Looking to buy a trailer
 

48 foot flat/step with NON-spread tandem. Front axle slide is ok. This pretty much eliminates 95% of trailers out there, since they're all spread.

Company I'm looking to go on with, wants 33,000 tare weight. Truck weighing 21,200 full of fuel, but no gear. I'm estimating it will be 23,000 full of gear. So that leaves 10,000 lbs for the trailer.

All the combos I've looked at would put me over 33,000 lbs. All aluminum trailers up here are not very common. However there is ONE for sale locally, a 06 manac 48 highboy for $36k (canadian). This one has a fixed axle. Dealer said this one would weigh around 9600 lbs.

There's also a few lodekings for sale locally, one is an 04 highboy fixed axle pretty nice shape combo for 19.9k.

New I can get lodekings for 28k or so.

Seems as though my options are pretty limited. I would want to go with a step probably, but that doesn't seem like an option.

I forget what kind of truck you have, but seems kinda heavy. Although my 06 T600 is 21,400 full of fuel, gear, chains, apu, subwoofers, etc.

I hear Great Dane makes a light van.

Their flat/steps are lead sleds

:hellno:

Great Dane's are tanks....

For a light weight van, Utility 4000DX is really light.

A friend of mine has an East flat bed. It weighs less than 10,000, as I recall. He got a very good deal on it due to a trucking company ordering several of them and not taking them.

Subwoofers?http://img3.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/msn/msn17.gif

Umm...http://img3.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/...nfused0006.gif
How many, and how big are they? And where?

2 12" Alpines, 1500 JL amp.

How funny. Cool. I dont reckon I ever heard of anyone with subwoofers in a truck.

My buddy at Mayflower has a W900 with even more woofers, spinners, and tv's in his headrests. Nuts.

:lol: That's crazy.

my truck is a 1999 volvo 770, with a deer bumper. It weighs 21,200 bobtail full of fuel with both of us in it, with no decking equipment/headache rack.

Seems most combos weigh around 10.5k, I might just have to go with that.

Check the Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers web site. They sell transport equipment and some of their auctions are held in Canada. You may luck out with a trailer you're looking for.

Too bad their website sucks balls for details.

Good thing you mentioned this, I was talking to the owner of Payne today, and he said one of the o/o's has an east all aluminum flatbed, with all the bells and whistles. He said the guy wants to get rid of it, and would let me just take over lease payments.

Considering how slow all aluminum trailers depreciate, this may be a very good deal.

My friend loves his East. He pulls it with a 379 Pete.

As long as it is in good shape, I don't think you could lose anything by taking over his lease payments.

My 1998 T800 scales under 32,000 with all the steps we have. They're all within 1000lbs of one another The trick with a combo is to get the high dollar fancy T1 main beams. A slide axle will add weight. A coil package will add weight. Smaller cross menber spacing will add weight. Steel cross members will add weight.

Wilson has aluminum cross members. Lode King has aluminum cross members. Doonan has steel cross members.

weights include full 100 gallon tanks/8 chains/8 binders/20 straps

1995 48' Reitnouer all aluminum spread, 1 tool box ~30,000
2008 Wilson 53' combo spread, 2 tool boxes ~30,750
1999 48' Lode King combo spread, 2 tool boxes ~30,750

Alright, looked at that deck and I think I'll pass. A little pricey, and it's the MMX model, not the BST model.

Which means it has a 60" deck height(it's TALLLLLLL, no containers allowed!). They're much stronger, allowed 72,000 lbs in 4 feet, and up to 145,000 lbs. Not much heavier, but the fact that they're so damn tall is a major setback. It's noticeably taller then every other flat/dry van that was in the yard.

So I talked to the local EAST dealer, and he says there may be a used all aluminum step deck he could get for me, at a better price then the 06 MMX.

I wanted a step anyways, and Payne pays 11 cpm for a step, and 10 cpm for a deck. I think this may be the route I'm going to go.

He said that it should be in the 9400-9500 range, which is perfect.

I seem to like the east trailers, they have features I like that most trailers don't have, the big one being all aluminum, and no knee braces so they're more aerodynamic and won't plug up with snow.

