Kässbohrer K.SLH S HS 3

The K.SLH S HS 3 is a three-axle low-bed semi-trailer from Kässbohrer with three hydraulically steered axles, a platform the maker lists as not extendable, and hydraulic gooseneck ramps. Kässbohrer’s press release on IAA Transportation 2026, held in Hanover from 15 to 20 September 2026, calls it its new hydraulic three-axle “Semi-Tieflader” (semi low-bed) with a hydraulic gooseneck. The figures come from Kässbohrer’s German brochure Hydraulisch gelenkte Tiefladerserie, printed “v6 Apr 2026”, from that press release of 15 September 2026, and from Kässbohrer’s undated German K.SLH series page and low-bed range page, read on 9 November 2026.

Overview and generations

Kässbohrer’s low-bed range page names five main series: the self-steering SLS and SLA, the hydraulically steered SLH, the SPA low-bed platforms and the SLL low-beds. The brochure covers two of them, the K.SLL under the heading “Tiefbett Serie” and the K.SLH under “Hydr. Tieflader Serie”. It describes the K.SLH range as offering three or four axles, a fixed or extendable chassis and hydraulically steered axles, designed to carry goods of up to 50 tonnes. The low-bed body type is set out in low-loader trailers and abnormal loads.

The brochure’s K.SLH table has five columns: the extendable K.SLH 3 and K.SLH 4, the non-extendable K.SLH S 3 and K.SLH S 4, and the K.SLH S HS 3, the one column that lists hydraulic gooseneck ramps. The K.SLH series page lists the K.SLH S HS 3 / 3H - 18 / 30 beside two extendable types.

No document opened gives a year of introduction for the K.SLH S HS 3 or the K.SLH series, or describes an earlier generation. The brochure edition v6 of April 2026 already tabulates the K.SLH S HS 3. The press release of 15 September 2026 says Kässbohrer presented it at IAA Transportation 2026 as new (“neuen”), alongside the two-axle pendulum-axle low-bed K.SLL P, which the release says was introduced in April 2026. The brochure’s back page names Kässbohrer plants at Ulm and Goch in Germany and at Adapazarı in Türkiye; no document opened says where the K.SLH is built.

Dimensions and weights

The press release gives the unladen weight as “Ab 11.000 kg” (from 11,000 kg). The brochure’s back page says Kässbohrer reserves the right to change the product specification and that visual and technical data can change with the vehicle configuration. The difference between a technical rating and a permitted weight is set out in gross combination weight, GVW and axle loads, how a kingpin capacity meets the tractor in the kingpin and the fifth wheel, and the wheel formulas in the truck compatibility row in axle configurations explained.

No document opened gives a coupling height or an overall height for the K.SLH S HS 3.

The K.SLH types in the same table

All five K.SLH columns print an overall length of 13,250 mm, a deck length of 9,300 mm, a loaded deck height of 875 mm, an axle spacing of 1,360 mm, a gooseneck length of 3,900 mm and an overall width of 2,550 mm. The rows below are the ones on which they differ.

Where the documents differ

Chassis, gooseneck and deck

The brochure gives the chassis as S700 MC steel in a box profile (“Kastenprofil”), with one 2-inch kingpin in one position, and the sliding plate as not included (“Nicht enthalten”). The gooseneck type is printed “500 x 500 gekröpft” and the gooseneck is 3,900 mm long. The gooseneck panels (“Schwanenhalsplatten”) are printed as steel, 450 mm x 2,550 mm, at the front, aluminium, 360 mm x 1,750 mm, at the sides and aluminium, 360 mm x 2,550 mm, at the rear; the other four K.SLH columns print 1,500 mm for the side panels.

The deck covering is “45 mm Hartholz + Stahl-Riffelblech” (45 mm hardwood plus chequered steel plate), and the brochure’s equipment page shows a removable hardwood floor among its standard items. Kässbohrer says the K.SLH S HS 3 exhibited at IAA Transportation 2026 also showed Kässbohrer’s Modular Floor System, which received the International Trailer Award 2027. According to Kässbohrer, the system allows the floor covering to be changed, wholly or in part, between steel grating, hardwood and rubber in less than three working hours, and raises the utilisation of a single low-bed trailer by 29 %.

The press release says the K.SLH S HS 3 is built from high-strength S700 MC steel and has a KTL (cathodic dip) coating tested in a 3,800-hour salt-spray test without red rust. Kässbohrer’s low-bed range page says the processing conditions in KTL baths are unsuitable for low-loaders and large trailers and describes metallisation instead: a spray of an alloy of 85 % zinc and 15 % aluminium, followed by two coats of paint. The brochure’s equipment page lists metallisation among its options.

In the gooseneck-ramp row (“Schwanenhals-Auffahrrampe”), the brochure gives the K.SLH S HS 3 hydraulic gooseneck ramps (“Hydraulische Schwanenhalsrampen”), where the other four K.SLH columns refer to the options picture of a gooseneck loading ramp (“Schwanenhals Laderampe”). The ramp-type row (“Rampen-Typ”) of all five columns refers to the options picture “Verschiedene Heckrampen” (various rear ramps). The press release says a single remote control operates both the hydraulic steering and the hydraulic gooseneck.

