Hopper, Dump O/O's & Drivers

Ah, the old tires! Thank God for today's tires, I'm too young to have much experience with the bias ply and split-rim stuff. Hearing the stories and just looking at them scare me. Guess a person needed to be around them a while to properly appreciate how good we've got it now.

 

Giving away my age here, I do remember those tires and rims. There were also the 3 piece suicide rims. Of which I had the misfortune of working on my last year of HS. I was airing one up and was standing about 20 ft back from it watching. It didn't look "right" so I flipped the air-hose to let it drain back out. Never install the valve stem for this very reason. Unfortunately I had waited too long. The tire blew off the rim sending the lock ring and lip ring flying straight at me. It hit my arm then proceeded toward my head. I wound up with 3 breaks in my left forearm and a severe concusion running from my left eyesocket up my forehead and back across my crown stopping about 2 inches above and behind my left ear. Blind for about 6 weeks in the left eye, with permanant vision imparement once the internal swelling reduced to allow vision to return. I was one of the lucky ones.

 

Boss was running the combine one night up in Nebraska and sucked up a good sized chunk of tread from one of the tires on the irrigator. He thought something was wrong but kept on going. Ended up throwing sparks out the back for about 100 yards before the grain cart driver stopped him. Almost set the field on fire.

 

I was unfortunate enough to have eye-witnessed 3 deaths from those rims... 60 Minute's ran a special about them and showed one laying under a Ford Pinto. Tire was aired to 90 PSI when it blew and lifted the car more than 3 feet off the ground.

As for my age, I figure as long as I can outlast the wife in the Luv-zone I'll be fine..... she's 25.

 

What kind of hoppers do you pull? Tri axle , tandem? Here most guys pull super b trailers. Legal for about 90000 lbs. of product, or 1500 bu of wheat.
Just curious what you guys to the south of us use.

 

Is there any truth to this:

You can pull up to 90k if you are taking the product "to market".

This broker was telling this guy that I'm considering leasing on that he could, but we're both skeptical. I've heard that with farmers tags you can pull it out of the field, but certainly not interstate.