Dock Bumpers

Dock bumpers, or dock buffers as they are sometimes called, fix to the outer face of the loading bay to create a buffer between the vehicle and building. They significantly reduce maintenance costs as they actively reduce the damage and wear and tear caused to the loading bay equipment and building.

Here are some images depicting the buffer systems combined for illustrative purposes.

Complete Dock Buffer

This is our standard recommended dock bumper.

It consists of the heavy duty fixing back plate (blue), on which is mounted the rubber bumper designed to absorb impact, which in turn is protected by the heavy duty galvanised steel front face plate.

The image below shows the profile of a complete dock buffer ready to be attached to the wall.

• Heavy Duty Back Plate

  A heavy duty steel plate that is fixed to the building to provide a stable and secure fixing face for the bumpers to attach to.
  This is the standard and most popular option. The plates come in different sizes to suit the different size rubber buffers. Generally speaking these will either have 2 or 3 threads welded to the the plate which are used to secure the rubber buffers.

• Over Dock Back Plate

  A heavy duty angled steel plate that is fixed on to the level surface of the dock so that the bumper sits above the dock level. The extra height added means that high ended vehicles will not go over the top of the bumper before lowering – a common cause of dock bumpers being pulled from their fixings.

  The following images show how the over dock back plate raises the bumper up above the dock surface level to provide a higher collision surface.
  

  
  
  

• Standard Dock Bumper

  These are the most popular range of dock bumpers.

  They are made from a composite reinforced rubber and are available in various sizes as rectangular or L-shaped versions.

  Rubber Bumpers

  
  

• Heavy Duty Face Plates

  These steel plates fit on top of the rubber bumpers to provide protection and increase the life of the bumper (see image of complete dock bumper at the top of the page ).

  This front plate has 50mm side cheeks making it much stronger than a flat plate. The bumper behind it compresses to absorb the impact of a reversing trailer.

  These come in a variety of sizes to suit the different rubber dock bumper size.
  

• Polyethylene Fronted Buffers

  These bumpers are the same as the standard model but with a low friction polyethylene plate on the front. These help increase the life of the bumper and reduce wear on the vehicle bumpers.
  An added bonus is that the increased visibility offered by the colour of the plates helps drivers align themselves more accurately.
  

  Polyethylene Faced Bumpers

  
  

• Sliding Bumper System

  
  These bumpers move up and down to match the travel of the vehicles suspension when it is in contact with the bumper. This is particularly useful if dealing with a high volume of vehicles that use air suspension, as these are the vehicles that most commonly damage bumpers by applying pressure downwards from the top of a buffer, in some cases ripping them off.

• Nylon Bumper System

  This is a new product that is proving popular. The front of the bumper is made from nylon coloured yellow for increased visibility, and there is a rubber insert between the steel fixing plate and nylon front to provide additional impact support.

  The surface provides a large impact area, and has no holes for the backs of vehicles to snag on.

  The 100mm thick face can slide freely up and down in its steel cradle back plate allowing for movement created during impact, and is very hard wearing.

  The bespoke design allows the cast yellow nylon insert to easily slide in and out without being pinched and contained by its metal surround.

  An added advantage is that it is also reversible, hence should the front face begin to wear the insert can simply be turned around to provide a fresh face and double the longevity of the bumpers useful lifespan.