Axles, steering, suspension and brakes

The K.SLH S HS 3 has three BPW axles with air suspension (“Pneumatisch”) at an axle spacing of 1,360 mm. The brochure’s steering-system row reads “1H-2H-3H”, and the press release gives three hydraulically steered axles with a steering angle of up to 42° and a patented automatic tracking system. The brochure lists wireless control (“Kabellose Steuerung”) and a semi-automatic alignment system (“Halbautomatisch”) for this type without the “Optional” mark that both rows carry in the other four K.SLH columns. It says the K.SLH series’ linear hydraulic steering, wireless remote control and automatic alignment systems make the trailers easy to manoeuvre under the hardest road and working conditions while extending tyre life.

The brake system is a WABCO EBS 2S/2M; the regulation that governs such a system is traced in trailer brakes and EBS. The K.SLH S HS 3 runs on twelve tyres in size 245/70 R 17.5 on steel rims, with the tyre brand given as “Kässbohrer-Wahl” (Kässbohrer’s choice) and one spare wheel carrier.

The press release says the electrical systems are protected to IP69 and the hydraulic systems have automatic lubrication. The brochure lists a manual front landing gear rated 24 tonnes, mechanical, with 50 tonnes static capacity, and manual rear landing legs with 45 tonnes static capacity.

Load securing

The brochure lists the lashing rings of the K.SLH S HS 3 as 5 x 2 rated 10 t, 6 x 2 rated 8 t and 11 x 2 rated 5 t. The press release gives 44 lashing rings certified to DIN EN 12640, with capacities of 5 to 10 tonnes, as standard, and Kässbohrer describes this as Europe’s highest number and capacity of lashing points. How rated lashing points are used is the subject of load securing on trailers.

The brochure gives 8 x 2 stake pockets, with vertical stake-pocket rows and stakes as options; the press release counts 16 stake pockets including patented lashing rings in the stake-pocket rows. The brochure gives 11 x 2 side extension holders; the press release describes 22 galvanised side extension brackets for machines up to 3,150 mm wide. The brochure lists four container-lock housings without the locks; the press release gives four container locks for one 20 ft container.

Equipment and options

The brochure’s equipment page covers both the K.SLL and the K.SLH series. Its standard items are a double or central cross member, lashing rings, the S700 steel chassis, BPW axles, the Wabco brake system, a removable hardwood floor, a flashing beacon, a tool box, extension warning boards and steel rims. Its options are a sliding plate, side extension holders, metallisation, a chamfered gooseneck, vertical stake-pocket rows, stakes, container locks, various rear ramps, a gooseneck loading ramp, a spare wheel crane, an excavator arm recess, full-LED rear lights, an adapter for the rear ramp, rear landing gear, a work lamp, a hydraulic steering axle, hydraulic gooseneck ramps, a lubrication unit, an additional platform, a lift axle, stake pockets, a storage box for hardwood extension boards, a hydraulically adjustable, removable gooseneck, a fire extinguisher box, a full-width gooseneck tool box, a rack, a rear ramp, wireless control and pendulum suspension.

In the K.SLH S HS 3 column, the brochure lists a NATO socket with a battery clamp cable, all-bulb rear lights (“Komplett Glühbirne”), one rotating beacon with flashing light and four extendable warning boards of 1 metre each.

Source notes

The figures are from Kässbohrer’s German brochure Hydraulisch gelenkte Tiefladerserie, printed “v6 Apr 2026”, whose table lists the K.SLH S HS 3 / 3H -18 / 30 beside four other K.SLH types; from Kässbohrer’s press release on IAA Transportation 2026, dated 15 September 2026; and from Kässbohrer’s undated German K.SLH series page and low-bed range page, all read on 9 November 2026. The brochure gives the K.SLH S HS 3 an overall length of 13,250 mm, a deck length of 9,300 mm, a loaded deck height of 875 mm, a wheelbase of 8,800 mm, an axle spacing of 1,360 mm, a gooseneck length of 3,900 mm, a platform that is not extendable, an overall width of 2,550 mm, an axle capacity of 10,000 kg, a kingpin capacity of 18,000 kg, an unladen weight of 11,000 kg (± 3%) and a permissible total weight of 48,000 kg at 80 km/h; the press release gives the unladen weight as from 11,000 kg. In the same table the extendable K.SLH 3 and K.SLH 4, with a 6,200 mm platform extension, weigh 12,800 kg and 13,650 kg unladen, and the non-extendable K.SLH S 3 and K.SLH S 4 weigh 11,000 kg and 11,800 kg; all four have a 12,000 kg axle capacity and a 24,000 kg kingpin capacity, with permissible total weights of 60,000 kg on the three-axle types and 72,000 kg on the four-axle types. The press release gives the K.SLH S HS 3 three hydraulically steered axles with a steering angle of up to 42°, 44 lashing rings certified to DIN EN 12640 with capacities of 5 to 10 tonnes, 22 galvanised side extension brackets for machines up to 3,150 mm wide, and a KTL coating tested for 3,800 hours in salt spray without red rust. The brochure lists a semi-automatic alignment system, where the press release names a patented automatic tracking system. The K.SLH series page gives an unladen weight from 10,350 kg, up to 40 lashing rings and 18 stake pockets for the series, and lists the extendable three- and four-axle types as K.SLH 3 / 3H - 18 / 30 and K.SLH 4 / 3H - 18 / 40, where the brochure prints K.SLH 3 / 3H - 24 / 36 and K.SLH 4 / 3H - 24 / 48. No document opened gives a coupling height, an overall height, a year of introduction or an earlier generation.