I bet the extra height comes super tall main beams that give it the xtra carrying capacity without the extra weight of heavier main beams. Hope you followed that. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

East makes a 9500 lb all aluminum step WITHOUT knee braces? I wonder where cross members get their strength from. I need to make a trip to an East dealer.

The cross members are U shaped, and I haven't seen an east trailer that uses knee braces.

GMAN you own a transcraft combo right? How much do they weigh?

Look what I found:

Trailer Search.com - OVER THE ROAD EQUIPMENT SALES Princeton N0J 1V0 Drop Decks - 2002 REITNOUR ALUM STEP 48

Found a new one:

http://www.belltrailers.com/0000pg.asp/ID/8741/SID/1382

Fourth pic down.

You know what's the funny thing? Me and my dad rented a shop in the background of that pic, up until end of October. We just moved across the highway(not shown).

I also used to make fun of that trailer. It's been there for over a year now, I'd laugh at them for bringing in a spread(they're not legal here).

Little did I know out of my own damn ignorance, that front axle slid.......

And that I might end up buying that trailer....

I own a Transcraft, Allan, but it is steel and wood. If I remember correctly it weighs about 13,200 without chains, etc., My trailer also has built in container locks which adds a few hundred pounds.

We have a reitnouer. They're light but the main beams both cracked right through. Make sure you look really close at the main beams in front of the front axle.

I'd say that trailer weighs 10,000 max. Those are about 3 hours from me. I bet they go cheap because of the closed spread. I wouldn't offer $15,000 if you didn't want the trailer.

We have 3 steps and my favourite is the one with the 26" drop (36" deck height). The one that we have has 22" rims. Click the link, then click alternative views, then look at pick # 10. It weighs 10,700 as a 53'.
Wilson Trailer Company/RoadBrute

Most deep drops have the 17" rims. They really should be a tri axle to make up for the lack in braking power, but that adds more weight. If your carrier has a 33,000 max tare requirement, it sounds like they plan to load you up......even more reason for the extra axle. Too bad, that deep drop is a real money maker cuz it can bring double drop money on occasion. I've moved probably 10 "double drop" loads on ours in the last year.

GMAN, that's one heavy trailer!

Rank, would a tridem on a 48 foot trailer be legal in the states? Not sure actually.

When I spoke with them, they specifically said no tridem. Very specifically said 48 foot, deck or step, tandem, front slide optional.

Were the main beams fixable? I'll take a good look. Thanks for the tip.

It is a bit heavy, but it works for me. I can legally scale about 46000 pounds with my T600. With my International it can be a stretch to go much over 44,500 pounds. I don't haul a lot of heavy loads. If I do it is usually permitted anyway so it isn't much of a big deal. Most of the better paying loads are lighter anyway.

My problem is Payne is very insistent on me being as light as possible, and with the truck weighing 21,200 full of fuel with us in it, and no gear(gear will put me over 23k), I may have to bite the bullet.

In a few years, I could always spec a light truck and have a super light tare.

I looked at a combo step deck a couple of months ago that weighed around 10,000. I believe it was a Manac. I think it was 51' long. It was a nice looking trailer. One thing I liked about it was that evey though it was a combo it had a lot of wood on the deck. Some shippers will not load a trailer with an all aluminum deck.

That would be nice, I am not ruling out a combo step.

See if I can make this work

Some of the weights are rough estimate, and I'll bring a tape measure next time for deck heights.

I wish I could go with that Doonan, real nice trailer and it has the lowest deck. I want to see what the East has for a deck height, I have no idea, I'm guessing 42".

The 02 Reit would be nice, but I think it is incredibly overpriced. 15k-16k more like it.

So to me right now it's a tossup between the East all alum step, and the Doonan combo. Of course weight is the major problem, so that may eliminate the Doonan unfortunately.

02 Reit:

Trailer Search.com - OVER THE ROAD EQUIPMENT SALES Princeton N0J 1V0 Drop Decks - 2002 REITNOUR ALUM STEP 48

08 Reit:

http://www.belltrailers.com/webs/000...0188_2-450.JPG

05 Wilson that's in Winnipeg(price shows 26.5k but is 26k):

Trailer Search.com - Topline Truck Trailer Inc. Winnipeg R3C 2E6 Drop Decks - 2005 Wilson 48' Combo Drop

I also have to add, having a front slide is really nice. Have it spread in the states(40,000 lbs), and tighten it up in Canada (37,000 lbs). Spreads are only allowed 9,100 kgs in western canada(20,000 lbs) because it's considered a single axle, and we all know regular tandems are only allowed 34,000, so being able to slide the front axle means it's the best of both worlds. But adds weight.

