[tracer]

Originally Posted by rank

We have one of those wheel well step decks....

Rank, can you load heavy equipment from the dock? I'm talking 34K - 35K loaders where their tires would have to ROLL over your wheel well covers.. Are these covers strong enough to support the weight while the machine is driven to the front of the trailer?

[Heavy Duty]

Originally Posted by allan5oh

The problem with adjusting air suspension height is in reality they're only designed to be within maybe 1/4" of specs. Anything above or below that is hard on the suspension/bushings/shocks. Maybe I'm wrong, but I haven't heard of any air suspension on a trailer that's actually meant to be adjustable.

Trailers are not the same as trucks, no drive line angle to worry about,the adjustable ride heigth on my trailer was made by the trailer mfg. XL

You can also adjust height on DD trailers with shims and double donuts. Hydraulic necks have several pin position for ride height

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The dealer got back to me about the price of that XL stepdeck with open wheel wells and 30" deck height. Basically he said this trailer would be more expensive than an RGN! It's just not feasible. The choices I'm looking at: 1) a 53 step with a 10'1" fixed tandem and same 36" deck height; 2) a 53 ft flat with a 10'1" tandem; or 3) XL-70 RGN, tandem, 48 ft, 29' well. Choice #2 promises most amount of loads at LS; then it's Choice #1, and the jury is still out on Choice #3. I think getting a RGN as the only trailer is risky for a Canadian who works for a US company but has to cross the border each time.

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Here's what I'm talking about. I'm in Hershey PA and I need a load to go back to Ontario or Quebec. So, I log on to the Landstar site and choose RGN, LOWBOY, FLAT, and STEP trailer groups for my search within 200 mi of Hershey. This means the computer will look for all loads posted within those trailer groups (even a RGN 10 axle will show). Today I have a choice of 24 loads meeting my criteria. I re-order them by the RATE per mile and the top five loads in terms of rate are:

PA to ON: FLAT (coils; 32,000 lbs); STEP would work
PA to ON: 48FL (machinery parts, 25,000 lbs): STEP OK
PA to ON: FLAT (steel coils; 42,000 lbs); STEP would work as long as the shipper loads them
PA to QC: 48FL or SD (metal; 8,000 lbs); STEP OK
DE to ON: SD (metal; 45,000 lbs).

Not a single DD load shows up. The FLAT load showing as #1? Pays 4 bucks per mile! By the way, I checked the requirements for the flatbed loads, and my step would do pretty much all of the top five AS LONG AS:

Condition 1: I carry at least 4 ft tarps
Condition 2: I change my axle setup to 10'1" so that I can take 40,000 lbs on the trailer's axles.

[allan5oh]

Originally Posted by Heavy Duty

Trailers are not the same as trucks, no drive line angle to worry about,the adjustable ride heigth on my trailer was made by the trailer mfg. XL

You can also adjust height on DD trailers with shims and double donuts. Hydraulic necks have several pin position for ride height

If it's made for the trailer I can see it being ok. But with most trailers lowering or raising the ride height beyond specs will definitely be hard on shocks at the very least.

[rank]

Originally Posted by tracer

Rank, can you load heavy equipment from the dock? I'm talking 34K - 35K loaders where their tires would have to ROLL over your wheel well covers.. Are these covers strong enough to support the weight while the machine is driven to the front of the trailer?

No the fenders will not support a real heavy machine without damaging the fenders. We've loaded excavators and last week we loaded a D6 dozer on that trailer. You just need to run the machine across dunnage instead of the fenders. You can flatten the fenders....we've done it....with a Link Belt excavator. That's what happens when you don't use dunnage.

[rank]

Originally Posted by tracer

Here's what I'm talking about. I'm in Hershey PA and I need a load to go back to Ontario or Quebec. So, I log on to the Landstar site and choose RGN, LOWBOY, FLAT, and STEP trailer groups for my search within 200 mi of Hershey....<snip>...Not a single DD load shows up.

