i'm getting out of general freight and will be buying a flatbed trailer with spread axles and i'm not familiar with how to load it so the weights work on the rear spreads. can ya help a newbie out ???????
thank you
I prefer to center load. Your state pockets are 2 foot apart. Count your pockets and know where your center is. Say you are getting 4 bundles of steel 20 foot long. Knowing where my center is by state pockets. I count 20 foot from the middle forward and rear. Then I know where to put my dunnage at. If you split your weight you have even amount of weight on each spread.i'm getting out of general freight and will be buying a flatbed trailer with spread axles and i'm not familiar with how to load it so the weights work on the rear spreads. can ya help a newbie out ???????
thank you
I prefer to center load. Your state pockets are 2 foot apart. Count your pockets and know where your center is. Say you are getting 4 bundles of steel 20 foot long. Knowing where my center is by state pockets. I count 20 foot from the middle forward and rear. Then I know where to put my dunnage at. If you split your weight you have even amount of weight on each spread.
here's some advice:
Sitting in line at steel mills sucks and never made a lick of sense to me. Nobody MAKES steel anymore, they just seem to move it from plant to plant. Don't get it.
Either way, the people are still usually better to deal with than van warehouse douchebags who act like you did something wrong by just showing up on time.
Oh, one night at Metron, a lot lizard actually woke me up. When I talked to the guard about it, the only answer I got was "They don't bother you much. Just tell them no."
On the property.
A lot will depend on what trailer you buy.
Tire wear will also depend on how you run your equipment. Drive it like a closed tandem and they won't last. I got 270k out of a set of tires on my spread. I also rotated them twice a year.
But when your grossing 120000 pounds you take a half mile to make a turn!:bicycle:
I started doing this 30 years ago. To me someone with a training mark because they don't know how to count tells me they are a rookie driver. Also the direction I gave for center loading 4 bundles 20 foot long was to count forward of center 20 feet and 20 feet rear of center. Your rookie mark leaves you with one problem. Now the center has the big crayon mark on it, but now we have a problem. Where is 20 foot from the rookie mark? oops I guess we need to count. Good thing the state pockets are 2 foot apart. Unless you want to break out the tape measure.On most trailers, the middle turn signal is the exact center, if that doesn't help. a quick squirt of spray paint will mark the spot nicely, one dead give away that a guy is a rookie is everybody watching him count off to find the center.
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I started doing this 30 years ago. To me someone with a training mark because they don't know how to count tells me they are a rookie driver.
Where I put my dunnage or coil racks is where I want the load. If it is pallets or lumber I tell them where I want it. I don't want it loaded without me telling them where I want it at.Or their rub rails, pockets and spools are not uniformly spaced at two feet intervals the full length of the trailer. Although, the driver knows where the center is, the loader may not. You will have to mark it for him. So, why not mark it permantly with a paint stripe?
Where I put my dunnage or coil racks is where I want the load. If it is pallets or lumber I tell them where I want it. I don't want it loaded without me telling them where I want it at.
I started doing this 30 years ago. To me someone with a training mark because they don't know how to count tells me they are a rookie driver. Also the direction I gave for center loading 4 bundles 20 foot long was to count forward of center 20 feet and 20 feet rear of center. Your rookie mark leaves you with one problem. Now the center has the big crayon mark on it, but now we have a problem. Where is 20 foot from the rookie mark? oops I guess we need to count. Good thing the state pockets are 2 foot apart. Unless you want to break out the tape measure.
I started doing this 30 years ago. To me someone with a training mark because they don't know how to count tells me they are a rookie driver. Also the direction I gave for center loading 4 bundles 20 foot long was to count forward of center 20 feet and 20 feet rear of center. Your rookie mark leaves you with one problem. Now the center has the big crayon mark on it, but now we have a problem. Where is 20 foot from the rookie mark? oops I guess we need to count. Good thing the state pockets are 2 foot apart. Unless you want to break out the tape measure.