Buying a dry van

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by rakusa, Jun 15, 2014.

  1. rakusa

    rakusa Light Load Member

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  3. 8thnote

    8thnote Road Train Member

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    I've always wondered why they don't attach that under tray thingy directly to the slider somehow. Seems like that would be better, as you would get its full effect no matter where you've got your tandems positioned, instead only when they're all the way to the front. I know unsprung weight is bad but how heavy can that thing be? And wouldn't the aero benefits outweigh the negative effect of added unsprung weight?

    i know this doesn't have anything to do with the OPs question, but that's always bugged me.
     
  4. ShortBusKid

    ShortBusKid Heavy Load Member

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  5. Richter

    Richter Road Train Member

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    They did tons of aero dynamic research and smart truck determined the shield was better forward regardless of tandem position. Give them a call, they can explain it much better then I can, but it was designed likw that on purpose, not just to save money on sliders.
     
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  6. Richter

    Richter Road Train Member

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    I saw it at the CMC conference and it looks like a bad ### trailer. Spec wise it has it all. If you need a dry van, the fuel saving will more then make up for the additional cost.

    My only problem with it is they went with smart truck insted of skirts and tails. I've pulled trailers with skirts/tails and ones with smart truck. Smart truck does better in cross winds and is less susceptible to damage. With no cross winds, i felt the skirt and tails to better. Spec wise the skirts and tails are about 4% better. Real world they are probably pretty close. If I was designing a trailer from scratch though, i think id go with skirts and tails.
     
  7. Richter

    Richter Road Train Member

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    Cheapest i saw on truck paper for an air ride wabbash was 27,000. This trailer is higher quality then a wabash. This trailer is 6500 more then that. If this trailer only gives you .5 mpg, then you'd save 5000 in the first year. Id expect it to save a fll mpg over a wabash and thus is 10,000 in fuel saving. Either way, it pays for itself in less then 2 year. In 6.7 years, you have saved enough in fuel (at .5 mpg) to buy a whole new KR trailer. Id expect it to last at least that long.

    o yea, it has disk brakes, that 5k right there.
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2014
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  8. razor1983

    razor1983 Medium Load Member

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    Who actually makes these trailers? It looks like a Hyundai trailer, which are garbage. Wabash too has structural weaknesses. If I was buying a new trailer I would get Utility, then you can equip it with fuel saving gizmos afterwards.
     
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  9. Richter

    Richter Road Train Member

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    Con-way makes um...seemed pretty sturdy...looked more solid then a hyundai or a wabash. The doors lined up a lot better to.
     
  10. Richter

    Richter Road Train Member

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    Yea, but you cant buy a new utility with micro blue. So you buying bearing you don't want just to throw out. You cant buy a utility balence beads, so you will have to remount of fill through valve stem which is added labor. The rest of the stuff are addones and probably wont cost any more to add on after. Id rather not pay for bearing im just gonna toss though.
     
  11. colorado18spd

    colorado18spd Medium Load Member

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