TaylorMade PGA Trailer
The TaylorMade PGA Tour Workshop trailer is our first step into the Professional Golf Association arena. TaylorMade approached JS Fraser in early 2007 after seeing our work in Formula 1, once again, a global sport manufacturing icon was looking for something that would stand from the crowd and has turned to JS Fraser for a solution.
Once again we used the Autodesk Inventor parametric 3D CAD system for initial solid model design of the trailer, this allowed us to explore ideas for the layout and operation of the trailer as well as providing the customer with detailed visual images of what they could expect the finished vehicle to look like, crucially, this also allowed us to agree changes in the design to avoid potential problems before the expense of real world production began.
Sheetmetal design was also used, this allows accurate 'flat pattern' sheets to be produced, these can then be folded into shape, the level of base level design on this project allowed us to actually start producing the aluminium skin panels before the fabrication of the steel framework that the skin panels fit over started, this means that vital sections of the vehicle can be produced and made ready before the chassis arrives from the manufacturer.
The workshop trailer has a high quality external skin made from individual aluminium panels strengthened with honeycomb, a technique we first tried on the Honda F1 engineering trailers. Both sides expand outwards 1m, this is done hydraulically and is fully automatic, each pod features a built in lobby area, self folding floors which deploy automatically at the same time the pods expand, all the crew are required to do to set the vehicle up ready for use is to level the trailer using the independent hydraulic legs, deploy the pods and attach the steps, the whole process is completed in minutes.
The chassis features an electronic suspension system to cope with uneven ground at some golf courses, the suspension can be raised and lowered by pressing a button in the cab. As well as a sophisticated alarm system the generator, audio and other power systems have data links back to the UK, these systems can be monitored and any faults can be analysed while the vehicle is anywhere in the world.
Golf World were allowed access to the truck, you can download their article about it Here
Quote from Sean Brady, taken fromt he Golf World article.
In terms of the look and finish there is nothing else out there like this" explains Sean Brady, TaylorMade's Tour Manager. "The build quality is way ahead of everyone else, it's Formula 1 standard, they've listened to everything we've said and they have always come up with alternatives if there has been a problem".
"In the workshop we were next to Ferrari, Renault and Honda, those guys have been in to discuss things, it's been fascinating for us to compare the likenesses across the two sports. We are now the biggest company in terms of staff players and product usage, so we wanted a facility that reflected that - and this does the job nicely"
There are more images of the TaylorMade truck in our Gallery
You can also read more about this vehicle on TalorMades own website Here.
