24-wheeler

Posted by leadpoem@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 8 comments

Hey, the other day I saw a semi pass. He had his tag axle down on the tractor and then 3 axles on the trailer. It looked like a pretty standard dry van to me but I have never seen one with 3 axles.

So I'm assuming the only reasonable explanation is it was packed full of crashed alien spaceships that were extra heavy.

So what kind of loads are these really used for and how many of you all haul alien spaceships?

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Available_Quote_5567@reddit

Anything where the weight would push it beyond the legal limit for standard trailer. When I hauled milk to DCs we had 4 axle trailers. Michigan has some crazy trailer set ups with like 8 acles

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Icedragon2017@reddit

Can confirm, Michigan caterpillar trailers are real. Triaxle trailers with dual and even triple tag axles.

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All depends on regional weight laws. I grew up in the US Northeast (PA), where they stick to the classic five axles and dump trucks could be four. I now live in the Pacific Northwest, and they go by the bridge law chart/equation which means they'll allow up to eight axles and if they're spaced "right" (lots of ways to be right) they can weigh 105,500 pounds instead of the generic 80k limit.

Gasoline is delivered to gas stations via truck & trailer combos: the truck is 4 axles (one lifts when empty) and the "full" trailer has a two-axle dolly under the front and two axles in the rear. If a rig is pre-planned for heavy weights, it'll have a lift axle on the truck and four axles on the trailer; the last axle often only has single tires because it's mathematically tough to get a lot of weight on that axle. For container hauling when the truck wasn't planned for it, the container trailers are five axle with one of them rather far forward (and self steered).

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Elite_Slacker@reddit

I picked up pallets of metal ingots once. Got me to 80k and pallets where barely shin-high. There is definitely stuff dense enough for special equipment.

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Ok-Answer-6951@reddit

I used to be a commercial cabinet installer. We also did science labs, remember in school all the science rooms had those black countertops? 53k pounds of them in a 53' dry van are less than 1 foot tall total on pallets that are 4 inches tall. 1st time I saw that i had to check the bill to make sure they didn't send us the wrong load. I couldn't believe that small amount of tops weighed THAT much....

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DCHammer69@reddit

My truck and trailer have 30.

This combination isn’t used in the US but is really common in Canada. Called a Super-B. Two trailers connected by a second fifth wheel connection between the trailers and three axles at what is called the bridge.

There is also a King B that has three axles on the pup trailer. Typically used with day cab trucks which are lighter so they can haul more product. Often used to haul fuel.

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JOliverScott@reddit

Depending on where you saw it there are states with higher gross weight limits but they still need to distribute the weight evenly. Indiana allows tridems (three axle trailers) because they allow higher gross weights. Michigan is well known for having very high gross weight limits and have trailers with a dozen axles to distribute the weight. Out west they allow longer and heavier combinations which require additional axles and I saw a lot of trucks in the Pacific Northwest with the tractor tag axle in addition to three- and four-axle 60-foot van trailers.

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Strong-Mall-2280@reddit

Wait till you see what comes out of the oil patch. Tandem triple tractor combos are common, along with a tri-axle trailer