Dropdeck-48' vs longer

[tracer]

I bought a 53' step deck a few years ago. There have been a few loads that I have gotten due in part to the 42' lower deck. I have 11' on top....

What do you guys think of having the upper deck as short as 8'? If my wheelbase is 230", can such a short upper deck cause the trailer to hit the rear fenders of the truck?

[tracer]

53 combo for me. Add some levelers and you can carry 60' long without a permit in a lot of states.

How important is the total weight for the stepdeck trailer? All steel ones with wooden floor are so much cheaper. My company requires flats not heavier than 11k lbs, but when I talked to the fleet manager he didn't mention anything like that for a stepdeck, just recommended a 48' transcraft combo. I'd think the weight capacity isn't as important for a step as for a flat. Am I right or wrong?

[rank]

What do you guys think of having the upper deck as short as 8'? If my wheelbase is 230", can such a short upper deck cause the trailer to hit the rear fenders of the truck?

I think it would create problems. I slid my 5th wheel about 5 notches fwd the other day and if I had an 8' deck I think it would have hit.

[rank]

How important is the total weight for the stepdeck trailer? All steel ones with wooden floor are so much cheaper. My company requires flats not heavier than 11k lbs, but when I talked to the fleet manager he didn't mention anything like that for a stepdeck, just recommended a 48' transcraft combo. I'd think the weight capacity isn't as important for a step as for a flat. Am I right or wrong?

Weight is really important for me. Just offloaded two loads this AM. One was a Link Belt 210LX and it weighed 49,000 lbs. The other step had a wheel loader and a dozer that totaled 45,000. You can compete with RGN freight because they can't scale 49,000. You can compete with extendable double drops because regular double drops don't have 42' long decks. The wheel loader was 10' - 7" high by the way.

I shouldn't be telling you this because you run my lanes LOL.

All combos are not created equal. Some only have a aluminum floor and the rest of the trailer is steel. Others have a wood deck and they can be heavy. They also have different cross member spacings and thicknesses. I have heard Transcraft are not solidly built....but that is just hearsay.

[LightsChromeHorsepower]

For instance, there is one area of California that restricts trailer length to 45'.

Where is that?

[tracer]

I think it would create problems. I slid my 5th wheel about 5 notches fwd the other day and if I had an 8' deck I think it would have hit.

So what do you think is the OPTIMUM LENGTH for the upper deck? 10'? 11'? I never pulled a stepdeck before, hence all the stupid questions. I did flatbed last summer, and the rest of the time it was dry van. Worked a 5 ton roll-off tow-truck for 2.5 years though in Toronto, ON ... that gave me lots of experience with smaller machinery and equipment: bobcats, scissorlifts, mini-exacavators etc. Loved working with them.

[specialkay]

I would run as shallow kingpin setting as practical (18-20") with a 10' upper deck and a 40' lower deck and a 10'1" spread. I know before we would get containers out of Baltimore for decent money because they were high cube units and wouldn't go on a flat. If your truck carries a lot of weight on the front axle you could get away with a shorter upper deck because you won't have run your fifth wheel so far ahead. When I pulled a step I was always wishing the upper deck was longer.

[GMAN]

I prefer an 11' upper deck. It offers greater flexibility. I would not personally buy anything smaller than a 10' upper deck.

[tracer]

If your truck carries a lot of weight on the front axle you could get away with a shorter upper deck because you won't have run your fifth wheel so far ahead. When I pulled a step I was always wishing the upper deck was longer.

I don't follow the logic here ... So you slide the fifth wheel forward because there's too little weight on the front axle? So you like having a long upper deck so that you can bring the trailer closer to the truck in order to compensate for the lack of weight on the front, which you wouldn't have to deal with if you had a shorter upper deck? Something's amiss here.

[tracer]

I prefer an 11' upper deck. It offers greater flexibility. I would not personally buy anything smaller than a 10' upper deck.

With a 10 ft upper deck, you'd have 43' at the bottom. I thought that would be a plus?

[specialkay]

If you can't slide the 5th wheel ahead because the trailer hits the rear frame of the truck it's hard to load the front axle. The shorter the upper deck the less clearance you have between the truck frame and the drop. I'm with G-Man on the 11' upper.

[tracer]

If you can't slide the 5th wheel ahead because the trailer hits the rear frame of the truck it's hard to load the front axle. The shorter the upper deck the less clearance you have between the truck frame and the drop. I'm with G-Man on the 11' upper.

I have 35,000 lbs in my dry van trailer and the fifth wheel is in the perfect position for weight distribution. I measured the distance from the king pin to the support legs of the trailer and it's ... 8 feet almost exactly. The problem is for some reason the king pin is really far from the front of this dry van trailer - close to 36 inches. 8 + 3 = 11 feet. Now an 11' deck makes sense but that leaves only 42 feet to move that expensive stepdeck freight on the 53' trailer

[GMAN]

Where is that?

It is the upper northwest corner of California where all the redwood trees are located. I don't recall the name of any of the towns off hand. It is not far from Oregon. I think the road is windy and a longer trailer cannot easily navigate it.

[GMAN]

With a 10 ft upper deck, you'd have 43' at the bottom. I thought that would be a plus?

Anything over 40' on the lower deck is a plus. You don't need more than that for most loads. There are some where I have needed the entire 42'. You have a little more flexibility with 11' on top. I keep most of my equipment on the top deck so some of that space is lost. In fact, I probably lose 1-2 feet with my equipment. If I cleared the upper deck I could haul a small car on it. Anything smaller I don't think would fit. Most things that I have hauled would work on either a 10' or 11' but there have been a few times when the entire top deck is needed in order to accommodate my equipment and freight. Clearance is also a factor. One truck doesn't have a problem clearing the stepdeck. The other needs the 5th wheel slid all the way back to easily clear. Part of the reason is probably that I have tall rubber on that truck. The down side to having a 53' over a 48' is that you will add a little weight. It hasn't made much difference in what I have hauled. As far as an 8' upper deck is concerned, it would not work for me. I think it would also be difficult to sell when you get ready.

[allan5oh]

I have 35,000 lbs in my dry van trailer and the fifth wheel is in the perfect position for weight distribution. I measured the distance from the king pin to the support legs of the trailer and it's ... 8 feet almost exactly. The problem is for some reason the king pin is really far from the front of this dry van trailer - close to 36 inches. 8 + 3 = 11 feet. Now an 11' deck makes sense but that leaves only 42 feet to move that expensive stepdeck freight on the 53' trailer

You can get trailers with 18" kingpin settings. I have a lot of room under neath my trailer.