Another rookie post.

So... Every 13 minutes he can buy a brand new fully loaded absolutely top of the line, no options spared, Fitzgerald glider configured as a 3 car head rack stinger with an equally decked out stinger trailer, pay the FET, apportioned plates and still have plenty money left over to pay Mario Andretti to deliver it to him, and buy him a 5 star dinner as a tip.

Put another way... That $60,000 flight to Vegas? Just under 3 minutes.

With that kind of money he doesn't need to worry about repairing a MaxxForce. It would take him 100 times longer to make the deal to buy the entire MaxxForce factory than it would for him to earn the money to pay for it..

I think I'm in the wrong line of work... LOL.

And I think I have successfully derailed this thread so far off track I'm not sure we can ever get it back... Sorry...

 

This MIGHT help get the thread back on track.

Just thought I would throw up a pic of the front trailer overhang I was talking about and how it works in reality.




This is a short bed pick up but without moving the 5th wheel I can safely fit a long bed or any car I want backed on with the wheels on the stop.

If I don't have that much overhang and should I want or need to, I can slide the 5th wheel forward about 18" (Shortens overall length and makes it ever so slightly easier to manuver). I can also move it back about 10" so that it is directly over the drive axle if for some reason I wanted/needed to. Normally you slide the 5th wheel to shift weight off the drives and onto the steer axle but this is something I never even have to consider since I have WAY more capacity available on that rear axle than I'll ever be able to use.

This is just another reason to go with a commercial truck (tractor) over a pick up. You'll frequently find yourself over allowed axle weight in a dually, but (depending on your trailer choice) pretty much never with a tractor.

FYI: That trailer is a "Take 3 Model 50" factory length is 50'. It's now 52' 11" (53' is max legal) with front and rear extensions for a total of 718" of usable deck (59' 10").

About 70% of the time I have a 4 car load I don't have to use the rear flips. 760" of total overall vehicle length is my magic number (with the rear flips). That or less and it's almost guaranteed to fit. 770" maybe, 780" unlikely.

3 big long Sprinter vans without using rear flips all day long.

Hope this helps.

 

Oh yeah, that's another good point about using these pickups. Many of the dualies you see hauling multi-car trailers are actually exceeding their axle ratings on a regular basis. Besides the fact that it's pretty unsafe (as well as extra-hard on the equipment), there's also the fact that DOT really CAN ticket you for doing this. It's rarely enforced but has happened before.

In fact, I remember when we still had that Ford F-550 pulling the 5-car Kaufman. The driver at that time was pulled over by a Louisiana trooper who suspected him of doing exactly that very same thing: the trooper did a double-take and let him go when he discovered that the power unit was a F-550, and not the usual F-350 most outfits like to use. The two models look very identical, but the F550 has a heavier-duty frame and a much higher towing capacity and is one of the few pickups which could get away with doing this job (but, even then, it still wouldn't outlast a class 7 or 8 tractor).

 

WOW... Just WOW... I think I have set a new trailer record (For my trailer, not ALL trailers everywhere...lol..)

In the above post I had said, "About 70% of the time I have a 4 car load I don't have to use the rear flips. 760" of total overall vehicle length is my magic number (with the rear flips). That or less and it's almost guaranteed to fit. 770" maybe, 780" unlikely."

Well.... I just moved a 794" load with no bumpers touching.! My front vehicle was a regular cab long bed truck so it had a lot of overhang and the back vehicle was a 2007 Taurus with about 40" of overhang. I had less than 1" of "extra" trailer room. just goes to show you the vehicle mix really can make a huge difference.

Was so impressed I almost peed myself...lol... OK, not really but still....

 

I hate to burst your bubble, but the bumpers are Not supposed to touch. You need about a hands width between units or plan on buying a few bumpers to learn a lesson.

 

Yes, I'm fully aware that the bumpers, (or any other parts) are not supposed to touch. That is specifically why I said "No bumpers touching". Because I knew with 100% certainty that if I did not specify that nothing was touching someone from the internet police would have a comment about it. So I did specify but I guess I was not clear enough.... So, let me be perfectly clear, "I still had sufficient space between each vehicle to insure no contact and no damage would occur".

 

I'm impressed. Post some pictures.

 

Of the 794" load? Can't. Not until after I delivered them did I even think about making a post so I never considered pics until way to late..

Yeah, yeah, I know.... "Pics or it didn't happen"... Sigh...

I take my post back... LOL