Tractor Weight question?

Hey ;
I picked up a load today , 44,965 LBS,..
{New APU on the Columbia, 3/4 fuel w/240 gallon tanks, C-15 Cat. Dry van... }
Here was my weight. 79,080 gross. 12,000 steers , drives = 33,740 Trailer = 33,280..... That gives me an empty weight of 34,115...

It won't be long now and I can take the chains out of the truck and some other small stuff {winter stuff} and get my weight down even more.

My old Freightliner Classic was over 20,000 full of fuel, Bobtail.

 

Hey ;
They do have weight issues. They spend a lot of time weighing those rigs to get them right and limiting the loads in them.

Many you see will have spread axles. Spreads can carry more weight.
The tires go faster .. They spend more money keeping tires on them too.

And most are straight line haul rigs , Coast to Coast. A fair share of them are team run and they need that extra room.

Those drivers are somewhat different and usually can afford and deserve those bigger rigs. They usually put up with a certain amount of crap at each end . Loading and unloading. A certian few actually call that truck HOME... That is their life and they have no house , just that truck... They can afford to have the big sleepers and actually need them.

For a Freight hauler to own and run a mega sleeper rig with extra long wheel base and all the bells and whoopies would be rather silly. Unless his particular deal calls for it.

My last truck was a Freight liner Classic and had way too much wheel base, extended hood etc. I would have a very hard time getting that rig into many of my stops. My average run out and back is about 4500 on the short end and 7000 on the high end . I do about 8 to 14 stops and many are Mom and Pop stores and it would be difficult to get a really big rig in .

If my run had one stop and one pick up I would likely go back to the big truck.

I like to hunt and fish when I get home and not polish tanks and wheels anymore. Now if I drip a little fuel on my tanks when removing the hose I really don;t care. those side skirts hide it. I used to panic.

 

Hey :
Check on one other thing. Just something I heard and am not sure about.
Some of the really big sleepers require a double frame which would really add to the weight.

Just a thought. Keep aiming high.