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53 Dry Van Question hauling rollstock

Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by Hazardous, Aug 11, 2023.

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  1. Aug 11, 2023 #1
    Hazardous

    Hazardous Light Load Member

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    Jul 25, 2012
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    I have a contract hauling rollstock (pulpboard) and I have been renting trailers for a few months now. The trailers I'm renting are constantly having the floor boards break because of the weight of the clamp trucks with the rolls.

    Im looking to buy some used trailers and I wanted to ask something.

    If I buy a trailer with 10" or 12" centers on the cross members, can I just add cross members to increase the floor rating for the paper? Every person I talk to at the mill says I should have 6"to 8" centers for paper.

    Can I just retrofit a regular trailer to meet this so when I buy them my floors arent getting tore up?
     
    Hazardous, Aug 11, 2023
    Hazardous, Aug 11, 2023
    #1
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  3. Aug 11, 2023 #2
    JoeyJunk

    JoeyJunk Road Train Member

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    They sell “paper spec” dry vans
     
    JoeyJunk, Aug 11, 2023
    JoeyJunk, Aug 11, 2023
    #2
    ducnut, Siinman, Judge and 1 other person Thank this.
  4. Aug 11, 2023 #3
    Hazardous

    Hazardous Light Load Member

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    Jul 25, 2012
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    Much as I want to spend $60k on a single "paperspec" trailer, I'd like to try my hand at this. Paper spec just means it literally has more cross members.

    I can buy a used dry van and put $5k worth of cross members into it and bam, saved me $40k. Im trying to get some information from anyone who knows trailers if this is doable or not.
     
    Hazardous, Aug 11, 2023
    Hazardous, Aug 11, 2023
    #3
  5. Aug 11, 2023 #4
    DUNE-T

    DUNE-T Road Train Member

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    They are not $60k. When I bought my Wabash HD for $33500 before Covid, the regular Wabash van was $31500
     
    DUNE-T, Aug 11, 2023
    DUNE-T, Aug 11, 2023
    #4
    Judge Thanks this.
  7. Aug 11, 2023 #5
    Hazardous

    Hazardous Light Load Member

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    Jul 25, 2012
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    Dry vans were 30k pre covid...they are 60 now. You cant buy a new regular dry van for 30k anymore...maybe an ATRO
     
    Hazardous, Aug 11, 2023
    Hazardous, Aug 11, 2023
    #5
    gekko1323 Thanks this.
  8. Aug 11, 2023 #6
    DUNE-T

    DUNE-T Road Train Member

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    I am not telling you to go buy a new dry van trailer for $30k, I am just saying that my trailer with heavy duty 24klb floor rating was only $2k more than regular 20klb floor trailer.
    When you buy an used dry van, just look for one with heavy duty floor for couple grand more, vs spending $5k installing extra cross members
     
    DUNE-T, Aug 11, 2023
    DUNE-T, Aug 11, 2023
    #6
    ducnut Thanks this.
  9. Aug 11, 2023 #7
    JB7

    JB7 Heavy Load Member

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    Laurel, MD
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    Re Flooring a 53 ft dry van trailer | Page 2 | TruckersReport.com Trucking Forum | #1 CDL Truck Driver Message Board (thetruckersreport.com)
    Post #11 might be an option.
     
    JB7, Aug 11, 2023
    JB7, Aug 11, 2023
    #7
  10. Aug 11, 2023 #8
    Judge

    Judge Road Train Member

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    Judge, Aug 11, 2023
    Judge, Aug 11, 2023
    #8
  11. Aug 11, 2023 #9
    MRMTRANS

    MRMTRANS Medium Load Member

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    Apr 28, 2015
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    I don't know if putting more cross members would alleviate floor damage. Bot I can say putting in a few extra cross members wouldn't be hard. Utility Trailer sells hug bolts to fit perfectly in the holes of the trailer and cross member when replacing one. One thing though: put a lot of pressure on the ends of each cross member before drilling holes-whether you drill with cross member in place or mark the holes, remove then drill. When I had to replace several cross members because of a low 1/5th wheel, I always had to put pressure on the member ends to align with original rivet holes. I used a bottle jack raised by old brake drums on each end.
     
    MRMTRANS, Aug 11, 2023
    MRMTRANS, Aug 11, 2023
    #9
  12. Aug 11, 2023 #10
    gekko1323

    gekko1323 Road Train Member

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    Henderson, NV
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    How are the Atros anyway? I almost bought one.
     
    gekko1323, Aug 11, 2023
    gekko1323, Aug 11, 2023
    #10
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