Heavy Haul Miscellaneous Thoughts, Ideas and Questions

I was thinkin 36A or early 46A. Note the similarity in the engine of the 14A? But the dozer control location?? Some old skinner is reading this & sayin; Those dumb Basses dont know xxxx!

 

I haven't run any 36As, but all the 46As that I have run had square tubing for the sweeps and rops, and I haven't seen a 46A with cable dozer control. Most did have pony motors though, at least the early ones.

 

I took that 14A to Ritchie bros 15 yrs ago. I COULD have bought it from the owner. Cheap. It was a very nice machine.

 

Trying to learn HH. Can yall help me with bridge law? Correct me here, but on a 7 axle setup, are the legal axle weights 20k, 42k & 42k? And if I'm over on my axle weights how does adding a stinger to the rear change the allowable weight. How would I make it legal? Im horrible at math and the bridge law makes my head hurt. I appreciate any help. I've never had to deal with anything but 12,34,34 and spreads.

 

Bridge laws can very state to state. Axle weight limits and distances between them will vary accordingly. A wise old heavy hauler once told me to plan on never having to put more than 20k on any one axle and that should get you through most states. Oftentimes state authorities will only tell you what you can't do as opposed to what you can do. What states do you plan on running?

 

I'll be a company driver if I get into it, so where ever they send me.

 

Without much else to go on, I would suggest keeping personal copies of all manifests and trip permits. After some rudimentary analysis, you will probably begin to see a pattern of maximum gross weights and axle weights. As a company driver, the permitting process should be handled by someone at the company. One thing I have seen recently, DOT has begun enforcing tire ratings. You may legally scale on suspension but if your tires aren't rated sufficiently, it's OOS for you. I witnessed NYDOT red tag a super load at the New Jersey state line. 15 trailer axles had to have new rubber put on that met the permitted weight. Good luck on your new venture

 

And on that note...

How often are inspectors checking axle/suspension ratings? I was recently at a State of Minnesota sponsored, weight compliance class, taught by retired Commercial Vehicle Inspectors. They said that Minnesota does NOT check axle/suspension ratings. As long as you have tires that are qualified for the weight (the lower number of the tire rating, or the inches of width) you are good to go.

I was surprised by this, so I had to speak to them again after the class, and they confirmed, that yes... You can have 20k worth of tires on your front end, but only have a 12k front end, and you are perfectly fine to weigh 20k on your front in Minnesota. We all kind of agreed, that this is kind of stupid. When you wreck your front axle, and they are going through the aftermath and see that's what you had done, then they will get you... but they won't check for it before hand.

Is this common anywhere else?

 

In my experience, the permitting process usually inquires about rating. As far as inspectors checking that, I have only see them look at scale weight and tire ratings. I guess they figure no one will run tires rated for more than suspension. Newer tractors tend to have that information on the door jamb. Oftentimes on older equipment they are missing or faded. They also only account for what the factory installed and wouldn't necessarily verify upgrades. If suspension is upgraded a new sticker should be attached. Inspectors probably stick with tires because they are easiest to spot. Trailer suspension ratings should also be on a metal badge on the frame with the vin number and date of manufacture. They tend to fade and disappear over time.

 

@SeanLyman ,whatta reckon that cost the op or company? Ouch!