New Driver purchasing flatbed. Length question

Hello everyone! This is my first post on this forum. I’ve found many helpful threads here so far and am excited to be part of the conversation in the future.

Long story short I’ve farmed for the last 15 years but due to family issues I won’t be farming this year. I have chosen to switch to hauling grain for other farmers as well as hauling whatever flatbed loads I can find over the road. Good Idea or bad I’m all in.

I drove for a boom truck all over this country for three years before coming home to farm. While farming I drove a day cab with a 42ft trailer so it was an easy task driving through town to the grain elevators.

I purchased a 2019 Kenworth W900L with the 83” sleeper. That’s a stretch from a day cab. I consider myself to be a good driver but I don’t want to purchase too long of a flatbed for this setup and get myself into trouble down the road. I will also be purchasing a new grain trailer and maybe a cattle pot. For now my main concern is length of trailer with this W900 and its large sleeper. I have young children so I’ll be able to haul grain locally when school events and family time is needed.

For farming tax purposes I’m going to have to purchase my trailers new so they can depreciate over time. Who knows, if this all works out well I may not go back to farming. Ive missed the road now for a while.

By the way… The only reason I purchased such a big sleeper was more of a “have to” rather than a “want to”. My wife and kids want to travel with me at times while school is out for the summer. Gotta keep them happy even if it causes me a little more of a headache while hauling.

So ya, after all of that, how long of a trailer is too long for the semi I purchased?

Thanks in advance for all of your advice. It’s greatly appreciated!

Tony

 

Forgot to mention that I will most likely be purchasing a Reitnouer Big Bubba spread axle with rear dump.

 

Thanks for the tip. I think 48 would be easier to manage for my first year with that studio being so long. Probably be better to be on the cautious side rather than going 53 right off the bat.

 

Just got done looking at the MACs. They certainly have a flatter profile and look like good trailers. I will definitely give several dealers a call tomorrow. Hopefully they we can work out a reservation and payment for after Jan 1st!

 

Good point fellas. My tax guy is trying his best to finagle things for me. I guess our thinking was to have a large as an expense from the large sum my grain will bring as possible to protect the farm income. It’s kind of a tricky process how we farmers push things from year to year and maybe that’s the same for you guys too. I still don’t fully understand it and I’m sure I’m not explaining it well enough. I found a few good used Mac trailers with a much lower price.

Tarps will be a must. Are there certain brands to go after? Are there brands to stay away from? What lengths work best? I’m assuming at least two tarps half the length of the trailer and triple or quadruple the width? Just a guess

 

I’ve heard from friends in the know that OOIDA will be a helpful resource in the future. I signed up yesterday.