Heavy Haul Miscellaneous Thoughts, Ideas and Questions

On the harvest run we had a few tri axles like that. We was told the same thing about staying off the big road. Not that it would have mattered. I cant remember ever seeing anyone crossing an elevator scale under 90. And a few up around a buck ten. I remember them spring ride, single dual single making a heck of a racket on turns. Pop bang boom around the turn you go.

 

I have been looking for these pics for a year & just stumbled across them. Could not tell this story without them. 1998 mid Aug. I had picked up my new Murray 44 ton in july & dropped off my 87 model 60 ton for a "gooseneck tune-up". Picked it back up a few weeks later and had pulled it for about a month. Picked up an 826C trash compactor at the Lompoc, CA landfill & was on my way back to CAT in Santa Maria. About 5 miles east of the Vandenberg AFB gate, on Hwy 1 overcrossing of 135, the right link broke just as I got onto the concrete part of the overcrossing. Sounded like a shotgun going off in the cab. Luckliy I was in the 72 pete with hendrickson 44k susp. The view I had was like the view from the seat of a top fuel dragster. Everything a blurr & noise so so loud! The left front of the trailer was dragging. I got stopped still in the right lane within 1/4 mile. This was still on a 2% downgrade & the big left hand sweep had a pretty good super to it. The right drivers were 2" off the ground. My pilot car heard the bang & said he had never heard anything like that before. CHP showed up quick & gave me the lane. Called a mechanic out & he had to cut the other link so I gould drop the trailer. Another BANG. Chained the neck to the ramps, went to my yard & got my spare neck, put it on & winched myself back under the trailer. 3 hours. It was obvious BOTH links had hairline cracks in them, looking from the front, the left one was at 2 oclock & the drivers side was opposite at 10 oclock. Shortening the story, one of my customers had an identical trailer 5 years older, I called him the next morn & told him what happened. His links were cracked in the same place, barely visible without using a magnifier.

 

I haven't had one break on me yet. But I have been told it is an ungodly sound you will not soon forget.

 

Saw this old girl the other day...

 

That's not old. More like a cadillac compared to this one...

 

2U or 17A Truckdad? The front idlers are not spoked, so I don't think it is a 3T.

 

14a. What's the one SDP put up?

 

I realize this question is about 6 months old, but I will be finishing a setup like this tomorrow on a trailer. The driver told me by pinning the stinger onto the neck, instead of just chaining it, it eliminated the divisible/non divisible issue. Whether it does or not I don't know, I'm just the weldor.

 

Dang, getting rusty, it's too new.