Flatbed Weight Questions

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He's right, I was just messing with you on about getting a long hood. Get what suit's you best, it's your investment. And another thing like W9 said, make sure it's a pre emission's truck Unless your gonna Mr. Haney do he's magic deleting it.

 

AT I didnt know you had plans to go OO. You seem to be pretty happy with WS. Tired of working for the man? Just curious.

 

AT,
I hope you do the math in this idea every which way. While I certainly wish you the BEST, many company drivers think they will do much better as an O/O but either end up about the same or worse off...
I don't always know why - but just make sure you look at each and every thing that you will need and need to spend money on.

If it makes sense and you have a nice HUGE maintenance fund, I say go for it........

 

You are going to spend 15-20k on pride asa new o/O? You have made a lot of good posts but guess you haven't read many of the posts. You are going to spend more money for a truck that's going to cost you more to operate that isn't going to be any more reliable than a cheaper truck. All because image?!?

 

You aint gonna catch American Trucker ridin dirty!

Im sorry. I actually have no idea what that means.

 

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I feel the same way about rap music.

 

For pulling stepdeck, 34k empty weight is pretty much standard. My ramps weigh about 80# each, plus stands 50# or so each, plus brackets, so just figure on 500#. A typical headache rack is 200# or so up to 600# for the nice 3 door stainless ones. Oh yeah, don't forget about your 10' drop tarps. That's another 300# or so. Your side boxes will be about 100# or so each. 3/8" chains, binders, 2" straps, 4" straps, etc. will all add up as well.

My empty weight is about 33,500 with full tanks with a 2000 WS 4964EX (12.7det, 13, all alum 24.5, 280 gallon capacity tanks) 2008 Fontaine 48x102 all steel/wood floor step (4 alum, 2 boxes, 16' ramps with hangers), 10 chains, 15 binders, coil racks, shackles, straps, tarps, ladder, and on and on. Occasionally you'll see a 48k step load but it's a rare thing. Most of the time, the 10,000# loads pay the same or more as the 46,000# loads

All that said, if you're trying to hit a weight number for a specific contract, that's a different story.

 

You buy whats right for you. Myself i would never own a Freightliner again or even think of a Volvo after owning Petes and kenworths. The money savings is not there IMO. I get better mpg with my petes than friends do with aero trucks, go figue. Now as far as wieght most of the step deck loads i have pulled are all under 46k. Most shippers know there a little heavier and the loads reflect that for the most part so comeing in at 34k empty should not be an issue. My trucks range from 30,500lbs fully set up alum flat to as high as 32,500 with a combo step. No ramps and no head boards so that saves some wieght.

 

I ran a steel frame 4 axle drop deck for a year before going to the lowboy, the ramp weight will be determined on what rating it is. The company had 4k, 10k and 20k ramps for the trailer but I never carried all of them and most of the time it depended on the season and freight, for general weights on aluminum ramps we had here is the weights out of my book.

4k-115 pounds per set and the second set with hardware was the same.

230 pounds per rail set

10k- 400 pounds per set commercial ramps, made for medium duty trucks and could handle all terrain forklifts. I suggest from personal experience to make sure the load never exceeds 10k max, it gets nasty. Rating is max per axle and you have to take into the weight of load shift as it goes up the ramp, so what is flat weight becomes more on the back axle as weight is shifted. I am no engineer or expert but hey I have watched others and seen the mistakes.

25k weight is around 600 pounds, included 4 sections of ramp and bridge. I carried these the most and they are bullet proof for any reasonable load and can handle the majority of rubber tire vehicle weights, I hauled more freight with them and the rating was good enough for most applications.

Now the ramps need a place to ride, we had them on the deck for a while and that pretty much was a pain. Company ended up with a storage bracket that was bolted under the deck, easy access and you will need a set on each side.

approximate weight is unknown but estimated at 200 pounds max

Now a empty weight aluminum drop deck may weigh out at 10,500 but is that stripped with no headboard or strap rails? Ad on the weight for 14 Winches and strap, that should make you legal in most places and cover most loads hauled.

Have to think about all the boxes, ramps and hanger weights.

I know East has a 48X102 drop deck with wenches and boxes that is empty weight at 9,900 lbs