RGN's - Mechanical vs Hydraulic

The mechanical is ALOT of work and challenging at times. It is the cheapest route however. I would never own one IMO I would spend the few more bucks and go Hydro. Do you already have a wet line?

 

I'm very experienced with RGN/heavy haul/specialized. I was a long time O/O forced to get off the road due to medical and I now dispatch 6 step decks and 6 RGNs and own 1 3 axle mechanical RGN. I really want to put a second one to work. Got one approved with zero down and ready to go. And I'm scared to death and paralyzed by fear. The economy, election and so many trailers added to capacity scare the crap outta me.

This segment of the market has been flooded with inexperienced people who think it's all fun and games and big money. You literally could not buy a trailer for ANY price for the last year or so. Production was sold out months in advance and you're gonna pay full boat list price, period. So many have jumped into the market that the rates are suffering. Also keep in mind that on any given day there may be 1000 to 1100 total loads on the spot market in the whole United States. I track these numbers and this is the recent average which are down about 10 to 15% from 90 days ago. A 10% drop in available freight is dramatic when the capacity and freight supply are very closely matched. The equipment cost is high with an average trailer payment being probably $1,000 per month or more. The bank doesn't care when you tell them that capacity has caught up to freight supply and money's tight now.

Then there's the permitting. I don't know if Landstar does permitting for you or if you have to do it yourself like the self dispatching. Any freight worth hauling usually needs to be permitted for overwidth, overheight or overweight. I spend several hours a day planning routes and ordering permits. There are a blue million laws that you have to know and I learn new ones nearly every day. The latest trend is city and county permits. Los Angeles, Beaumont, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Suffolk, Portsmouth... the list goes on. Can't get money from the state to rebuild roads - no problem, just start selling city permits.

Bottom line is that if you have no experience with oversize/specialized and your company does your permitting you might give it a try ONLY if they will rent you a trailer. It's like tasting the milk before buying the cow.

 

It really depends what you're trying to do with it. If you're sticking with 5 axle freight, the added weight of a pony motor and hydros in your case would limit your weight capacity. A mechanical detach likely has the most value here.

If you're doing 6+ axles the higher unladened weight doesn't factor in as much. And you're likely seeking strictly heavy-haul loads on both outbound and back-haul in an attempt to utilize your specialized equipment.

Just my .02, I'm assuming you're looking at an RGN and sticking on a 5 axle platform.

 

My vote is for hyd non groundbearing,mech is lighter and harder to hook and hard to pickup.

 

x100 very good advice!

 

Permits are really not that big of a deal. Takes me 30min to route & order, few hrs later I have them all. Example: load I'm under now 11'11" wide 14'6" high & 120k. I had all my permits except IL before I hit the Ga line, loaded in Davenport, FL pulled out at 11:30am. Had the permits by 3pm. Emailed me & I printed them in the truck.

 

Good advice, I run 8 axles so weight wasent an issue for me.

 

SHC - I will sell you mine as I am looking at trading it in a stretch, I really like pull my mechanical double drop.I have the flip and mine is an 07 XL PM me if you are interested.