Specking Out New Trailer

Don't blame the wife, if you take all her stuff and weigh it I bet way less than 200 lbs.

Your getting old buy a step on 17.5, it's easier to climb onto the deck.

 

Understand that those 17.5” tires are gonna take some care to make last and at times can be spendy to obtain on short notice. If run like to run heavy and 75mph you might want to reconsider 17.5s.

Having said that - the lower the trailer height the better

 

Those little hubs for the17.5's like to eat bearings if you run very fast in the heat. Also brakes and drums are way more expensive

 

If your running the loadboards,.. the key in my opinion is versatility. You need to be able to cover as many different types of loads as possible. As stated,.. the lower the deck the better. But,.. understand that will come with a cost. 17.5 tires and brakes wont last as long as 22.5 will.

The other factor is 48 vs 53. I prefer 53. Not because I am utilizing the space 100% of the time. But rather because its there when I need it. Tis better to have an not need vs getting to a shipper and you cant do the load because you dont have the room. Complete waste of time. Time = money.

The down side is that the 53 will need more room to maneuver and its going to be a little heavier. I've found that as long as I can scale 45k - 46k,.. I do alright.

Do not buy a step deck with the expectation of doing nothing but loads specific for the step deck. But rather,.. the ability to cover loads that can not be done with a regular flat. A well equipped 53' step will make you a lot more money than a regular 48ft flat.

Hurst

 

If you go new, get all aluminum for weight savings. And order way before you plan to put it in service if you want anything other than dealer spec. I ordered one in October, not built yet.

 

If ordering shop dealers and find one that has a build slot and is willing to get what you want.

 

Last year, i did really well with renting an all aluminium 48' flatbed. Made a lot of money until I returned the rental and bought an all aluminium 53' stepdeck. To be fair, all of the open decks freight dried up since november. Worse now in January of 2018. I am using load boards to find freight.

I would of done better with a flatbed instead of the stepdeck since there are more flatbed freight. The only great thing about stepdeck is the light weight no tarp loads. 90% of my stepdeck loads only utilize my bottom deck and I alwasys have room for another LTL freight. Also, i have not tarp a single load since i bought my stepdeck in November 2017.

The funny thing is I just parked my stepdeck trailer and bought a dryvan trailer. Dryvan freight is super great now. I have never seen such great rates for dryvan since i have been driving. Been getting $3-$4 per mile on Dryvan.

 

My suggestion is to be flexible and not get locked into a long lease. Being able to switch different trailers from flatbed, step, or dryvan would allow you to take advantage of the different seasonal freight.