Big Loads - Post Photos Number 2

@ElmerFudpucker , I see you have a new trailer. Care to share details, and how you like it?

 

It’s a 2024 Fontaine 55 drop side. 26.6’ well 14.6” deck 102” neck with a 23” flip box to make 125” of swing. Bought a used spreader bar that I picked up pretty cheap. It’s old. (2007)

I really like it. I’m not sure it’s as stout as the talbert and I will miss the hydraulic flip. But the forth axle pins 10 times easier, the neck connects easier and has a lower profile. And going from a 109” swing to 125” really helps with weight distribution. So overall I am pleased with it.

 

I thought about buying one too. I was thinking of keeping the talbert and get a west coast 9. But I don’t have enough work for one. Plus the added headache of a multi component. And I can’t really load that much more weight over here.

 

So with the flip box you can load more toward the middle and front?

I'm sure the drop side is inconvenient occasionally, but the height advantage has to be nice and save on permit/routing.

Is the weight similar to the Talbert even with the spreader bar and flip box?

 

The neck does two things. I can get much more weight on the steer. And it also pushes weight to the back. It helps keep from overloading the drives. Which is a constant problem with an 8 axle. The bar pushes weight forward which is why I felt it pointless to get a bar for the talbert. A short neck with a bar will only over load the drives more and you will actually end up being able to net less weight.

the drop side only really hinders loading stuff with low ground clearance. ie: forklifts, skid steers, and pavers. But with my equipment cost I can’t make money running that stuff anyhow. I carry oak blocks that I put under stuff that needs a flat floor. The blocks are the same height as the beams. I have been able to load a couple loads already that would have required a pole car on the other trailer. So, yeah so far I am happy.

As far as weight it’s only a 1,000 pounds heavier with the bar included. Went from 54,600 to 55,500.

 

Easy peasy lemon squeazy.
This is a 1997 Aspen with a 65ton deck. 222 config yes.

The main and the booster are always within a few hundred lbs of one another.

The walking beam makes balance super easy. Basically you get this shims right on the booster and never ever ever ever change them. To the point that when we rebuild them they sandblast and spray the booster shims and just put fresh bolts through.

Because no matter that you do the weight distro is always going to be the same. So typically we figure out those shims and never touch them , much like the jeep 5th wheel we find its perfect spot and never touch it.


At that point you only need put it together and load it. And your front and back groups will always be consistent.

Deck shims have zero effect on weight, only ride height, the ones where the transition pins to the deck. Neck shims don't effect distribution either.


The walking beam is magic and it rides like glass. All because the trailer only attaches to it's own main axles and that of the stinger in one place on one pivot point when it's all put together.

And the suspension on my particular trailer is a bit more complex. The main trailer suspension has trunions that attach to the main walking beam, and the stinger itself is what gives it air ride cuz it has bags.

Which allow the actual main trailer axles to travel independent of the main walking beam and of course the main walking beam travels independently of the entire trailer. So they can travel some pretty crap terrain. And you're not going to feel it near as much. And most importantly you're never going to be able to snap the stinger.

Because of where the main trailer mounts to the walking beam they always have equal force. Takes a lot of stress off of the trailer frame the way they designed it.


But yeah as far as triple trailers go they are the set it and forget it.... Load the wagon and go on about your business. As for deck shims. I leave enough in there that a 50ton load will be 6in off the ground. If I Max it out and put about 65 ton on it, I have to add just a tiny bit to maintain that 6-in Gap with the ground. About 1/4inch.

I've maxed it out a time or two and this old beast still has Arch. Aspen tends to over engineer. This was clearly also a Wednesday trailer.



I've pulled 2+1 , 2+3+2, 2+2+2, 3+3+3. All West Coast walking beams.

With three different types of suspension all air ride, half air ride, and then even independent rear suspension into a air ride booster.

Every last one of them work the same you find The Sweet spot so that your main trailer and your stinger always comes out consistent and never touch it.

The trickiest one is the three plus two. Now for our newest ones they're set up just like mine. But we have some older ones that actually have a telescoping booster. To where you can adjust the weight distribution and your bridge at the same time by simply extending it or contracting it.

And it is simply as easy as locking the booster axles unlocking the pins and sliding them like a normal set of tandems. And yes they will slide even with all that weight on them if they've been taken care of correctly. That's the only trailer type with magic tricks really that we have.

Now for the all air ride types it gets even better. Because what we do is we run common air to both sets of axles. And as long as it's working right usually the groups are always within a hundred pounds. Give or take. And if you do need to do any finagling say you're right up against your limits. You can over pressure one set of bags or the other so that it takes more weight. Cuz you got to keep in mind they're always going to want to be equal and if you over pressure one end of the beam it's going to put more weight on that end of the beam. Because instead of the beam being level then it's going to be at a slight angle.


I absolutely love them, we only have three different brands and that's Aspen, Trail King and XL. And all three respectively function exactly the same. With their own design quirks. At least if you get it in a walking beam style.



Anyway that might have been too much information and I might have looped around on myself a few times but. There you go.

 

Thanks for putting in all that effort to explain. Very good rundown of west coast set ups!

 

appreciate the details and all you have done to esplain it to us mere mortals!!

 

Now that I have a truck that isn't breaking down every 5 seconds....... Turn around going up for me..... I'll miss the T800Ws but this 880 is growing on me quickly. Same specs plus a bunch of nifty features anyway. Heck it's the same bloody chassis. Except it has the sharper steering cut because we have a 20k axel we don't actually put 20k tires on. Couldn't feasibly max it out anyway.... Jeep ain't long enough. But I'm actually finding this one really does stay cooler in all regards.

Cat 374

Livery deleted off truck, company has a social media policy.

I put the window cover on later after the ibuprofen kicks in.

 

First of 8 pumps heading to Miami, FL. 75,000LBS of stainless.