Spread axle vs..

Just a couple of minor corrections-

I believe it's 40' kingpin to rear axle. And most of those yellow signs in CA that say "Over XX ft. kingpin to rear axle" are recomendations. As long as you are legal on overall length you are OK. Bear in mind that a lot of CA secondary roads are 65' OA. That's the problem with CA 49 & the various other roads around Angels Camp. I haul out of Martell with a 46" spread behind a 256" wheelbase, no problem.

There are some CA roads with shorter OA length or kingpin to rear axle lengths that are mandatory (CA 175 for example) just to mess with truckers heads.

For the OP- I love my spread for being easy to load. It really loads like a truck & trailer vs a tractor & semi. You can also "hide" weight because most coops dont add the axle or group weights up as you cross the scale and a few hundred over just sort of gets lost. It also rides way nicer than a group on our wonderful roads out here.

 

Quick way to find out which is better, find an O/O with a spread and ask them if they would rather have a closed tandem. I bet 9/10 will say NO! Rides better, loads easier, maneuvers better (especially with a dump) and you will almost never pay to weigh your truck ever again. I know some like to claim they have extreme tire wear, these are the guys doing U turns in the parking lots. Unless your doing figure 8's the added wear is trivial. Take the money you save by not paying the CAT scales and put it in your tire fund.

 

When you back up with a spread sometimes it will pivot on the front axle, sometimes on the rear, most of the time it will depend if you are going up hill or down. sometimes they will switch pivot points in the middle of a turn, a dump valve can help.
Best if you and start with a 48 foot spread, legal everywhere and real easy to load to 80,000 and axle it out, plus a spread rides better.

 

If you run CA or Ct and your trailer is over 48' you will be needing a slider. Closed up my tandem was at 5'1" which with my dump valve i could do things a 10'+ spread could only dream about. If i loaded the trailer right it road fine and either way was easier on tires. Most of the time i hauled LTL freight so i could spread the load out although the idea was to get as much freight ondeck as possible. I will admit you had to be on your game to not be over on the trailer when you were closed up as a tandem. Once in a while i had to take the scenic route.

 

that's what I like about spread. at times I will have to load several coils, 4 stand up's, 3 skid's, e.t.c. making enough room to chain down, between the coils & spacing so that I am not over on any axle, A spread allows for leeway if not exactly centered, where a tandem, being at your gross, you better have it just right. having to load several pieces that are all different in weight can pose a lil challenge. have to do some calculating.

 

I got back into flatbeding again not too long ago. Partly for exercise reasons, and partly because I just missed physical labor. I feel a lot more involved flatbeding. Plus u generally get treated a whole lot better at shipper receivers .

Spreads can be a hair more difficult to back. The two axles fight each other and it's he'll on the tires unless u have a dump. Just when u think you've got it lined up just right backing into a hole and the pivot point will change on ya lol. Not a big deal, it just happens a lil here and there.

 

The pivot is which ever axle is on the highest ground. Backing at a jobsite is a biotch.

Not necessarily. My 53' spread is CA legal. Kingpin to spreads is the same as a 48'er. You just have to be careful what you put on the rear overhang since all that weight goes on the last axle. 18K + 22K is legal gross but over axle on the last axle.

90 degree backing is pretty much out of the question with any load over 40K; you'll rip the tires off the first axle. If you have a tall, unstable load, a 90 back can cause the front of your load to shift because of the resistance of the first axle.

 

You guys are way over thinking this. If my trucks can maneuver around concrete/asphalt lots with 60,000 on the spread alone, 40k total isn't going to hurt anything. (unless it's a Transcrack)

These guys back 90* in doors all day with 240,000 net on 6 axles (closed tri axle trailer) so I would hope yours would survive with 40k or less!

 

Recently started running a spread axle. It definitely does take come getting used to. Personally feel that it off tracks a lot more than a tandem does and in general is more difficult to maneuver into tight spots (backing or going forward). However, you just go a bit slower and keep your eyes in the mirrors, "Wait and turn late" is an absolute MUST with it lol !! Overall I do not find it to be that big of a deal though.