flat or step.

Yep. Used to be 41' from KP to center of the axle group. I interpreted that as 46' from KP to rear axle on my 121" tandem spreads. And that's how I spec'd them. Asked trailer dealership to verify the laws and they agreed with me so that's how we built them.

Yep. And I am 46'.

 

Plus with a step you haul many 10 foot tall loads that require real heavy tarps to cover. I love pulling a step but am looking to upgrade to a 53' flat with a quickdraw tarping system.

 

This may be a dumb question, but is the above describing a conestoga trailer?

 

Yes, there are many names for the different styles of conestoga's even though I the term conestoga is more for a step deck, it is still the same principal with a flat.

Rolls rite, guick draw there are many

 

I am sure they make tarping extremely easy. Are most shippers alright with loading them? I currently work for a 3PL and have a few vendors that prohibit conestoga's specifically even though the product is well under 102" tall. Just trying to gauge how versatile they are to pull.

 

Some places that you have to load with a crane, they will refuse to load a consetoga trailer, because they are scared they will hit it and have to pay for it. Yes they make tarping a breeze, but they do add a good bit of weight to a trailer

 

I actually have 2 trailers, a all aluminum 48 foot flat bed. With that trailer I can scale 50,000 legal. I like it because I get the super coil's that are close to 50K, those are some of the best paying legal freight I have ever pulled.

I also have a 51 foot combo step, that has the 17.5 tires on it, and the short top deck. I like that trailer to because I can pull 10'6'' tall freight legal on it, but I can only scale about 47,500 with it after adding ramps, deck levelers and everything else I need for it. I have a decent customer base hauling equipment, mostly farming and trucks, so I stay busy with my step. I also pull some 55 foot long beams, and with the deck levelers that is a legal load on my step, as long as I hang it off the front of the trailer 2 feet and only 2 off the back. so I get paid for an OD load and never have to buy permits. The problem I have is like several people have stated already, which ever trailer I leave the house with, 4 day's later I will find a load that I need my other trailer for, and it is sitting at the house 500 miles away. LOL

 

I am by no means an expert, but I thought that anything over 53' in almost every state needs permits, regardless of the front or rear overhang.

 

Just depends on the state, we run into it all the time. Then of course, on top of that, you have the states that overhang is technically not allowed, but they don't enforce, which leaves it up to whether your particular DOT guy that day and if he had his coffee and doughnut yet.


just of the top of my head,

NO OVERHANG, FL,NY,MI,OH,NE,WA, and most of your upper NE states.


Then you have, states based on LOAD LENGTH, regardless of trailer,

CO, 57'
WY, 60'
KS, 60' been longer, never been bothered.

Can't remember the rest, should be in the front of your RM atlas.