Dock bumpers can help you safeguard your dock area, your dock equipment and trailers. Every product that passes through your warehouse or production facility flows through the dock, so it is important to maintain it and keep every bay in good shape.

Types of Dock Bumpers

Typically, dock bumpers are situated so that a truck or trailer "bumps" against them rather than against your structure. This protects your building, your dock equipment and the truck or trailer that makes use of your loading dock.

There are many types of dock bumpers, and selecting the correct bumper can be an important decision, depending on the volume of your loading dock. Adding dock bumpers that are too light can result in an early demise, while adding dock bumpers that are excessively heavy duty may be ineffective and could in fact lead to difficulties when securing trailers and trucks.

All docks are different, so the type of dock bumpers you pick will be established by the approach, average trailer or vehicle height, daily volume and a variety of additional variables. For loading docks where trucks or trailers have the potential to tilt slightly or swing during loading movements, bumpers may be attached in either a vertical or horizontal orientation.

Molded Bumpers (Light Duty): Dock bumpers formed from molded rubber can supply protection for low-traffic loading docks. What’s more, they are sometimes used on the interior of a building to safeguard walls, doorways and other building components from forklifts and other material handling equipment.

Molded rubber is the least durable option of various dock bumper styles, and is more prone to chipping or gouging. They may be a viable option for your operation if your loading dock doesn’t get a high volume of truck traffic.

Laminated Bumpers (Medium Duty): Laminated bumpers have more substantial pads than molded bumpers and afford increased shock absorption. They are made from cut-to-size strips of recycled truck tires that are mounted between steel brackets.

Laminated bumpers have a reasonably good capacity for wear resistance and are versatile when it comes to thickness, length, and height. They are often applied on docks configured with pit levelers or edge-of-dock levelers, as they offer enduring protection for high traffic loading docks.

Steel Faced Bumpers (Heavy Duty): Steel faced loading dock bumpers are equipped with a movable piece of steel that sheaths a conventional laminate bumper, stopping heavy abrasion of the laminated rubber pads. The durable metal permits trailers to press against the bumpers without breaking down the rubber. Steel faced bumpers afford superior wear resistance, and typically last up to four times longer than uncovered laminate bumpers.

When Should Dock Bumpers Be Replaced?

Although dock bumpers are intended to hold up against repeated impact, they do wear down after prolonged use and should be renewed from time to time. There are some things to watch for that indicate that your dock bumpers must be replaced.

When you see pad erosion of more than 50%, it's time for replacement. Worn pads do not offer adequate impact absorption capacity to protect your warehouse. Pads that are overly worn will eventually wear down to the steel brackets that hold them in place, and this can cause unnecessary damage to both brackets and trailers.

In addition to general wear, you should inspect bumpers for further damage like separating laminate layers, fractures, bent or corroding brackets and other obvious deficiencies. It's a good idea to schedule bumper inspections, just as you would routinely inspect your levelers and other loading dock equipment.

Truck Dock Bumpers Near Me

For questions or a dock bumper price quote, talk to a dock equipment expert at Raymond West today.

Raymond West's Orange County service area includes Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and all surrounding areas.

Raymond West | Orange County Material Handling Equipment Supplier

Orange County, CA
(714) 790-9300