First steel coils

Discussion in 'Flatbed Trucking Forum' started by mpd240, Dec 9, 2015.

  1. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    Jump on in. The goal immediate goal is to be able to load and get your axle weights legal.
    Secondary goal is to load with winter in mind (you need weight on the drives).
    Long term is to load heavy (over gross) and get the axles right.

    "But Six, what about the spread? We get 40 k on the spread."

    Opie was legal in the pics, but the closer the weights get to 80k gvw, the more critical it becomes for you the driver to be able to load correctly.

    If on that style trailer, a heavy coil was placed that far back, there would be a couple thousand lbs more than 40 k on the spread. And she would be difficult to maneuver.

    I called @Chewy352 out because he's a new skateboarder, and he got himself in a bit of trouble. But, if anyone else wants to jump in, jump in. The more the merrier. Any rookies that have a question but are a bit nervous to post their questions, pm me and I will ask the gang for you so that you can remain anonymous.
     
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  3. glitterglue

    glitterglue Light Load Member

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    Oh!! A math problem :D

    To answer your question, I'll include my thought process to be analyzed --

    For "measuring purposes", let's assume the Kp has an 18" offset and is exactly centered over the drives. The trailer spread is 10' with 5' overhang to the rear. My starting measurements would then be:
    - Physical center of the trailer is 318" (26' 6", or 53' / 2)
    - Load center is 249" (20' 9" behind the Kp location, or 22' 3" physical, 4' 3" in front of the physical center)
    --- Math: ((636 - 18 - 120) / 2) -- e.g. ((overall trailer - Kp offset - tail to center of trailer tandems) / 2)

    For weights, I'm starting with 12k, 12k & 7k, so I have 22k and 33k to play with on the drives and trailer. I know that the farther forward I put the load, the more weight will transfer to the steers as well - which I need to minimize. Percentage-wise, I can legally load up to 45% ( 22/48 ) of the coil on the drives or 68% ( 33/48 ) on the trailer. Adding 45% (22k) on the drives, I'm going to have more than 500#'s transferring to the steers, so I need to back it off a bit more.

    I'm going with a 40/60 ratio drive to trailer weight. That's a 19.2k & 28.8k split - which means I need to center the load 10% farther back on the trailer (over a 50/50 split). 10% of my 249" load center distance is 24.9" (I'll round to 25").

    So the center of the coil will be 2' 2" in front of the physical center or 24' 4" physically from the front of the trailer.

    How's that for eyeballing it??
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2015
    Reason for edit: Removed my adjusted load center answer ... Original was better ...
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  4. dclerici1

    dclerici1 Medium Load Member

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    You were closer the first time. Center of KP to center of axle group.
     
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  5. glitterglue

    glitterglue Light Load Member

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    Yeah, fingers getting ahead of my brain.

    I my mind, I'm picturing the 5th wheel / kp over the middle of the drives -- missed saying that completely in both posts!
     
  6. Chewy352

    Chewy352 Road Train Member

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    :p
    Measure the distance between the kingpin and the center of the spreads. Divide the distance by two and measure that back from the kingpin. Or get a brand-new great Dane with it marked on the frame.:p
     
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  7. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    Going with 12k, 12k, and 7k with your brand new Dane, same dims on the coil...I need 34000 on the spread. Do you move the coil forward of center or rear of center and if so, how far do you move it? And if you are 35500 lbs on the spread, approximately how much weight do you have on the drives?
     
  8. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    Usually, most of the guys nowadays have a truck with a setback front axle. Most run with the 5th wheel all the way to the rear. I run a hood. With the 5th wheel all the way back, I won't see 12000 grossing 100k.
     
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  9. glitterglue

    glitterglue Light Load Member

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    I've driven both a setback (FL Century & FL Cascadia) and a hood (Pete 379). I liked the turn radius of the set back, but I really liked the ride of the hood. Took a little to get comfortable with the turn radius, but it was nice.
     
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  10. Chewy352

    Chewy352 Road Train Member

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    About 5 inches back to make 34k on the spreads.

    If you're 35,500 on the spread then you're 31500 on the drives
     
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  11. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    Would you mind explaining for the lurkers and wannabes how you came up with your answers? I'll need to take the time to walk to the convenience store for an adult beverage. The transformation to the Cool Side is now complete.

    Everyone has their own way, their method to the madness. Knowing the job is one thing. Being able to explain the job to someone else in a way that makes sense to them shows mastery.

    Good work, @Chewy352. The goal isn't to have a job. The goal is to be good at what you do.
     
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