2 min read - 21 Oct, 2026
Royal Mail expands fleet with 261 UK-built Don-Bur trailers
Royal Mail is adding 261 UK-built Don-Bur trailers to its fleet during 2026, including 160 lifting decks, marking 20 years since Don-Bur built its first prototype for the postal operator.
The programme also includes 50 box vans equipped with retractable tail-lifts and 51 box vans configured for dock loading, continuing a strong partnership between the two companies.
In June 2006, Don-Bur built a one-off lifting deck prototype for Royal Mail. Two decades later, Royal Mail is one of the UK’s largest operators of lifting deck trailers, with a further 160 joining its fleet this year.
The latest lifting deck trailers accommodate up to 95 roll cages across two decks, with 46 positions on the hydraulically operated upper deck and 49 below. By making greater use of internal volume, the design maximises carrying capacity for loads that reach their space limit before their maximum permitted weight.
Royal Mail is expanding its fleet with 261 new UK-built Don-Bur trailers arriving this year / Picture: Don-Bur
Successive generations of Royal Mail lifting deck trailers have evolved to improve carrying capacity, payload and durability while meeting the demands of a high-intensity operation.
The latest generation features Don-Bur’s thin blade composite body construction and a full-length hydraulically operated upper deck with a 12,250kg safe working load. Roof-mounted solar panels support the trailers’ independent electrical system and battery charging.
Steve Warren, Royal Mail fleet engineer, said: “Lifting deck trailers have become an important part of the Royal Mail fleet, allowing us to make effective use of the available load volume and increase the number of roll cages carried on each journey. The design has evolved considerably over the last 20 years and the latest trailers continue that development.”
The latest expansion marks 20 years since Don-Bur built its first prototype for the postal operator / Picture: Don-Bur
Alongside the lifting deck fleet, Don-Bur is manufacturing 101 13.6m tri-axle box vans, comprising 50 with 1,500kg-capacity retractable tail-lifts and 51 configured primarily for dock loading.
The box vans feature heavy-duty flooring suitable for forklift and powered pallet-truck operation, together with extensive load-restraint equipment. The dock-loading variants also incorporate reinforced rear-frame protection designed around Royal Mail’s loading infrastructure.
All 261 trailers are equipped with Royal Mail’s container tracking system, which identifies the location of items within each trailer.
Richard Low, Royal Mail fleet operations engineer, added: “The scale and variety of our operation means the trailer fleet has to meet a wide range of requirements. This programme gives us high-capacity lifting decks alongside conventional box vans with different loading configurations, providing equipment suited to the practical demands of the network.”
