Trailering a deuce

[SouthTexasDiesel]

I tow with a gooseneck a lot and I can almost guarantee that trailer is over GVWR. I've got a 39' Dual 10k tandem and it weighs in at 6,500 lbs, so essentially it's max load is 13,500 but you can add 2000-4000 lbs for tongue weight.

That truck is defiantly squatting too. The mud flaps are only a few inches off the ground in the picture of the deuce on the trailer.

 

[docfarmall]

you got a very nice duece now you need to invest in a towbar and not worry about hiring it done i would have towed it if i new you needed it done its safer

 

[chicklin]

"The firetruck was about 8,000 lbs. Verified on the scale"

Well if his entire load grossed out at 43,000lbs then that firetruck weighs a heck of alot more then 8000lbs, just do the math yourself: tow vehicle,7500lbs, deuce 13,500lbs, trailer 7000lbs ( these are high #'s ) comes to 28,000lbs, that leaves 15,000lbs unaccounted for?????

That may be, that's just what the guy told me.

 

[chicklin]

I tow with a gooseneck a lot and I can almost guarantee that trailer is over GVWR. I've got a 39' Dual 10k tandem and it weighs in at 6,500 lbs, so essentially it's max load is 13,500 but you can add 2000-4000 lbs for tongue weight.

That truck is defiantly squatting too. The mud flaps are only a few inches off the ground in the picture of the deuce on the trailer.

He stopped at a scale on the way (probably multiple scales, I would guess). Wouldn't they have ticketed him if he was overweight?

 

[m16ty]

I tow with a gooseneck a lot and I can almost guarantee that trailer is over GVWR. I've got a 39' Dual 10k tandem and it weighs in at 6,500 lbs, so essentially it's max load is 13,500 but you can add 2000-4000 lbs for tongue weight.

That truck is defiantly squatting too. The mud flaps are only a few inches off the ground in the picture of the deuce on the trailer.

He stopped at a scale on the way (probably multiple scales, I would guess). Wouldn't they have ticketed him if he was overweight?

Yes he would have got a ticket if he went across the scales overweight but there are ways around the scales. Alot of times if truckers know they are overweight they will just find a backroad around the scales or sometimes you can cross the scales and the officers are just sitting in the scale house with their feet kicked up just watching the trucks go by paying no attention to the scales or sometimes the scales are closed.

 

[chicklin]

Yes he would have got a ticket if he went across the scales overweight but there are ways around the scales. Alot of times if truckers know they are overweight they will just find a backroad around the scales.

He stopped at at least one scale b/c he knew how much his gross was. They would've ticketed him there if he was illegal.

 

[docfarmall]

Probly a scale in a truck stop they have cat scales so you can tell if you gotta run the chickin house sorry no pun intended that what trucker call the scale house .

 

[Bill W]

As it was explained to me by a Hotshot driver, You'll go over the weigh station scales long before you get to the station house, the scale can't tell the difference between a 1 ton or a heavier ( single axle) tractor rig, so unless the weigh station is looking for specific ( lower) weights to check then he'd get sent right back out to the highway ( via guide lights ) before he even got to the station building where they would have checked his registered weight.

 

[SouthTexasDiesel]

I tow with a gooseneck a lot and I can almost guarantee that trailer is over GVWR. I've got a 39' Dual 10k tandem and it weighs in at 6,500 lbs, so essentially it's max load is 13,500 but you can add 2000-4000 lbs for tongue weight.

That truck is defiantly squatting too. The mud flaps are only a few inches off the ground in the picture of the deuce on the trailer.

He stopped at a scale on the way (probably multiple scales, I would guess). Wouldn't they have ticketed him if he was overweight?

Did he specify if he went to a mandatory highway scale or just a scale at a truck stop? That truck was not even close to being within it's weight limits. A Dodge 5500 chassis cab is rated to tow 26k max, and that truck isn't a 5500.

If he grossed at 43k he's 5+ tons overweight.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

Semptember 21st, 2008.


Boys, I HATE to Differ on the Firetrucks weight, BUT.......
I can guarantee that the fire truck stripped would not be as light as 8,000 LBs!!! I had a 1951 Ford F6 Dumptruck with no extra equipment, smaller then that firetruck and it weighed 13,000 empty and 21,000 loaded! There was never a medium duty truck built in the 1950's that weighed 8,000 unless it was the bare cab and chassis!!! My 1989 F250 4x4 XLT weint 4,700 on the scale stock, and it was a light truck by 1950's truck standards......
Personally, I think you guys that haul up near the limits (OR OVER) of your rigs are risking more then a fine..... and ALL it's gonna take is one really good publicised wreck with these set ups, and it ALL OVER! Anyone want to ride a CalTrans train with a texting engineer? Ricky Gates messed it up for us locomotive engineers and train crews in the 1980's...... Whose it gonna be for the MV hobby or truck users?????
No matter what your trailers axles can take.... no matter what its brakes can stop..... ALL it takes is a tire blowing out at speed and you'll get a completely new view of pucker factor if you survive!!! AND you don't have the right to threaten other users of the road with dismemberment and death from your mistakes..... WONDER why the Army wouldn't use anything smaller then a deuce wrecker to move a deuce on the road????
Just my worth, but as a group, a hobby, or a commercial sector, we are sitting on a knife's edge, and all it takes is a little shove to fall off....

Sincerely,

Kyle F. McGrogan

1971 Kaiser Jeep M35A2 Wo/W "Saddam's Nightmare", Desert Storm and Vietnam Veteran Truck
1968 Johnson Corp M105A2 Cargo Trailer
1963 Swiss Army Cargo Unimog S.404.114 MB
1967 Hercules MEP023A Gen Set APU

 

[bulldog_mack13]

Kyle, your truck being brought to TX was an event! ha ha ha, i wish i got pictures. But im glad he made it safe. i didnt want to let it go with the truck he was using .