That's why I suggested renting a RGN from LS if they will let you. That way you can try it for a while and see how it goes. I suspect the agents will call you and pay you to DH their RGN many miles and if they don't just give the trailer back. With those rates you posted, I wouldn't bother with an RGN unless they want you to. I would do them a favour but I wouldn't ask any favours of them.

In the last 12 months, I booked 6 RGN loads...none of these were out of Dundalk. They paid a little better than SD loads but not much. SD's over the same period were paying me well over $3 on average, but if I threw out my regular customer that pays very well, SD loads from brokers were probably paying me $2.50 to $2.75....maybe a little more. Is an RGN worth it for you? Don't know.

Campbellford, ON - Ottawa, ON: legal - $1400/193 miles (Landstar BTW) ($7.25/loaded mile)
Baltimore, MD - Lucknow, ON: wide - $2,000/575 miles (3.47/loaded mile less permits)
Baltimore, MD - Valleyfield, QC: 10' wide - $1913/580 miles ($3.29/loaded mile less permits)
Baltimore, MD - Belleville, ON: 10' wide - $2950/598 miles ($4.93/loaded mile less permits)
Easton, PA - Belleville, ON: legal - $1500/373 miles (4.02/loaded mile)
Kissimme, FL - Bobcaygen, ON: wide - $4900/1488 miles ($3.29/loaded mile less pemits)

[allan5oh]

Saw a 30" deck height XL today sitting in Black River Falls, WI. It was a 53 with a spread and had fenders over the wheels. They were permanent, you could see they were welded in. Load bearing? No idea.

Looking at XL specs, you can probably put 80,000 within 10 feet on one. One of the XL steps on truckpaper has the spec sheet attached.

Wonder how much that setup weighs. Without the extendable of course.

[tracer]

Originally Posted by allan5oh

Saw a 30" deck height XL today sitting in Black River Falls, WI. It was a 53 with a spread and had fenders over the wheels. They were permanent, you could see they were welded in. Load bearing? No idea.

Looking at XL specs, you can probably put 80,000 within 10 feet on one. One of the XL steps on truckpaper has the spec sheet attached.

Wonder how much that setup weighs. Without the extendable of course.

I just unloaded the 34,000 lb scissor lift onto a dock. I don't think I'd be able to do it with flimsy fenders over the tires. Low deck is good, but I think those fenders should be removable: put them on when you drive, take them off and use dunnage when you unload some heavy machinery. I think the design with lowered floor in FRONT of the tires might be more trucker friendly. I sent an email to Wilson's chief engineer asking if they can make a trailer like the one in the picture from Jet in this thread. I'm thinking, if you use 17.5" tires, the height in the back would be 36" and then the floor drops 4 inches to 32". This way you can pick up stuff up to 10'10" high but still haul 2 containers if you put 4" dunnage on the lowered floor. Me thinks the 'well' should be around 25' long on a 53' trailer with a 10'1" spread tandem.

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I asked Wilson by email if they can make a stepdeck with a well l- like the one JET makes - and their flatbed product manager just got back to me. He said they cannot do it. When I asked what the lowest they can make the main deck with 17.5" tires, he said, "34"! Turns out now they have new designs for suspension and main beam and with 17.5" tires the front part of the lower deck and the very rear can be 34" high. There's still a 2" rise in the middle but now they don't need to use fenders over the wheel wells. I asked if they can modify my existing stepdeck and he wrote back saying, "No. It's a different suspension and main beam."

34" deck would work great for me. That means one could pick up something as tall as 10'8"! (as long the wheels of the machine are not in the center).

One more innovation Wilson is now using is the winch track. They finally got rid of the winches that were scratching the side panel on the trailer! They also have tie-downs similar to what Fontaine is offering on their trailers. I wanted to upload the PDF the dealer sent me regarding these new trailers, but the server said the size was too big