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How heavy is your trailer?

Started by hillbilly, March 05, 2005, 07:56:03 AM

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hillbilly

            I'm not talking about that thing that you set on  ;D I'm talking about what you haul your lumber on .
            I've got to get a gooseneck, hauling one or two bundles of lumber at a time is like trying to beat a dead horse.not sure what weight to get though ,dont want to get a trailer that I cant pull loaded.A  12000 would haul more than I think my 1990 GMC ton could pull ,looking at a 9000 ,does any one hual lumber on something this size now and then ?
         hillbilly

Kirk_Allen

Most of the time my trailer weighs about 8,000 lbs, but thats way to much for them two axles on it.  ;D  I tend to push the limit :D  Depends on whether Im hauling soft wood or hardwood.  Like, white Oak, now that stuff makes that trailer purty heavy ;D  Now that last load of spruce, shucks, I bet that trailer didnt weigh no more than 4,000 lbs ;D  Bet you didnt know theres such a thing as variable weight trailers did ya? ;D

I guess the point is it all depends on what Im haulin ;D  Kind of like askin how many BF you cut an hour?  Well it just depends ;D

The more I think about it, since Im putting up a new shop this year, I guess the suggestions on the shop would fit right into the trailer.  Bigger is alwasy better ;D 

;D My current trailer is a tandem axle 20 or 21 footer with a 7000 lb capacity. 

WeeksvilleWoodWorx

Watch the gross of the trailer. In North Carolina you need a class A cdl to pull anything greater than 10k. I solved that by buying a single axle flatbed dump. That truck pulling my 1500 tare 7000 gross trailer allows me to haul about 17500.

Didn't need /want the hassles of a CDL.

Brian
Brian - 2004 LT40HDG28 owner.

rebocardo

Weeks makes a very good point. I know in GA, without a DOT # you are limited to a 100 mile radius.

Sometimes buying an old flatbed such as a F-600 or F-700 makes sen$e because you can haul more without a special permit, plus, do it safer, and without a DOT#. One of the best things is to find a rollback tow truck with a winch in the front of the flat bed.  The plus thing is with a roll back, you can load logs and a forklift can easily move things on and off that you do not want to dump, such as bundles of lumber or pallets. Plus, they usually have tiedowns (holes) built into the edge of the ramp.

As for your trailer, I always think you should over kill, especially when it comes to lumber or logs. Drop a 8,000 pound log one foot up onto a 8k trailer and you will find yourself wishing for a 15K bobcat trailer. The problem is if you have to register it as a 15k trailer.

Tom

Keep in mind too that the DOT looks at total  GVWR

If your truck is 21,000 GVWR and your trailer is 8,000 GVWR, then you have a 29,000 GVWR rig.

It doesn't matter that you aren't loaded and only weigh 13,000 lbs.

They will spend a considerable bit of time explaining that to you at the weigh station and then let you think about it for an hour or so before they write the ticket.  Unless you are lucky enough to get out of there without one.

Ironwood

I have two fairly heavy trailers. One is a 8x14 deck over titled at 15k, registered and plated at 10,000. The second is a triple axle deck over titled at 12k, registered and plated at 10k. Both trailers have good functioning electric brakes ,tear aways and good heavy adjustable hitch channels. I pull them with a 1996 Ford one ton with a 460ci. I have hauled 8000lb forklifts and  just brought home a 8500lb planer with 2000 lbs. of cargo in the bed. My trip from Ohio was all highway with dry roads. I think i would not care to haul to much more than 10k/ 12k at the most, and then only on dry roads and prefer highway to stop and go as there are too many nuts out there that swoop in on you trying to maintain safe distances. I agree with the older f600 comment. You go slower but safer and avoid weight and impoundment issues should you get scaled.

                           REID
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

WeeksvilleWoodWorx

Tom's point is important! Just so happens my truck is an F600. 23,000 gross about 10,000 empty. In NC all trailer tags are $10, you must include the weight of any trailer on the pulling vehicles tag. My 33,000 tag costs $399.50 for the year.
Brian - 2004 LT40HDG28 owner.

