Trailer size help

[Diamondpilot]

Who put the skidsteer in the load?

I did. Just saying with his setup he doesn't need a new trailer and actually has the capacity to haul another piece of equipment.

Chris

 

[downslope]

Rear is 8250lbs, front is 5200lbs. Truck max GVWR is 11500 trailer GVWR was 15680 - combined total was 27,180 . DOT said I was OK for farm use (hauling hay), but if I went to do something not farm related in the eyes of DOT like hauling equipment, I could get in trouble, so de-rating was the solution.

My dry pin weight on my 23' PJ GN is 1230lbs (trailer weight is 4920lbs) so 25%. Dry axle load on the truck was about 4000 lbs fueled with me and tool box in it. It is rated to haul a 4500 lb like a camper, so the scale weight were is about right. The 20% and 25% loading rule is for a uniform load, or a load split over the trailer axles. Once you move the load forward, it becomes more of a point load and can quickly overload the pin weight

So in a nut shell I can handle a pin weight of roughly 4250 lbs. Less dry pin weight leaves additional live load on the pin of 4250-1230 = 3,020 lbs. If I put the 9K load in front of the trailer axles, 1/2 goes to the truck so I was overloading the rear axle. Moving the load back over the trailer axles put more weight on the trailer, thus less on the truck. The scale I used was at my local COOP and they were happy to take the time to figure things out with me. They said they typically see over 60% of the farmers that use their scales with a GN are overloaded either on the trailer or truck as it is very easy to get the load distribution wrong.

The trick for me was to watch my helper springs. If they just made contact I was good, full contact and I was over.

Remember when doing the numbers, you need to take into account what your truck weight is empty and axle loading, then know your dry pin weight, and then place you equipment loading accordingly.

I am no expert on this, but hope it helps.

Thanks for explaining, I now understand why you have to be careful positioning the load on the 23' trailer.

In your earlier post you say you had the trailer de-rated. How did you go about getting it de-rated? Did the dealer do this for you or was it a special factory build, or some other way? I guess depending the state you are in some guys on TBN have said it can be a lot of work to get a new rating tag. Do trailers have a title where you live, and is the MGVW stated on the title? If it's on the title I think you might be needing a new title, again probably depending on the state. I like the idea of being able to de-rate a trailer if it's not a big hassle, since it would allow you to go with a little heavier built rig and still get it below CDL.

I'm also wondering how you decided to de-rate to 12,500 instead of 14,000 or 14,500, either of which would have still kept you below 26K CDL.

 

[powerscol]

With PJ trailers it was easy to de-rate. There is nothing different about the trailer. It is still a 15680 GVWR unit. I did not need to have anything special done. I had a good dealer and when I explained the 26K combined weight issue once I got home and learned of it when I went to get plates. He had PJ send out a replacement vin sticker for the trailer. They can do that for re-painting or accident damage too. I pealed the old 15680lb GVWR one off and put the 14K GVWR one on. I was mistaken when I said 12K. It is now vin rated at 14K. I kept the old vin sticker in case I ever sell it.

For a small fee (either $50 or $75) I can take it back to the original rating too. Fee covers sticker cost, their time and mailing and some paperwork. I would guess that most manufacturers could do this if ask.

The 26K max is a federal CDL requirement, but how states work with it, especially for farm use seems to vary from state to state a lot. I am located in the 4 corners area, so I can easily be good in one state and not the other. I was glad the guy at the license plate place went over it with me as the DOT guys had been on a kick lately with a lot of contractors trucks.

They were setting up portable scales and having ALL trucks pull in (anything with a truck plate) unlike the ports of entry's. I ran through one last week and they had me do a quick stop for a safety check (license/insurance/lights/tire condition) They did check the door jamb on my dually and I can only assume they checked the trailer too. I was empty at the time. I got a thank you for stopping and a nice trailer comment within a couple of minutes.

No problem they were just doing their job. They had been having issues with overloaded small equipment trailers and non-CDL compliance with some of the local contractors having accidents. Some were just hiring folks to drive trucks and equipment and material trailers to job sites and being consistently over the 26K GVW that requires a CDL for commercial use, or not registering truck correctly. Lots of safety issues too especially on securing loads properly.
Hope this explains a bit better.