When I was with MacKinnon they required I carry ramps but I received 1 load with ramps every ... 6 months. I'm not kidding. That's 2 (two) loads a year! I finally got tired of moving them around and sold them. They were taking about 1 ft in the very front of the lower deck and I didn't like that.

RE: Drop. Yes, that's the problem - my drop is quite big. It was difficult to get that Chevy pickup truck's front axle on the upper deck.

Speaking of stepdecks vs flats, I just lost a load paying 15 (!) bucks per loaded mile from PA to ON. These were steel coils, small tarps required, 300 D/H, 250 Loaded. Weighed 47,300 lbs and it paid this much because very few flatbed guys in US could take so much weight?! That's what the Agent told me when I called. I almost got it but then she learned I had a LOW PROFILE step and that was the dealbreaker. This particular shipper had some bad experiences with low trailers in the past (they got stuck either on the railway crossing inside the plant or at the crest of the entrance door to the warehouse). So, they didn't want to load low profile stepdecks :( The sad part of the story is I can take up to 49,000 lbs LEGALLY on my step and I was ready to buy 4 small tarps at Walmart. That $15/mi rate got me all excited ;) I still can't believe all they wanted was a plain jane 48 ft flat!!!

Believe it nor I talked with the Lead Engineer at Wilson Trailers in Iowa today! Took some effort but I finally got the answer to my trailer modification question, and Wilson said, "Yes, it can be done." The engineer said, "If you add another axle IN FRONT of the existing axle, you'll be closing the bridge, so the trailer will become stronger, not weaker." He offered to walk the Ontario trailer guys through the procedure, in case they had any questions. I just emailed this shop and asked them to give me 2 quotes: 1 for adding the third axle and the second for moving the front axle forward and creating a 121" fixed spread. It'll probably be $10K for Option 1 and around $5K for Option 2. A 121" tridem is rated in ON for 24,000 KG or 52,800 lbs. I don't want them to add deck space because that would really affect the resale value because of the seams.

My ad for the trailer is now on the Trailers Canada site and also on truckandtrailer.ca Didn't cost me a thing. The dealer is doing me a favor.

You still own the conestoga? I thought you sold that back to the dealer.

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$3750 on 250 miles? Damn I hate coils but it's hard to argue with that. How many coils to make up that 47K? Where in PA...Pitt?

I just gave it to them on consignment so that they sell it. I still own the darn thing. They said people come to them looking for used Conestogas, but most of the time these are people with flatbed trailers.

I don't remember the name of the town but it was closer than Pittsburgh. It was on the board for 10 minutes only. I think the load had more than 3 coils. Coils are actually not that hard to haul, but you need strong frame ('steel coil package'). The coil loads I saw on our board all paid pretty good. Here's one load I did with coils - this was one of my firsts and I spent a lot of time on it.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]676[/ATTACH]

Here's a more or less typical example with hauling coils out of US to Canada.

Origin: KY
Destination: ON, Canada
Weight: 45,000
Type: coils
Tarp: required
Loaded miles: 550
Gross rate per mie: $2.85 (including FSC).

The weight is a bit on the heavy side, but I think the rate is quite good, especially when you keep ALL the money (unlike me).

So you want to increase you empty weight by adding a axle? You can't rig up to haul heavy and be light enough to haul coils. I say save the money and try chasing coils.

I have a 3 axle DD stretch but rarely haul heavy, the money is in big and bulky, heavy equipment don't pay enough most of the time. To much competion.

How about LTL steel to Canada, should be able to put together some good loads. If you like I can PM you the best LTL agents in Il, don't know how much Canada they get but you can call and visit.

I was wondering about that weight thing. One the one hand, the extra axle can give you up to 45,000 lbs per tridem in USA (with a permit) or 52,900 lbs in Canada, on the other it adds weight. Your comment about BIG and BULKY makes sense. A regular 48 ft flat is probably better for this than a stepdeck? I don't have my authority yet, I have to use Landstar agents for now... But I can do coils with no sweat: my truck and trailer are very light. Properly distributed I can haul 49,000 lbs. The trailer has steel coil package (reinforced frame in the middle). I still think a large spread axle is a good thing to have, especially on a short step, like mine. Right now, if I get something 35 ft long and it weighs 45,000 lbs (loaded on the main deck only), I know my 61" trailer axles will be OVER 34,000 lbs. That Conestoga that I took off would be good for coils ;) but it takes off 2,000 lbs of the maximum load weight I could take.