Dock bumpers can help you safeguard your warehouse, your dock equipment and trailers. Every product that moves in and out of your warehouse or manufacturing facility goes through the dock, so it’s important to preserve it and keep every bay in good working order.

Types of Dock Bumpers

Dock bumpers are generally situated so that a trailer or truck runs into the bumper before hitting your structure. This safeguards your facility, your dock equipment and the trailer or truck that makes use of your loading dock.

There are quite a few types of dock bumpers, and selecting an appropriate dock bumper can be consequential, depending on the workload of your dock operation. Adding dock bumpers that are too light can result in premature failure, while adding dock bumpers that are thicker than necessary will be ineffective and might actually cause troubles when docking trailers and trucks.

The kind of dock bumpers you pick will be established by the average vehicle or trailer height, the approach, overall volume and several other variables. For facilities where trucks or trailers have the potential to move up and down during loading operations, bumpers may be attached in either a vertical or horizontal orientation.

Molded Bumpers (Light Duty): Bumpers made from molded rubber can supply defense for low-traffic loading docks. In addition, these bumpers may be used within a building to defend doorways, walls and other structural elements from forklifts and other warehouse and dock equipment.

Molded rubber is prone to chipping and gouging with heavy use and is not as wear resistant as other types of bumpers. If your loading dock doesn’t receive a lot of truck traffic, they could be a viable option for your business.

Laminated Bumpers (Medium Duty): Laminated bumpers have superior shock absorption capabilities because they have more substantial pads. They are constructed from strips of recycled truck tires that have been cut to size and mounted between steel brackets.

They have a moderate capacity for wear resistance and are versatile when it comes to height, length and overall thickness. They are often used on docks set up with pit levelers or edge-of-dock equipment, as they offer long-lasting defense for high volume docks.

Steel Faced Bumpers (Heavy Duty): Steel faced loading dock bumpers are designed with a movable section of steel that covers a common laminate bumper, preventing heavy erosion of the laminated rubber pads. The durable metal permits trailers to press against the bumpers without breaking down the rubber. Steel faced bumpers afford outstanding wear resistance, and generally last up to four times longer than uncovered laminate bumpers.

When Should Dock Bumpers Be Replaced?

Despite the fact that dock bumpers are designed to tolerate repeated impact, they do wear down after prolonged use and must be renewed periodically. There are some key indicators that tell you that your dock bumpers need to be refreshed.

If the pads are worn by 50% or more, it's time for replacement. Worn pads do not offer enough impact absorption capacity to protect your dock. Excessively worn pads will sooner or later expose the metal plates that anchor them, and this will likely cause unnecessary damage to both brackets and trailers.

In addition to general wear and tear, you should look for further damage like separating laminates, cracking, warped or rusting brackets and other evident defects. Scheduled bumper inspections are a practice, just as you would regularly inspect your levelers and other dock equipment.

Truck Dock Bumpers Near Me

If you need to have your dock bumpers inspected or replaced, talk to a dock equipment expert at Raymond West today.

Raymond West's Calexico facility serves Imperial County and Yuma County, Including Calexico, Brawley, El Centro, San Luis, Yuma and surrounding areas.

Raymond West | Calexico Material Handling Equipment Supplier

285 Rood Rd
Calexico, CA 92231
(760) 768-8700