13 Axle Setup?

I don't think you would want the 4th axle to be a flip, might run into bridge law troubles there, a stinger/booster (not sure what the difference is there) seems to be the method of choice. I'm still wet behind the ears when it comes to a lot of this HH stuff, I'm only running around on 7 axles at the moment, with aspirations in time to go bigger.

 

Hey Oscar, when I grow up, can I be like you?

 

Well from speaking from experince, Unless you have steady work for the 13 Don't do it...
You will be looking at 50% deadhead over the years time. Alot of sitting waiting on rte. surveys, permits etc.
As for running a tight four on the trl. there are states that will not give you full 80k on the rear with that setup.
Also like Oscar stated axle spacings can kill you big time as well.
Right now I'm running a 3 +1 on the rear. It has it's good points and bad. Still to early to tell if the stinger will benefit me or not.

 

Not sure that I would recommend that.

 

I could have purchased a 13 axle last year for a good price. It had only been used for a year when the owner lost his account. When that happened, he gave the trailer back to the finance company. It looked brand new when I looked at it. I gave it serious consideration, but didn't think that I had enough current business that I could justify the cost. It costs a lot of money to move one of those, even if you are only going down the street. Most of us start small and work our way up to pulling multiple axles. The money can be good, but may not last. I really would not want to pull that many axles all the time. If anyone wants to get into this type of hauling, it would be much better to start small and move up slowly as you gain experience and contacts.

 

I was thinking of a 2.3.2 setup, and leave the jeep and stinger at the home base until I needed them.

 

The issue I've seen with guys that do this is, that is a 10 axle (with traditional 3 axle tractor). A proper 10 axle should have nothing less than a 65ton rating...maybe more like 70ton if your looking for longevity.

However, when you drop the jeep and booster, you end up with an extremely heavy tri-double drop...this leads to the obvious temptation to build a 50ish ton trailer, because it's a little more reasonable tare...problem is, after a few full 10 axle 110-130,000lb payloads, the frame rails look like ripples on a pond, not straight and square like they should be.

Too many guys think...just add wheels. Don't forget, it takes a hunk of iron to haul a hunk of iron, without breaking. I've been with a guy when his trailer folded up with more load than it's rating, you don't ever wanna be in that situation...cause now all you've got is scrap metal. Structure means weight, there's no way around it...

My Cali 9 is an '02...it was overbuilt to 70ton with 75ton pinjoints...I drop 65tons in 30' of rail/beam on it 12 years later without a thought. She's still straight as new, builds by hand, not beating on the pins, and she's solid as a rock! A true example of you get what you pay for!

 

Try a 60 ton 3/2 with a long neck and heavy steer. Weight should be reasonable, and you'd have 76k capacity up front and 100k capacity out back. Assuming the truck/trailer weight 60k, that's a 116k payload. Some states allow considerably more weight and some less, so you'd be able to realistically gross the full 120k. Length shouldn't be too bad so you won't run usually into a second escort. Unless you absolutely need to run cali, stick with an east coast. Fully loaded, you'd be a superload in about half the states, and even then you'd be a "small" superload in most of those and permit turnaround should be relatively quick. With a properly equipped double framed truck with a high hp engine, it should be smooth sailing for the most part. I personally feel that the marginal benefit of running a jeep is minimal in almost every case, it adds weight, escorts, length, and complications. Our 13 axle never even gets weight up front!

 

I could ld. my 13 and get 14 and change 60/60/60/60. Just need to learn how to balance your ld..
Light lds, I still could load it so it would be even on both ends

 

Each load is different, a tracked or wheeled machine is easy to balance, but with a crane loaded piece that takes up the entire well, you're going to be heavier in the rear. I also do a lot of truck cranes that end up having the last axle of the machine on top of the trailer tridem. Especially so with a stretch. (The one I own is a modular 31 ft well with a 5 ft deck insert).There's only so much you can do with fifth wheels and airbags, not to mention my 13 is a west coast so the rear is a bit heavier.