hillbilly

                     :-[ I forgot about the tags from the trailer combineing w/ the tags of the truck I was looking at a deck over w/ two 8000lb axles and brakes . I had thought about the f-600 or the chevy ton an1/2 trucks ,a good usded one can be gotten fairly cheap compared to buying agood ton or 3/4 ton pickup and be able to haul alot more .But I didnt want to deal w/getting a cdl . :-\ I'll have to do some more checking on that.
                     hillbilly

footer

I have a 24,000 lb trailer, and just got a $250.00 ticket today by the dot pulling it empty with my 3/4 ton truck. I was over weigth on truck... Had 3000lb plates, and operating without CDL. I guess I cant even move my trailer empty without a CDL, unless my tow vehicle is under 2000 lbs :-[   My truck weight + tongue weight was 7200lbs and trailer axle weight was 5050lbs.

woodhick

Recently had a friend who was going to buy feed for his cattle.  He had a 20' gooseneck trailer rated at 14,000#.  He owns a 1/2 ton chevy pickup,underpowered,bad tires,etc.  So he borrowed his brother's 1ton ford flatbed pickup rated for 12000# ;D,figuring it would be a lot safer to tow with.  You can probably already see where this is going ;D ;D.  Any way he gets his feed 6000# and starts home.  DOT pulls him over,  truck and trailer gvw totals 26,000#.  They tell him he can't move truck until he finds someone with a cdl license.  So he calls his brother to bring him his 1/2 ton chevy.  Switches trucks out on side of the interstate with the DOT watching.  Drops total gvw below cdl requirement,and they let him go!!! :o :o :o :o.  So much for saftey. ??? ??? ???
Woodmizer LT40 Super 42hp Kubota, and more heavy iron woodworking equipment than I have room for.

pigman

Since I am a " farmer" I can use farm tags that are good up to 38k without a cdl.  I still cannot go over my max gross rating for the truck and trailer.
When I was a pig farmer and used bigger trucks I had to pay onethird the regular rate for tags, but was exempt  from cdl requirments.  8)
Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

tnlogger

 bob same way down here joint tags for ag use as long as you own 25ac or lease the same.
gene

Brian_Rhoad

85 Ford F350 Diesel 10,000# GVW     96 Ford F350PS 10,000# GVW    16,000# gooseneck deckover flatbed trailer       26,000# GCVW  I can haul 8 tons legaly. Don't need a CDL in PA until you go over 26,000#s in any configuration. Truck must be combination licensed at total combined weight of truck and trailer if trailer is over 10,000# or is hitched above frame (gooseneck/fifthwheel). This set up replaced a Ford LN7000. I can haul more weight and still have a pickup to use when I need it. The LN7000 sat more than it was used and cost the same for license. A 1ton truck and trailer combination is much cheaper to operate. You can get a dump trailer instead of a dump truck and you won't have near the expenses.

Ernie

It sound like you guy in the states have the same sort of problems we have here.  TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE in getting on with life.  They seem to make rules and regulations for the sole purpose of revenue gathering  and generally making life as tough as possible for the real people who stupidly voted the bas----s in. 

How about a revolution?

A very wise man once told me . Grand children are great, we should have had them first

hillbilly

               Had to go to the feed store the other day and while I was standing there talking to the owner I was watching some of the trucks/trailer coming in and out of the docks 3/4 or tons I never spotted 1that had plates over 24000lb tags on it pulling pulling trailers w/8,9 or 10k axles under neath them, also noticed ALOT of f600,f700 and ck60,70 series trucks w/24000lb plates on them so I got to asking around a little and they all siad the same thing if your vehicle dosnt have air brakes and your not hualing over your load limit you dont have to have acdl to operarte them ,but I know that alot of them had to be over weight sometimes .
hillbilly

Ga_Boy

Hillbilly,

Good post.

It got to finally to check out what I needed.  I have been putting this off for a while.

I use a K3500 diesel, and pull a 12,000 lbs deck over.  I also have a 13 ton deck over that I try not to use much any more.  It is just to big.  I regresterd the truck and trailer as a combo.

In MD I am legal up to 26,000 lbs for a combined package.  If I pull 26,001 lbs then I need a CDL.

I opted for the truck and tralier for the same reason as Brian did.  I can use the pick up for other things when not hauling logs or lumber.



