Anyone Pulling A Conestoga? How is it?

My Pinnacle averages 5.5 mpg, but I pull a variety of trailers from vans, double drops with A-frames and flat/step conestogas so saying which has better mpg is tough. I know that a conestoga tarp acts like a parachute and catches more wind.

 

I drag steel in a connie, and I'm NOT going back to tarping. The time saved on tarping more than makes up the cost of a connie, in my opinion.

Company driver, pulling a 48' spread axle with a FastTrack II Conestoga top and a mid-roof tractor.

 

@BigCam9670 you got any additions?

 

It will pay the same as general freight if you haul general freight with it. As other have said already, to justify having a connie, you need to have steady work that requires it. I have some regular work that would be near impossible to do without it IMO. It's the only way to fly for certain things. Now, I also use it to do haul normal stick and brick flatbed loads for some of my other customers and it's a pain in the dick. Shippers and receivers don't like to load/unload it and it is noticeably slower than an open trailer for non tarp stuff. I lose exactly 1 mpg when hooked to it but I have a 36" flat top bunk. I wouldn't even consider it unless you do specialized work and/or dedicated general tarp freight.

 

Lol I was actually typing out a response when I seen the tag

 

They are totally awesome..........

If you haul that kind of freight. We have one for when we used to haul weakly multi stop pipe loads.

Now we don’t have that account any more. It can be difficult to find general load board freight for it. Occasionally when someone wants a conistoga they will pay top dollar for it. Maybe, maybe once a week? The rest is just general freight I can haul with my open deck with a tarp.

I lose 1 MPG when I pull that sail of a trailer but my truck is a mid roof.

Did I mention it’s awesome to have when you need to tarp something in funky weather?

Other than that it’s just in the way.

 

So far we have
1 mpg-- that's a lot of money
I've heard $12 to $15 thousand to buy it but have not actually priced one-- that's a lot of money
It adds 2-3 thousand to your light weight-- that "can" be a lot of money
You are limited to some loads but qualify for even fewer loads with it.
More potential for costly repairs. I've seen quite a few going down the road with ripped out side.
Very nice for tarping for dedicated run which I don't have.

I was considering it myself but I think I've made up my mind.

 

Not to mention that if I'm not tarping the whole trailer and can get it covered with my 20 foot or even my 27 foot tarp (1 tarp) it's only 10 maybe 15 minutes faster. But I am still 49 years young. LOL

 

I pull one, we do a fair amount of high value, moisture sensitive freight plus the occasional jet engine. This is where they shine. However it is like a parachute in high wind.