48' or 53' Trailer Van, which is better?

dont you get tagged at the chicken house when (well arent you supposed to get tagged) when you have yer tandems slid all the way back?? and you roll thru?

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think so on a 48'. I pulled a 48' reefer for years with tandems all the way back. Never had any issues, even in Banning.

 

Now whats wrong with this picture? Lets see; "chicken house", don't you mean chicken coup? ; "tagged", don't your mean red lighted?

If your gonna dance the two-step, don't do it to a waltz. 20 years experience? Please, lets get real here, There are some real BS'ers here, just look how many libs there are fighting with the cons. My point is, you need to know your stuff before you speak. As the saying goes: "better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".

To get back to topic on this thread, 53 foot is good for load variety, refer can also be a plus, 102 is best for again variety. Bridge law has its points for safety to the other motoring public and highway accessibility. By having the KP setting at 40' or less allows tighter turns, than having the tandems all the way back at (rear center mark) 48'. However when tandems are forward, tail swing can be an issue. There are times when you will want your tandems forward to start a back, then in the middle of the back you might need to slide tandems back to get the tail around faster, then slide back to bring the nose faster. Many situations can and will happen. Having no practical experience is going to make it tough.

Also, (thread starter) you show your from Maryland. Better check on truck routes and retricted routes, MD can be very unforgiving, so in your zone, maybe a 48 would be better, due to your network of older (very very much older) highway and secondary highways. Before you go running loads, maybe the best advise I could give would be to find some wide open (closed) warehouse, or factory and do some intense docking practice. Take some orange cones along to give yourself some obstacles to negotiate. Lord knows there are some real hazards in the docking environment.

But good luck to you, I feel fairly safe since you are back east and I run CA, OR, WA, NV, UT, and ID. Call me if you are heading my way, I'll put some cones out for you. BE SAFE

 

Thinking about hauling refer loads, are theeir different types of refer units, i.e. such ones that only refridgerate or only freeze, or do they all do both??

 

Ok Since the subject of Kingpin and Bridge laws was brought up, I am looking at moving into heavy hauling, I am concerned about Bridge heights, what is the best software for planning? Any preferences?

 

is better to get 53' don't get 48.most of the time, customers ask for 53 trailer

 

Hey Jason - So far as I've seen reefers will do what you ask them to (temperature) as long as they're in good working order. And I've heard the best units out there are Thermo-King if that matters.

Keep in mind that no reefer unit can cool a hot load, if it's not loaded at the temp it needs to travel at you are in trouble. The shipper will have the travel temp on the bill of lading, and you need to make sure it's at that temp at the time it's loaded.

They may have loaded a "tattle-tale" or temp recorder on the load to keep track of it, some tell you, some don't, and some will even ask you where you want the recorder. The best advice I've gotten is to bury that recorder as far into the center (core) of the load as you can.

Also, the temperature shown on the brain (display on the reefer unit) is the ambient air temp, not the load temp (core temperature). In the event it wanders a little for some reason, don't automatically assume that the load is shot.

Hope this helps you some, and best to ya'!

 

Thanks for the info, you cleared up several questions I had. However, I have moved over to flatbed work. I plan on doing flatbed work mostly within CA. I was seriously looking into refer work until I found out about CA's diesel exhausts requirements for the refer unit. Every refer unit must be compliant within 7 years of manufacture, so buying a used refer (2002 below) would be include an additional cost of about 8-10 grand to upgrade the refer unit itself!!! The worst part is that it applies to any refer unit going into CA. regardless of where the trailer is based out of. Maybe in a few years I will switch over when I have to the capital built up to buy one.

 

Jason - I'd run across the same model year issues with CA, and had been told by some shippers it would take a 2004 or newer refer unit (no more than 5 years old) to run produce out. The "headache factor" is a big deal with older units also, and the older the unit is, the more breakdowns it'll see. I'm still weighing the pros and cons on a refer, and when I see the benefit in the freight prices vs. cost, I'll feel alot better about it. I'm thinking that a low weight, high quality 53'x102" dry van will be the way to go for me (even checked out the sideskirt kits and nose caps for better mpg).

A poster had mentioned that you can run dry goods in a refer, and that is completely true - you just shut the refer unit down. However, you have to keep in mind that the trailer will be heavier than most dry vans, balance (scale) weight slightly different, and cost a whole pile more.

On the flatbed topic, I wish you the best and hope freight is picking up. There's alot more to a skateboard (securement - straps, chains, binders, tarps, etc. and headache racks or boxes) than I want to get into right now, but there are pluses. For one, they make deadheading to a load (or the house *heheh) alot safer and easier with a low profile in the wind and weather, and they typically run alot shorter than a box. I'd have to try backing a spread axle one of these days to see if it makes a difference in turning at all, as most flats I've seen are set up that way.

Good luck and I hope you find what you need!

 

Spread axles are harder to backup. Think of a baby buggy with fixed wheels, or try a kids truck with fixed wheels. One set or both need to slide sideways to turn.

Some have a suspension dump to temporarily "lift" an axle to make tight maneuvers easier.