35 or 40 ton rgn?

Yes a 40 ton would be better because you could move those loads that are just out of your range with the 35t but you should consider that the 40t will be on average 2500 lbs heavier overall and that is without adding a flip or a modular deck.
If you are happy with restricting your work to about 70k then the 35t makes sense but if you see a need to move 75k or 80k loads in your area on a regular basis then the extra to go 40t makes sense if you see enough work.

 

I second beast. The 35t are cheaper and lighter. But if your averaging 66k, you are close to max and I personally dont like to be at max rating consistently. My though would be a nice 40 or 45.
I will be looking for a 45t here in June.
Ooh-RAH

 

Depends on what brands you are looking at. Trail King and XL who have a large market share in the double drops have a standard rating of 40 tons to where 5 years ago or so they were 35 tons. They are basically the same exact trailer. The load concentrations are exactly the same rated 70,000# in 16' whether it is a 35 ton or 40 ton. The weights are within 100# of each other. You talk about 66k military freight and that is concentrated loads so the same load concentration being the same and within your spec a 35 ton would be fine in my opinion.

I think Fontaine and maybe Talbert offer a 40ton that has a flip neck extension to go 7 axles and I think the load concentration maybe be 80,000# in 16' and if so they would be heavier. Best way to check is look at the vin tag and at the same time take the gvwr rating and subtract the capacity to get the empty stamp weight to be sure it isn't too much heavier. Trail King and XL offers a 45 ton to compete with Talbert and Fontaine's 7 axle capable setup.

The double drop detach is one of the most widely used trailers on the market. These manufacturers are not going to under rate their trailers to risk a failure to loose any sales or cost any lives being lost. If its rated 70,000# in 16' then it should be able to do it repeatedly many many times.

 

Just watch concentrated load on older trailers - you will see plenty of worn out 35 tons with the deck severely negative....

nothing lasts for ever and guys are buying on price sometimes and not taking the fatigue into account.

and I would be careful about saying nothing is different on a 40 ton versus a 35 ton. They may very well have necks or front pins that are uprated to allow the additional weight.

 

Thus the extra weight when there are only minor visual differences

 

thats exactly why id rather have at MINUMUM a 10% higher capacity trailer than what i can haul at max gross for my setup.

 

Xl is junk. Their paint is junk. I'd avoid them.

Etnyre, trail king, Fontaine, Talbert, Aspen, Dorsey. I've heard good things about Brazos and dragon also.

 

flip neck to 7 meaning tri trailer and 4 axle tractor?