Palletised Variable Message Sign Removes the Trailer from Urban Roadworks

Palletised Variable Message Sign Removes the Trailer from Urban Roadworks

Variable message signs have spent decades travelling with their own trailers. SG has now separated the two, developing a pallet-mounted VMS that can be delivered, positioned and moved using a shared lifting trailer, forklift or lorry-mounted crane rather than carrying a dedicated towable chassis beneath every display.

The new VMS-P takes an established piece of temporary traffic-management equipment and changes its logistics. Instead of maintaining a trailer for every sign in a fleet, operators can use a smaller pool of pallet-lifting trailers to move multiple displays between locations. For contractors managing several work fronts across an urban project, that reduces the amount of hardware being stored and maintained simply to keep signs mobile.

SG developed the unit with BartCo, the variable message sign manufacturer within the Torquay Group. The product combines BartCo’s signage technology with SG’s pallet-based deployment approach, including its SOSEC lifting trailer.

“A VMS has come on a trailer for decades, simply because that’s how it had always been done, not because it needed one,” said Anna Blake, Commercial Director, SG. “Taking the trailer away isn’t just a neater way to deploy a sign – it removes a whole category of maintenance and security risk that was never really necessary in the first place. That’s the standard we think urban roadworks signage should be held to now.”

Briefing

• SG’s VMS-P replaces the conventional dedicated VMS trailer with a standard pallet-format mounting.
• Signs can be moved using SG’s SOSEC pallet-lifting trailer, a forklift or a Hiab-type lifting system.
• The A-size unit is intended for roads with speed zones up to 50 mph, placing the emphasis on urban and local roadworks.
• The full-colour LED display supports graphics and pictograms and can be managed remotely.
• VMS-P is solar powered and is being offered for both hire and purchase.

Separating the Sign from its Transport

Trailer-mounted VMS units solve two problems at once: they provide a platform for the display and make the equipment towable. That simplicity has helped make them familiar equipment on roadworks, diversions and temporary traffic-management schemes, but it also means the transport system remains attached after delivery.

Wheels, brakes, towing equipment and associated components stay with an asset whose main job, once positioned, is to remain stationary and display information. VMS-P separates those functions. The sign is installed on a palletised base and transported when required, while the lifting trailer moves on to another task.

SG says one SOSEC pallet-lifting trailer can therefore be used to deploy and reposition several signs around a site or along a route. The same sign can also be handled by forklift or suitable lorry-mounted lifting equipment, giving contractors several options where handling equipment is already available.

The potential fleet saving comes largely from removing duplicated mechanical hardware. SG says this can reduce maintenance and downtime, although it has not published comparative whole-life cost data with the launch. The scale of any saving will depend on fleet size, utilisation, deployment patterns and how frequently individual signs need to be moved.

Designed Around Urban Deployment

The initial VMS-P is based around the standard A-size display and is rated for use in speed zones up to 50 mph. That places its natural operating environment around urban highways, local authority works, construction projects, diversions and temporary traffic arrangements rather than higher-speed strategic roads.

That distinction also suits the palletised approach. On projects where several signs are delivered and then remain in position for extended periods, permanently attaching a separate towing chassis to each display provides little benefit while the equipment is stationary. Dense urban works can also make storage and positioning of trailer-mounted equipment more awkward, particularly where road space and compounds are constrained.

The new unit retains a full-colour LED matrix capable of displaying amber, red, green, blue and white, together with graphics and pictograms. The display sits behind a non-glare, UV-resistant polycarbonate screen, while messages can be changed remotely through Windows, Android and iOS devices.

Solar panels provide the onboard power supply. SG says the unit can operate indefinitely under recommended conditions, although actual solar performance will depend on operating conditions, location, season and display duty.

Security and Handling

Removing the trailer also changes how easily the equipment can be moved without authorisation. A conventional mobile sign is designed to be towable; VMS-P has no wheels, brakes or hitch and must instead be lifted before it can be transported.

SG describes the arrangement as substantially reducing theft risk and has added GPS tracking and protected padlocking arrangements. Its launch material says the risk of theft is “all but eliminated”, although that remains a manufacturer claim rather than an independently established security result. What the physical design does establish is that removing the unit requires suitable handling equipment rather than simply coupling it to a towing vehicle.

That same characteristic creates an operational trade-off. Contractors need access to the pallet-lifting trailer, forklift or suitable lifting vehicle whenever a VMS-P has to move. Fleets deployed to relatively static positions may benefit from separating the sign from its transport hardware, while operations requiring frequent independent movements between dispersed sites may continue to favour conventional towable units.

A Different Fleet Model

VMS-P also reflects the closer integration of the roadside technology businesses within Torquay Group. SG joined the group in 2025 alongside MVIS and BartCo, bringing its solar-powered roadside equipment together with established temporary intelligent transport systems and variable message sign technology.

The display itself is therefore not the unusual part of VMS-P. Full-colour matrices, solar power, remote message management and temporary roadside deployment are already established technologies. The engineering change is underneath the display, reconsidering how much transport hardware needs to remain attached to equipment that spends most of its working life standing still.

SG is offering VMS-P for both hire and purchase, with the unit due to be displayed at Highways UK at the NEC on 14 and 15 October. Its appeal is likely to vary with the way individual fleets operate. Contractors moving signs constantly between dispersed locations may value independent towability, while urban projects deploying multiple signs for longer periods present a more natural case for sharing transport equipment.

For an established category of roadside equipment, it is a surprisingly simple question: whether every variable message sign still needs a trailer of its own.

Key Industry Questions

1. What is a palletised variable message sign? It is a VMS mounted on a pallet-format base rather than a dedicated road trailer. Separate lifting or handling equipment is used when the sign needs to be transported.
2. How is the SG VMS-P moved? SG says it can be handled using its SOSEC pallet-lifting trailer, a forklift or a suitable lorry-mounted crane.
3. What roads is VMS-P designed for? The A-size version is rated for speed zones up to 50 mph, concentrating its initial application on urban and local road environments.
4. Does removing the trailer make the VMS less mobile? It changes the form of mobility. The sign no longer has its own towing chassis, so suitable lifting or transport equipment must be available when it needs to move.
5. Can several signs share one lifting trailer? Yes. The transport asset can deliver or reposition one sign and then be used to move others.
6. How is the display powered? The VMS-P uses onboard solar generation, with SG stating that it can operate indefinitely under recommended conditions.
7. Can messages be changed remotely? Yes. SG says messages can be managed using Windows, Android and iOS devices without visiting the sign.
8. What security measures are incorporated? The design removes the wheels and towing hitch of a conventional VMS trailer and incorporates GPS tracking and protected locking arrangements.
9. Is VMS-P available to buy or hire? SG is making the system available for both hire and purchase.

Strategic Takeaways

1. Separating transport from the VMS allows lifting trailers to be shared across several signs rather than permanently paired with individual displays.
2. Removing wheels, brakes and towing hardware reduces the mechanical equipment carried by each VMS, although actual maintenance savings will depend on fleet operations.
3. Urban projects where signs remain stationary for longer periods provide a particularly natural operating environment for the palletised design.
4. Palletisation introduces a dependency on suitable handling equipment, making deployment frequency and fleet geography important considerations.
5. VMS-P applies established display and solar technology to a different fleet model rather than attempting to reinvent the variable message sign itself.