Students are ‘buzzing’ as they get to complete a beekeeping course onboard the new specially designed Maxi-CUBE trailer
MaxiTRANS has recently delivered an innovative trailer solution for Victoria’s Melbourne Polytechnic, with the manufacturer introducing a specially developed Maxi-CUBE Classic Dry Freight van to run in the heart of Victorian bushland.
The new Melbourne Polytechnic trailer is a special purpose trailer that will become the classroom for budding Victorian apiarists learning the trade of beekeeping and honey extraction.
As a prominent Victorian training provider of Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, Melbourne Polytechnic is taking the classroom on the road after first developing a beekeeping course in Victoria during the COVID pandemic.
Developed in partnership with MaxiTRANS, the self-sufficient, off-grid trailer serves as both a classroom and a model for practical, hands-on training.
The classroom can now travel throughout the state, offering flexibility and accessibility, with Melbourne Polytechnic facilities and assets team member James Farmer helping lead the design and construction of the trailer classroom.
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The trailer had to be large enough to serve as a classroom while also adhering to road safety and transport guidelines. Upon receiving Farmer’s unique request, MaxiTRANS directed the concept to refrigerated and dry freight trailer specialist Maxi-CUBE to design a dry freight model that suited Farmer’s needs.
Maxi-CUBE provided 3D models through the development process to ensure the trailer met Melbourne Polytechnic’s needs, as features such as fibreglass slip-free zircon floors, side-access doors and underbody storage suitable for ladders and steps were added.
Upon rolling off MaxiTRANS’ production line in Ballarat, it was customised for its specific education purpose, with nine solar panels installed on the roof and lying flat to comply with height and wind resistance restrictions.
These panels power batteries built into the trailer, with a water storage unit also included to provide hot water needed for honey extraction tasks.
A Western Star prime mover is keeping the unit mobile as it moves across diverse terrains.
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“There’s two extractors in there, a warming cabinet, equipment to do repairs to boxes or create new boxes. They learn to rob hives, take the wax off them and run them through the extractors,” Farmer says.
“There can be up to 20 students and they don’t all need to be in the trailer at the same time. They learn the whole process as they go through.”
Since being completed in April, the trailer has come into action with immediate impact, as the classroom went for its first beekeeping course in August.