I like the Doonan, but not the price. I prefer the steel trailers. There are some shippers who will not load anything but a steel and wood deck. It doesn't matter with most shippers. I have a rear axle slider on my Transcraft. By having the rear axle slide it is legal in California. Of course, mine is a 53'. I have a 42" lower deck height. I would have preferred a lower deck but got the 42" because of the larger brakes. The lower deck had smaller brakes and I felt it would be better to have a higher deck with heavy duty brakes than the lower height and small brakes.

Any of you guys have any idea how much gear/headache racks weigh?

Don't exactly know what I need, i'm pretty sure I won't need ramps.

So the usual straps/tarps/chains/binders etc..

How much does all that garbage weigh?

I suggest you have at least 10 straps, 10 binders, 10 chains, a 3 tarp set, ratchet bar, box of 21" bungee's (50). If you plan on hauling coils you will need to buy a few coil racks. I would put 5 on your truck. The above listed items are a minimum you should have on your truck.

All that garbage? Here is what I have:

2006 Freightliner Columbia
Mercedes engine with auto shift
Single 150 gallon full fuel tank
58" sleeper
All steel wheels
All my personal stuff
5 door fully enclosed headache rack with lumber storage on top which contains:
1-winch bar
12- 25' chains
12-snap binders
3- ratchet binders
14-4"straps
12-portable winches
3-4" hand winches
7-2"winch straps
7-2"hand winches
24-corner protectors
4-4' short chains
5-short 4" straps
6-6"x6" hardwood blocks
4-12"x12" hardwood blocks
10-4"x4" timbers 4'long
10-2"x4"x18" lumber
2-steel tarps
1-Full set of 8' lumber tarps
125 bugees
5-3'x4' rolls of carpeting
Plus all my oversize signs, flags, mirrors, strobe lights, shackles and a tool box that weighs in at 40 pounds
All this plus a 48'x102" Transcraft spread axle combo trailer with all steel wheels

Grand total......28,700 pounds.

If I pull a 48'x102" Trailking combo expandable (70' open) it goes to up to 33,800 pounds. It all adds up.

Yeah. I see them all the time. I haven't asked a DOT man though. Don't know why they wouldn't be.

Yep. First attempt was a dismal failure. We took it to a licensed Reitnouer repair shop on Appleby Line in Toronto. $1300 & it lasted a week. 2nd repair was done in our shop. Thick aluminum plates bolted and welded on both sides of each main beam. That was ~2 years ago now IIRC. So far so good.

Hmm. I guessing 3/8" chain weighs ~2lbs/foot?
A binder probably weighs 5 lbs.
2lbs for a strap?
10' drop tarps can he heavy SOB's. A tarp maker can tell you exactly because he knows the lbs/sq ft of the material.

I bet an online supplier of this stuff has the weights for shipping purposes.

3/8" x 20' chains weigh about 32 lbs
3/8" ratchet or snap binders weight about 9 lbs
4" x 30' straps weight about 4 lbs
Tarp weight will depend on the size and weight of material. I would estimate a weight from 100-150 lbs each
Headache racks or bulk heads should weigh around 125-175 lbs or more depending on design.

Coil racks are not very heavy. I would estimate a total weight of tarps, binders, etc., at around 1,000 lbs. You can use the above individual weights once you decide how many you will put on your truck then you know the approximate weight.

Looked at that 06 east step today(dealer just got it in) and it's in good shape, except one of the rub rails is banged up a bit, nothing too bad, it is cosmetic.

Absolutely no cracks, looked everywhere, brakes look fantastic, deck is in good shape etc...

Comes with wide load lights, load levelers, one toolbox(pretty big).

I'll probably get them to add another toolbox.

Probably still be worth $20k in 5 years. Load levelers are a good score. What kind of freight will you be moving with these guys?