Trailer Data Standards

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Trailer Data Standards

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Driving Industry Data Standards Forward

Driving Industry Data Standards ForwardDriving Industry Data Standards ForwardDriving Industry Data Standards Forward

Driving Industry Data Standards Forward

Driving Industry Data Standards ForwardDriving Industry Data Standards ForwardDriving Industry Data Standards Forward
Start with the TDSDownload the white paper (coming soon)

The Trailer Data Standard in 2 minutes.

Trailer Industry Council Members

What it is

Free and open to everyone

Adopt what makes sense for you

Adopt what makes sense for you

The standard belongs to the industry, not to any one company. Read it, use it, and build on it — at no cost, with no permission required.

Adopt what makes sense for you

Adopt what makes sense for you

Adopt what makes sense for you

 Start with a 44-field starter profile or commit to the full schema. The standard meets your data where it already is, and grows with you.

Built to grow without breaking

Adopt what makes sense for you

Built to grow without breaking

Versioned, documented, and governed by consensus — so the standard can evolve over time without stranding the work you've already done.

How it's governed

Consensus, not Control.

Changes to the standard require Council consensus. No single company can force a change through — or block one to hold others back. 

Why It Matters

The cost of describing the same trailer twice

Today the same trailer is re-typed in system after system — manufacturer, dealer, marketplace, lender. Every hand-off risks an error, a missing detail, or a stalled sale.


A shared standard removes the re-keying and the guesswork. Describe a trailer once, correctly, and every system downstream can trust it.

TDS by role

Makers

Software Vendors

Dealers

Publish your data once, in a format every dealer and platform can read.

Dealers

Software Vendors

Dealers

Clean, ready-to-sell data from the source — listings that match the lot. 

Software Vendors

Software Vendors

Build one integration to a public spec, not a mapping per OEM. 

Associations

Associations

A common language that makes the whole industry easier to work in. 

Finance

Associations

Finance

Consistent data you can quote, underwrite, and process with confidence.

Fragmented data quietly taxes every trailer sold.

What the standard covers

Five steps to adopt the TDS

1. Review

Put the TDS-44 field list next to your data. Most OEMs find 80%+ already lines up.

2. Map

Match your fields to the standard's names and values. Mostly a one-time job.

3. Export

Produce your first TDS-44 file. A simple CSV is enough to start.

4. Validate

Hand it to a tech partner to confirm it reads cleanly against the spec.

5. Publish & Grow

Go live, then graduate to full Core JSON over time.

Get the starter profile

Help shape where the standard goes next

The standard gets better with every manufacturer, dealer, and platform that helps shape it. Want to adopt it, contribute to it, or put your organization forward for the Council? Tell us a bit about you and we'll be in touch.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at hello@trailerdatastandards.org if you cannot find an answer to your question.

It's an open data standard for trailers — a shared way to describe a trailer's identity, dimensions, ratings, running gear, and features so every system reads it the same way. Instead of each manufacturer, dealer, and platform inventing its own format, the industry gets one common spec built around how trailers actually work.

It's published and maintained by the Blackpurl Trailer Industry Council — manufacturers, dealers, and technology partners working together, with Blackpurl as founding steward. Built by the industry, for the industry, and open to anyone who wants to help shape it.

Yes — it's open and free to adopt. You can map your data to it, build against it, and use it in your own products without a fee.

No. Blackpurl helped start the Trailer Industry Council and stewards the standard, but the Trailer Data Standard is an open industry spec — not a Blackpurl 2 feature. Any manufacturer, dealer, or software platform can adopt it. A standard only works when it belongs to the whole industry, not one company.

Start with the TDS-44 profile — a flat, spreadsheet-friendly version of the standard you can produce as a simple CSV. It maps cleanly into the full spec, so you can begin today with data you already have and grow into the richer format over time.

No. The standard is a common format for sharing trailer data, not software you install. You keep your existing systems and map your data to the standard when you publish or exchange it — starting with a TDS-44 export if that's easiest.

The Core is the full standard — a richer, nested format that captures everything from variant overrides to package structures. TDS-44 is the on-ramp: one flat row per model or unit, exportable as a CSV, built so you can adopt the standard without rebuilding your systems first. Anything you publish as TDS-44 is fully compatible with the Core.

Identity, classification, dimensions, running gear, equipment and features, ratings, color, and commercial details — plus variant, package, and unit-level records. It also defines a shared vocabulary of 37 trailer types, so a "Car Hauler" means the same thing everywhere. You'll find the full breakdown on the What the Standard Covers page.

You do. The standard is a format, not a database — it doesn't collect, store, or share anyone's data. It just makes the data you already own easier for other systems to read accurately.

Whether you want to adopt the standard, contribute fields and real-world data, or put your organization forward for the Council, head to the Contact page and tell us where you fit — we'll point you to the right next step.

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