2025 - Volume #49, Issue #1, Page #25
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Big Ag Trailers Built To Order
“We’ve had customers bring in trailers from the 1970s to be rebuilt,” says Danette Fernandes, CEO and daughter of company founder Dan Coelho. “A lot of times, we put a new bed and racks on but keep the original frame, axle and suspension. We strive to make a good product that’s more heavy-duty than most on the market.”
Side-dump units are available as semi or pull trailers, with 4 or 5-ft. racks as standard. They feature an I-beam and tubing main frame with a high-strength bottom strap and reinforced rub-rail bed with tubing cross members at the hinge points. These provide rigidity while dumping and a minimum of flex or uneven rise.
Front and rear tapered ends on racks release the load as the bed rises for smoother, faster off-loading. Top hinged doors with 16-in. steel flaps extend the bed on the dumping side, keeping the load as far as possible from the trailer and its wheels. An automatic latch opens the doors as the bed lifts, allowing the driver to remain safely in the cab during dumping.
The family-owned and managed company has built similar trailers for farmers since 1964. Company founder Dan Coelho built his first trailer for his dad while in ag shop in high school. Coelho was off and running when his older brother asked for a tilt-bed trailer his senior year. His first shop was one he built with recycled wood. He soon expanded to repurpose the family dairy barn. Within 10 years, he was building silage truck dump bodies with special silage racks and side-dump trailers for hauling fertilizer.
Coelho describes the key to the company’s longevity and success on the company website. “From the beginning, I strived to build silage boxes and side-dump trailers with unique labor-saving and safety devices,” says Coelho. “Today, DANCO has the most safety and labor-saving devices for controlling doors, hydraulic tops, latches, side door closures, etc., on silage boxes and side-dump trailers.”
The company has gone from building one-off trailers for family members to sending trailers to customers as far off as Maine and Mexico. However, some things haven’t changed. Trailers and truck boxes are still built on the family farm. While the old shop and dairy barn are still in use, most work is done in a 14,000-sq. ft. shop added in 1997.
“We have around a dozen full-time employees,” says Fernandes. “At one time, we expanded with more employees and a large inventory, but we felt we lost our quality control. Today, we concentrate on quality and build to order. Our customers understand that we can require a longer lead time, but they know it’s worth the wait.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, DANCO Trailers Inc., 18631 W. Bradbury Rd., Turlock, Calif. 95380 (ph 209-634-7223; info@DANCOtrailers.com; www.DANCOtrailers.com).
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