanically-Fastened 11 12 Compare the reflections of the smooth-sided trailer at left made with 3M™ VHB™ Tape and the mechanicallyfastened trailer at right. Smooth sides convey a professional appearance and quality construction, as well as improve the look of graphics.
How is a Smooth Trailer Made? 16 For the last 15 years, many trailer manufacturers have relied on 3M™ VHB™ Tape for assembly of their smooth-sided trailers. As seen above, VHB tape is used to replace screws, rivets, welds, and liquid adhesives. 15 17 The tape will bond side skins to posts. And it is used on overlap seams for skin to skin bonding. VHB tape has elastic properties that absorb shock and flex for reliability against wind, vibration, and thermal expansion/contraction.
Optimizing Smooth Panel Attachment with Unconstrained Construction Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Traditional Mechanically Fastened Constrained construction with 3M™ VHB™ Tape Unconstrained construction with 3M™ VHB™ Tape . Screws . . Post Panel Post Panel Post Panel Tape Tape . Screws Screws 20 . Tape 21 . 3M™ VHB™ Tape eliminates the concentrated stress points of mechanical fasteners (Fig. 1) that can weaken with time and vibration.
Third Party Testing of the Unconstrained Design 25 24 To prove the durability of the unconstrained design, 3M sent two trailers to the Bosch Automotive Proving Grounds in South Bend, Indiana. The side panels on one test trailer were attached with 3M™ VHB™ Tapes. Panels on the other test trailer were mechanically fastened. An independent test team at Bosch performed durability testing over various road conditions and exposure to heat cycling.
Thermal Cycling Durability Testing After 36,000 miles each trailer was placed in an environmental chamber and exposed repeatedly to temperature cycling. Heaters inside the enclosure radiated up to 190°F to simulate the sun’s heat against the trailer. 30 cycles were repeated for each side of the trailer in the graphics below. Panels with 3M ™ VHB™ Tape are at the bottom while mechanically fastened panels are at the top. Thermographic imaging below quantifies the deformation.
Noise and Vibration in Horse Trailers In other testing, an independent noise vibration expert found that a trailer assembled with 3M™ VHB™ Tape was up to 41% quieter at highway speeds and had up to 30% less vibration than a mechanically fastened trailer. The confidence of a warranty Based on the track record and recent testing results, 3M now offers a 36-month warranty to qualified manufacturers with properly assembled panels.