Hey thats my truck in blythewoodjoe's pic, cool

 

[randyscycle]

When I got my deuce, (winch truck) the guy who brought it the hour and a half drive to me, brought it on a 14,000 lb gooseneck behind a Dodge Dually/Cummins Diesel Crew Cab.

I am no expert on GVW specs or anything else, but just looking at the setup, it was overloaded. The trailer tires were squishy, the truck's rear tires were squishy, and when he pulled into the drive here, the truck had that nice hot smell of an overworked rig, complete with the smell of hot brake material wafting from the wheel wells.

In short, he got it here and in one piece, but I am sure glad I didn't have to follow, be in front of, or worse yet ride with him. He was a bit overly cool about it, but I believe it was more of an adventure than he cared to admit.

I fully expected to see the truck arrive via a large tractor trailer flatbed. I was a bit surprised.

 

[BEASTMASTER]

RE: Re: RE: Trailering a deuce

if the dot cops were doing their job that guy would'nt be towing anything else for a while. jail time

 

[Blythewoodjoe]

RE: Re: RE: Trailering a deuce

Well my last comment on the matter is for you guys that don't haul much.

If you have been following this thread know this, if you want to have a safe and successful trip, keep the load with in proper limits. Sure you can put 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag, but sooner or later your going to spill some crap. I pull a load that is close to the max every day. I feel comfortable with it. I keep the brakes adjusted and have been very glad on the few occasions I have had to stop quickly. From time to time I over load the rig and the older I get the more nervous I get about that kind of thing. I have taken many foolish chances in my life and I hope most of us are limiting that kind of thing. I can't comment of any commercial haulers. The DOT guys are hopefully keeping them in line.

Just because someone else is lucky and don't pay the price for taking chances doesn't mean you will be so lucky. Life is too short to take a chance on getting a toy home. Having said all this I am always willing to help out anybody close to me getting something moved if you pay for fuel and it will keep you from endangering the public. Fuel cost too much now to volunteer it

I'm not real concerned about hurting anybodies feelings here. I don't worry about that when it comes to matters of safety. I would rather you be PO'ed at me instead of being the star of one of those highways or die ways commercials.

Joe Trapp

 

[m16ty]

Tennessee scales have went high-tech. They have a camra where they can read your license plate before you ever get to the scales. The also have a IR camra where they can tell if your brakes are working (if each axle doesn't have a nice red glow they know you have a axle with no brakes).

Most "chicken coops" have a small set of scales before you get to the main scales. As you pass over the small set if you are even close to overweight it will alert them to take a closer look on the big scales. That's why alot of times you will just see a steady flow of trucks across the scales (they won't stop anybody unless the small scales tells them to take a closer look).

 

[SETOYOTA]

this is what i use. to haul my heavy stuff.

 

[SouthTexasDiesel]

There are some drivers who believe they can tow anything and get away with it, unfortunately those are the ones who get in the news and ruin it for us legitimate drivers.

Hopefully in the next few months I will be making a 30 hour round trip to go pick up my first deuce, and with my towing experience and equipment I believe I can pull it correctly and safely. I've got a 39' dual tandem deck over gooseneck with brakes on both axles, so there's plenty of room on the trailer for weight adjustment. I normally keep 80%-90% of the load weight on the trailer axles. And to pull it I have an 08' F-350 diesel dually, with all the EPA emissions parts gone, 30k capacity hitch, and fully integrated trailer brakes.

That's 20k behind my rig, which is close to it's GVWR but the truck is more than capable. But the most important thing people need to learn while towing is to slow down. My speed while pulling the deuce will not exceed 65 mph. Anybody that had ridden with me while towing know how obsessive compulsive I am when it comes to doing checks on my load. Every time I stop I check the tire pressure of all 14 tires, check the oil and heat levels of the hubs, make sure the load is still tied town tight, etc. Loads like this can be towed safely with a 1 ton truck, but it takes concentration, patience, and a good understanding of the load and your trucks capabilities..

 

[Bill W]

SeToyoto
I was drooling over your F-750 tow rig at the Georgia show this past wk/end, very nice! ( so was the Halftrack )

 

[doghead]

Wow, sure a lot of helpfull input on this thread! I am now thinking my ten ton dual axle, dual wheeled, airbrake equipment trailer is overkill. I want to try to save on fuel costs so I am now thinking, using my golf cart and this trailer(wagon) may work fine for hauling a deuce. I do have a towbar but I don't like the angle or load on the hitch(to steep). It has a swinging pull handle so there will be no tongue weight on the cart This wagon has solid rubber tires(no worry of blowouts). Loading will be easy(just drive the front axle over it and let the air out of the front tires. For towing lights, I have an old kerosene lantern that still works(I'll hang it on the pintle hitch). I will be driving uphill only while towing(so no need for brakes to stop). The manufacturers weight rating is only 180 LBS but I have seen much heavier children in them(way underrated). The trip is about 175 miles so it will be slow going but I can stop at any golf courses I pass and play 9 quick holes to make it more fun! Here's a pic and the wagon's specs, what do you think?


onlyWagon Body (Outer Dimension): 36" x 17 1/2" x 4 1/2"
Wagon Body (Inside Dimension): 33 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 4"
Wheels: 10" x 1 1/2"
Carton: 36 1/2" x 17 3/4" x 4 1/2"
Weight: 26.6 lbs.
Weight Capacity: 180 lbs.
Color: Radio Flyer Red

 

[mangus580]