Adding Lift Axle Cost

Look, I know that you have your mind set on doing this but don’t. Your not ready to do over dimensional or heavy haul. You are not asking the right questions or listening to what these knowledgeable people have to say.

In bad market conditions you need to make the best of what you know how to do. When things get better then the world will be able to forgive the learning curve and some small mistakes. The rates are too low for established company’s that have been doing this for decades, what makes you believe that you can complete cheaper or better?
We aren’t trying to discourage you forever but you have a lot to learn and it sounds like no one to teach you the right way. It hurts every one when there’s a screwup.

I’m sure @TripleSix would probably phrase it better, he seems to have a way with words.

 

By your own admission your "dispatcher" has no RGN experience. So they don't have any existing customers for RGN freight? Do they have freight to take advantage of the stretch trailer? If they don't then you are dragging an unnecessarily heavy trailer around for no benefit. It will actually hurt you more than anything because of the extra empty weight. This is going to make it harder to haul things on 6 axles that you should be able to and increase your permit costs in many states that charge by ton/mile.

If your truck is truly a standard fleet spec truck then you probably have around a 13-13.5K front axle and 38-40K drives. You can't even permit high enough to make up for the heavy trailer.

Have you actually hooked up to this trailer yet? What kind of ground clearance are you going to have? Most trucks pulling a RGN of any type will have close to a 52" fifth wheel height. Standard freight trucks tend to be closer to 47-48" You may find that you will struggle to actually have any ground clearance with your truck. It will only get worse when loaded.

If you plan to haul heavy equipment on it you are going to need to add fifth wheel ramps to your truck with a mechanical neck trailer. You will never get it off the ground otherwise when loaded.

Jumping from a flatbed/stepdeck to a stretch RGN is a very big jump to make especially for somebody with no experience working for a company that also doesn't know what they are doing. They are going to way underbid work and #### up the market for the people who know what they are doing.

 

You should take heed though.

Do you know where to find the answer for your truck in particular? More importantly why don't you already know the specifics for YOUR OWN TRUCK?!

What I know about heavy haul can be written on the inside of a matchbook, with a grease pen, in large letters. However I do know a bunch about investing in a business - the only way I'd invest in yours is if I was looking for tax loss harvesting. I'm not trying to be mean, just pointing out what it looks like - a person with a stack of cash and a dream with no road map or instruction manual.

Best of luck to you.

 

Most trucks hauling that set up and heavy loads, have double framed tractors. On a side note, you need to have enough wheel base for a 3rd axle.