Have bridge laws (kingpin to rear trailer axle) lengths changed?

Kingpin to Rear Axle Maximum Distance

Totally cool in a lot of states.
That map must be new since MI changed theirs recently and it reflects that.

 

That's been going on for years. And as long as they're legal weight wise and KP wise. Who cares.

There's what. 13 states with kingpin. Pretty much all on the outter edge of the country. Minus TN I think it is.

 

May be legal, but the driver better watch his trailer tandem track when going around a corner. Fast way to take off a hood.

 

Yeah, the folks in Florida are kinda funny about the whole thing. Here's a serious tip, DO NOT be past 41 feet. They do care, they do check, and they do fine.
But hey, everywhere else.....rock on

 

Bridge Law and King Pin to Rear Axle are actually two separate things.

 

Try that west of Lancaster and the trailer will hook them clean off US 30 west off the interchange. The ramps there are not supportive of such stupid tandem lengths.

I have a feeling or a educated guess that they can leave the tandems where they are way back there so they can simply dock quick at a distribution center without having to sit and fool with sliding them as required by DC's This was only fairly recent. About 20 years back. 53's were not that old. We first encountered them things back in the 90's They were 5 feet longer than 48's of the time which were three longer than our 45's and others shorter when I started. Quite the controversy.

All I know is that the 48 was a royal pain in the NE compared to the little 45 I had alot in that year. You get into everything with it. That's the main reason why. The 53's I got used to but it was a pain because Vermont would be sitting there ready to pull you over with that big '53 blazed on the side near the nose announcing to the local law what you are. A potential big ticket without a VT Permit for that overlength truck in town. Sometimes big number got scraped off and a small pernament marker scribbled it in.

The tandems BS I see is laziness. Probably between DC's in those states. That will have you slide it all the way back, get two nose jacks set up and under tension under the nose, then the tractor disconnected and sitting in a bullpen far end of the lot two miles from the paperwork door. All in the name of a little safety for their precious forklifts.

If I am being difficult I am. There was a time you took a nap attached to the trailer so that it will stay put and the forklift will tell you get up by bouncing on with a pallet, time to start inventory back there. Get clipboard and a pencil hurry. You had a nice nap waiting. Almost enough to log a full 8 without too much trouble in the 10 hour driving log years. Where you can split mimic your sleeper and driving until the end of 70. Something you cannot do today.

 

But Florida also allows 40k on a tandem