Buying a step deck. Should I get the ramps too?

Me personally I would not try to run stepdeck without ramps. you are limiting yourself without them, if just running load board freight... a lot of the stepdeck loads I see on leadboard - can't be hauled on a flatbed but a waste of time for an rgn. But you can't haul them on a step without ramps. And they can be used to put together some good partials. Otherwise I'd think you would be better off with a flatbed.. Way more freight.. If you can scale least 46k with a flatbed you will be just fine running load boards

 

How much does your trailer weigh? Lotta 48/102 combo flats at or below 10k lbs

 

My 2002 W900 with a 72" sleeper, enclosed cabinet with equipment and a 48x102 Benson flat was 31.5K empty. Hauled many 48K loads on it back when I ran that setup. Still have that flat, it weighs 9900 lbs.

Dry vans are heavier than they seem. I think I was around 34-35K with our old crappy van trailer.

 

... buy them

 

Id bet u will be just fine.. Scale ur truck bobtail full of fuel and flatbed equipment and tell us what it is. Im sure we can get u close to what ur empty weight would be with flatbed..

 

Most vans I hauled empty weighed in the area of 12k, and unless it was made of steel, most flatbed/stepdecks were about10k or less. These are just trailers alone, no extras or anything, intermodal was siimilar between chassis and box on it empty, the same weight as a van..so chances are you're going to weigh about 31-32k with equipment and ramps.

 

Am I understanding this correctly? You can find much more freight running flatbed than a step deck? So if someone was going into this for the first time, they would make more consistent money running a flatbed than a step deck? Is that the major pro between the two? Are there others? Just curious. Thanks

 

Are you a new Owner Operator? Do most people run 48' or 53' for OTR (do you know)?