Walking Floors

Walking floors in trailer truck beds are engineered systems consisting of a series of parallel, slatted aluminum or steel panels that move in a precise, sequenced pattern to automate the loading and unloading of bulk materials without tipping the trailer.

Each floor panel is mounted on bearings and connected to a hydraulic drive system—typically powered by the truck’s PTO (power take-off)—that pushes and retracts groups of slats in cycles: when all slats move forward together, they advance the load, and when they retract, only one-third of the slats move at a time to hold the cargo in place.

This three-phase motion allows for smooth, controlled unloading of goods such as wood chips, agricultural produce, recyclables, or municipal waste.

Walking floor designs often use high-strength extruded aluminum for reduced weight and corrosion resistance, and are sealed with polymer edge strips to prevent material intrusion into the mechanism.

Their efficiency and stability make them especially valuable for operations requiring unloading in confined or uneven spaces where traditional tipper trailers are unsafe.