Mark
10 Acers in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Robert R

Do you have to tag your trailer with its full weight or can you choose to underrate it.  I have a deal working on a 25,000 lb gooseneck but my truck is tagged at 18.  I am not sure if I should retag the truck or undertag the trailer, if I can.
chaplain robert
little farm/BIG GOD

WeeksvilleWoodWorx

That is going to depend on your location, which isn't in your profile. In N.C Tags and CDL requirements are two completely seperate sets of rules. With a regular Class C drivers license you can drive any single vehicle with a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds and tow any vehicle with a GVWR of less than 10,001 pounds. None of this so far has anything to do with the tags. Tags for trailers in N.C. are a flat $10.00 no matter the size or GVWR, the tow vehicle on the other hand must be tagged for the GCVW, which includes the trailer. Example: I have a Ford F-600 flatbed dump with a GVWR of 23,000 lbs. I have a trailer with a GVWR of 7,000 lbs. My GCVW is 30,000, but I choose to buy plates with a GCVW of 33,000 lbs as it is cheaper than an overweight ticket but still keeps both the truck and trailer under CDL requirements.

Clear as mud?
Brian - 2004 LT40HDG28 owner.

Ga_Boy

For Maryland, I can title and tag my truck and/or trailer at a rating of my choice as long as I do not exceed the maxumim rated limit set by the manufacture.

My trailer came from the manufacture with a rating of 9999 lbs, but the maxumum capacity of the trailer is 12,000 lbs. I had the dealer get a new rating tag from the manufacture for the 12,000 lb capacity and titled it at 12,000. 

I do not have clue why the trailer came with the 9999 lb limit.  Maby it is so a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton could legeally pull this trailer.   I have a 1 ton so I wanted the 12,000 lb capacity.

My truck is rated at a little over 11,000 GVWR, I titled it at 10,000 lbs, I used a combined regersation for the truck and trailer and my weight limit is 22,000 lb combined gross vehicle weight (CGVR). 

As long as I do not over load my trailer, I am legal.

Check out your states Motor Vehicle web site, i'll bet you will find everything you need there. 



Mark 
10 Acers in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Rockn H

You can check the Federal Motor Carrier Saftey reg. book, it's a green and white book, 10.00 at any truck stop.  Section 383.91 states any combination of vehicles with a GCWR-gross combination weight rating, of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds requires a class A CDL. 
Section383.5 states GCWR means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded wieght of a combination vehicle.  In the absence of a value specified by the manufacturer, GCWR will be determined by adding the GVWR of the power unit and the total weight of the towed unit and any load thereon.
With that said, if you can swing a farm tag there are to many exemptions to list.  Life would be easy. smile_banjoman



Rockn H

Well, I left off part of my post.  What all the legal stuff means is if you're trucks GVWR is 11000lbs and no GVWR on the trailer you can have 15000lbs combined trailer and load weight without a cdl.  As for myself I think everyone should get a cdl.  The driving test can be taken in the exact vehicle (yours) that you intend on using, in most states.  If it doesn't have air brakes ect.  you're license will just show it as a restriction, which you can change later if you need to. ;)

WeeksvilleWoodWorx

Rockn H ,

While I won't question what the FEDERAL BOOK SAYS :o....... your scenario would REQUIRE a CDL in N.C.. Any towed vehicle in excess of 10,001 lbs requires a CDL...  in N.C.

Yes, absent a Federal CDL, State laws govern the use of their highways, the way it should be. 8)

And there are many other things that come with a CDL other than the test.... log book if over 100 miles from home, BAC of .04 %, apportioned tags if you are out of state etc... >:(
Brian - 2004 LT40HDG28 owner.

SawDust_Studios

Here in PA, I can't tell you the number of people I know that have 12,000 + trailers licensed at 10,000 for the simple fact of a cdl.

Personally, I have a 20ft peque deck-over that has 2 6k lbs axles.  Licensed at 10k of course.  I know I've pushed the limit (trailer, not legal) more than a few times. 

I thought about getting a flatbed or something, but not only can you use the truck when needed, but for our small operation (part-time)  I just can't see paying insurance, maintance, license, etc on another vehicle.

Dave
Making Sawdust on a Woodmizer LT40SHD CAT 51 /WM Twin Blade Edger and WM DH Kiln

Brian_Rhoad

Sawdust, you don't need a CDL in PA unless your truck and trailer combination is over 26,000 lbs. And then thats only if the trailer is over 10,000 lbs. According to the PennDOT web site you can drive a truck rated at 26,000 lbs and pull a trailer rated at 10,000 lbs or less without a CDL. This also is what the federal DOT regulations are. It used to be in PA that any trailer over 10,000 lbs required a CDL, but PA changed the regulation to be in line with what the Feds wanted.

J_T

In the comunist wealth of Ky if you own the product you are hauling and the truck is yours then no cdl is required . Some of the youakles with a badge don't even know the diffrence in not for hire and what CDL stands for. ???
Jim Holloway

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