Dock bumpers can help you protect your warehouse, your dock equipment and trailers. Every product that enters and exits your warehouse or manufacturing facility goes through the dock, so it’s critical to protect it and keep every bay in good working order.

Types of Dock Bumpers

Generally, dock bumpers are situated so that a truck or trailer "bumps" against them rather than against your structure. This helps to protect your building, your dock equipment and the trailer or truck that uses your loading dock.

There are numerous categories of dock bumpers, and selecting a suitable dock bumper can be critical, depending upon the throughput of your loading dock. Installing dock bumpers that are too light can result in premature failure, while adding dock bumpers that are excessively heavy duty may be ineffective and could in fact lead to difficulties when securing trailers.

Not all facilities are the same, and the style of dock bumpers you pick will be dependent upon the approach, average trailer or vehicle height, daily volume and a variety of other variables. For loading docks where trucks or trailers have the potential to sway during loading or unloading operations, bumpers may be mounted in either a vertical or horizontal orientation.

Molded Bumpers (Light Duty): Bumpers built from molded rubber can offer protection for light traffic loading docks. What’s more, molded bumpers may be used within a building to defend doorways, walls and other building elements from pallet trucks, forklifts and other warehouse and dock equipment.

Molded rubber is can’t take as much abuse as other styles of dock bumpers and may chip or gouge over time. They may be a workable choice for your business if your dock doesn’t get a lot of truck traffic.

Laminated Bumpers (Medium Duty): Laminated bumpers have more substantial pads than molded bumpers and afford better shock absorption. They are constructed from strips of used truck tires that have been cut to size and sandwiched between steel plates.

These bumpers have a medium capacity for wear resistance and are versatile with regard to height, length and overall thickness. They are commonly used in operations equipped with pit levelers or edge-of-dock levelers, as they offer long-lasting protection for high traffic docks.

Steel Faced Bumpers (Heavy Duty): Steel faced dock bumpers are designed with a movable section of steel that covers a standard laminate bumper, preventing excessive abrasion of the layered pads. The durable metal enables trailers to press against the bumpers without deteriorating the rubber. Steel bumpers afford outstanding resilience, and generally are in service more than four times as long as unprotected laminate bumpers.

When Should Dock Bumpers Be Replaced?

While dock bumpers are meant to tolerate repeated impact, they do begin to wear after sustained use and should be swapped out from time to time. There are a few telltale signs that your dock bumpers should be replaced.

If the pads are worn by 50% or more, it's time for replacement. Worn pads do not provide enough impact absorption capacity to protect your dock. Pads that are heavily worn will eventually expose the metal plates that secure them, and this will likely elicit avoidable damage to both brackets and trailers.

Besides normal wear and tear, you should look for other damage like separating laminate layers, fractures, warped or rusting metal and other clear deficiencies. Scheduled bumper inspections are a practice, just as you would routinely inspect your levelers and other dock equipment.

Truck Dock Bumpers Near Me

For questions or a dock bumper price quote, contact a loading dock equipment professional at Raymond West today.

Raymond West's Nogales facility serves Santa Cruz County and Pima County, including Nogales, Patagonia, Tucson, South Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita and surrounding areas

Raymond West | Nogales Material Handling Equipment Supplier

480 N Mariposa Rd C
Nogales, AZ 85621
(520) 281-4125