best stepdeck

Alot has to depend on your tractor setup. What will be your main source of freight.
Then you will want to have good axle ratings. Me I would want 20k axle ratings.
Do you really need a tri axle step, winches on both sides and good tie down points.
Kingpin setting again depends on your tractor setup.
Do you want to spend the money on an all alum. or do you want to go alum/ steel combo
Do you really need the west coast axle setup.. IE will you be hauling enough Ca. freight to really need it.
Some stuff with that setup, you can't get the weight transfer to front enough.
Alot of choices.
Not one setup will be a one size fits all plan. Just my thoughts

 

53 ft low pro donnan steel stepdeck with sliding axle 12 ft top deck 41 ft on the bottom apitong floor.it takes steel to haul steel and aluminum wont take the abuse very well.theres not much freight to justify the third axle.having 17.5 tires maybe a problem if u drive too fast with tires under 110 psi.i still can scale 46klbs with full tanks and all the gear.$35000 brand new.doonan have a really good warranty from what i heard

 

an inflation system is a good option to have i dont know the cost for that.17.5 r hard to find $490 for michelin $300 for hancock and yes i carry an xtra tire.im not sure if mac or fontaine make a steel trailer.

 

Anyone that knows anything about trailers that can give an real opinion knows that MAC doesn't make any thing except Aluminum trailers and Fontaine. Has all kinds of trailer configurations.

Get real man

 

You couldn't give me another Doonan trailer. It's been a couple years since I had one but I've broke the two that I bought. As far as 17.5's are concerned unless you plan on hauling tall freight all the time they aren't worth the aggravation of trying to keep the rubber on them when it's hot. I like a Fontaine or a Manac but I only use steel trailers and use them pretty hard.

 

You've broke the 2 that you've had? Operator error?

 

They were oilfield stretches rated at 50 tons. They both broke right in front of the axles at the split for the stretch. Now I'm not going to say that they had never been overloaded but when they broke they had about 30k on the deck and were closed. Not operator error that was determined by Doonan they said the first one was caused by weak steel and the second was bad welds. They did replace both trailers, but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth regarding their brand.

 

All that heavy #### is always breaking ####.

2 different trailers broken in the same spot and Doonan had 2 different diagnosis' seems odd. I'm glad you specified they were stretches. Web have guys around here that said Aluminum King Pins and Aluminum subframes on hoppers don't hold up and theyre not wOrth it. But you see their trucks pull out of a farm road in high range down through the ditch and back up on the road never slow down. I'm not saying it's impossible but it's almost ALWAYS operator error. Almost.