First steel coils

See what I meant now , don't you

 

No I don't see what you mean. You said

The light is at the phisical middle of the trailer. That may or may not be the center for weight distribution. With so many variables in trailer specs i.e. kingpin placement, spread placement, spread distance etc. It is important to know the center for weight distribution. After all why did great dane take the time to mark it for me. With the excesses six presented we can see that one foot can make a huge difference depending on what you're hauling. In that case 1 foot moves about 6k lbs.

Finding this isn't even a lot of trouble or time at all anyways. My first flat I didn't have it marked. After I figured it out, maybe 5 mins, I marked the location on my rub rail with electrical tape.

And I'm one of the laziest guys I know.

 

Chewy, basically what skateboardman ifs saying is, the vast majority of guys can just lost one foot behind the centerline if the trailer and be good to go. The only time this would be wrong is if you've got some odd ball specced trailer.

 

Got it. I'm not up on old the specs and stuff on trailers. Here's the load that had me driving the scenic route from new York to Michigan. The spreads are about 2 feet up from the rear of the trailer so I think my weight center was 1 to 2 feet forward of the mid marker light.

Like six said I'm learning and sometimes the hard way.

 

The way to learn is listen.

 

So that was the load that got you in a bind earlier this year?

Thanks for the pic. Interesting trailer...48 flat, with the axles moved up. Most 48s will have the axles to the rear. Marker light at the 24 ft mark. Excellent example why you can't just go by the marker light. Most shippers will be going by the marker light. With a big coil, you will be too heavy on the spread of a trailer like this.

Now, if you put this trailer next to a 48 ft spread axle, the marker light will still be in the same spot (at the 24ft mark), but a step runs a much shallower kingpin setting. On a flat, with the 5th wheel slid all the way to the rear, the front of the trailer covers the front drive axle. On a step, with the 5th wheel in the same spot, the front drives are half exposed. However, its not nearly the problem on a 48 spread that it is on the 53 step spreads like @mpd240 and @Hurst run, with the narrow kingpin setting, the long bridgelaw breaking wheelbase, and the sliding rear axle that's needed to get through CT,FL and CA.

 

Ya that was after I got it reworked too. Small family run quarry. I got loaded around 3 pm. Weighed at the truckstop around 4 and pooped my pants. Started calling the shipper cause I knew he wasn't at the quarry anymore. He finally answered and said to come on back. He ended up pulling 2 pallets out of the middle and moved two from the back into the hole. So it was alot worse then this and this was still over on the spreads I believe. I started out over gross and axles.

This is what happens when you have limited knowledge and trust a shipper that doesn't even know what his pallets weigh.

 

If you take a ruler, and put it on your computer screen, and measure from the center of the spread to the kingpin, do you come up with a center that's to the rear of the middle of the 2nd pallet?

 

It's that a 50 ft flat? What the &$!?

 

Nope its an old Melton 48. I have no idea why the axles are up that far. I've seen other companies with them but not often.