Heavy hauler

[SnoKing]

http://www.kenworth.com/trucks/c500/

Kenworth builds a lot of custom trucks.

 

[mwilson]

I thought some of the really heavy haulers had double reduction axles?

I think they do in some applications, rarely ever see one up here. A lot of extra parts and higher cost involved.

Going with deeper gear ratios and making it up with the transmission is more cost effective. You figure if each of the tri-drives is 23,000 lb rated then you have 69,000 lb drives.

I see tandem trucks with 46,000 lb rears routinely haul loads grossing 200,000 lbs or more in an off road situation.

Just checked Meritor and they make single reduction tandems up to 58,000 lb so in a tri-drive they would be 87,000 lb. It could have those in it maybe....

 

[BIGNASTY]

I think they do in some applications, rarely ever see one up here. A lot of extra parts and higher cost involved.

Going with deeper gear ratios and making it up with the transmission is more cost effective. You figure if each of the tri-drives is 23,000 lb rated then you have 69,000 lb drives.

I see tandem trucks with 46,000 lb rears routinely haul loads grossing 200,000 lbs or more in an off road situation.

Just checked Meritor and they make single reduction tandems up to 58,000 lb so in a tri-drive they would be 87,000 lb. It could have those in it maybe....

HOLY CARAP!! I used to haul an overload when I knew I could skirt scales to make a few extra bucks, and even when I drove for someone else we were most always over loaded in the disaster relief help we went on.

BUT I WASN'T ANY WHERE NEAR THOSE KIND OF WEIGHTS

 

[mwilson]

My personal best was years ago....

Equipment involved was...

Power Unit
1980 GMC Astro 9500 Cabover Sleeper with an 8V92 Detroit Diesel 430 hp. 13 speed Fuller transmission, 38,000 lb rockwell rears on Reyco 4 spring suspension. 3.90 ratio
Single frame truck with 1" redi-rod placed through the frame before, center and behind the rear suspension to keep the frame from spreading.

Trailer
1979 Great Dane 45' tandem spring ride flatbed converted to an open top bark hauler with 8 1/2' sides and a top swing rear gate.

Highest Vehicle Gross Weight that I hit was 142,000 lbs. From Portage, Maine to East Millinocket, Maine using US Route 11. Have a look at where that is. We routinely weighed up from 110,000 to 125,000 lbs....but if the bark was just the right density it was a lot heavier and we filled the trailers every trip...

Frame on truck would flex enough to throw shifter out of gear if you hit a bump just right. No Jake Brake, just knowing the road, using your momentum and some skill. If a Moose stepped out in front of you had to just hold the line because it was insanity to swerve with that kind of weight.......That was my training....

 

[mwilson]

Yes, on occasion we got caught BTW.....

 

[BIGNASTY]

Mike that's kind of the same ball park as what I would run from Billings MT to Calif with bagged materials on a flatbed. 100 to 110 K on a truck that's limit was 80K was a sure trip to the Vertical Bar Hotel until someone could pay for the room. Never did get caught but sure was kind of worried a few times when off the major hwy and some headlights came out of the bushes on the side of the road and followed me for awhile before passing.

I always thought it was sort of funny, this bagged material HAD TO BE TARPED!! water made it dangerous to haul it became VERY unstable. But you would think that after seeing truck after truck going down the hwy the DOT would have had a clue that, Gee That Truck has some extra pallets of trapped product on it lets take a look and see. This was back in the day that BOL's were not all computer generated and they used to call down on the loud speaker and ask what time and day I wanted to be put on the BOL :-laf

Those days are gone :{

 

[mwilson]

They never hauled us off, but wrote some big tickets.

We ran after dark, weekends, as well and that's when some of the biggest loads were hauled. Fire Department would be called on occasion as the bark pile had a lot of heat in it so hauling with an open top and the resulting steam below zero gave the appearance that the load was on fire to an unaware motorist.......

 

[BIGNASTY]

Back then Utah didn't like anyone but Base Plated trucks to run heavy in their state, NV would look the other way, didn't want to take the time and effort to get out of the car and use some ink. Took some timing and some CB info to get into the Southern Calif area unless you wanted to drive a 100 extra miles. Night time was ALWAYS the safest and most Stealthy way to travel, just had to have a pony with some long legs and able to stay awake for about 27 hours of driving.

Before we were married Penny came to my house in Calif, I had planned to take the short route in to calif. They just opened the scales in the AM, I told Penny if we get caught say that you don't know me and your just getting a ride. But that would be lying to the Police she said :-laf I asked if she was kidding Lucky for me there was a huge line and when we got to the scales they closed it and I pulled out of line and went around. She didn't let me forget that EVER!!#@$%!

 

[TFucili]

My personal best was years ago....

Equipment involved was...

Power Unit
1980 GMC Astro 9500 Cabover Sleeper with an 8V92 Detroit Diesel 430 hp. 13 speed Fuller transmission, 38,000 lb rockwell rears on Reyco 4 spring suspension. 3.90 ratio
Single frame truck with 1" redi-rod placed through the frame before, center and behind the rear suspension to keep the frame from spreading.

Trailer
1979 Great Dane 45' tandem spring ride flatbed converted to an open top bark hauler with 8 1/2' sides and a top swing rear gate.

Highest Vehicle Gross Weight that I hit was 142,000 lbs. From Portage, Maine to East Millinocket, Maine using US Route 11. Have a look at where that is. We routinely weighed up from 110,000 to 125,000 lbs....but if the bark was just the right density it was a lot heavier and we filled the trailers every trip...

Frame on truck would flex enough to throw shifter out of gear if you hit a bump just right. No Jake Brake, just knowing the road, using your momentum and some skill. If a Moose stepped out in front of you had to just hold the line because it was insanity to swerve with that kind of weight.......That was my training....

The thriving metropolis of Portage Lake? I think I bought a sweatshirt at the general store there when we rode through on our way to Ashland for the night. LOL

Also, our mutual buddy George told me that Great Northern closed/sold everything. That will really hurt Millinocket!

 

[mwilson]

Yes, one mill has been torn down and I think that the second one will follow. Twenty years ago I would have never thought it could happen. We also lost the Bucksport paper mill last fall, it has been sold for scrap and is being dismantled.

We have a lot of people that need to find some other occupation.

Free trade my ***....it is killing us. Much more apparent if you live near a border.

Crazy times.

This WIKI page says that the East Mill is still running but that is not the case. It is shuttered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millinocket,_Maine

 

[TFucili]

Apologies to the OP for the threadjack.

That's a shame, Mike, and yes "free(not fair)trade" is a cruel joke perpetrated on us peons. Where I lived back East I watched as Ingersoll Rand, Bethlehem Steel, Mack Truck(to some degree), a whole slew of paper mills, and various other good paying industrial jobs were flushed away for the "service economy". It brings utter devastation. Shameful.

 

[mwilson]

My apologies to JR as well, I've hi-jacked him before....he must be getting used to it as he joins in on whatever we veer over to.....

 

[JR]

Apologies to the OP for the threadjack.

That's a shame, Mike, and yes "free(not fair)trade" is a cruel joke perpetrated on us peons. Where I lived back East I watched as Ingersoll Rand, Bethlehem Steel, Mack Truck(to some degree), a whole slew of paper mills, and various other good paying industrial jobs were flushed away for the "service economy". It brings utter devastation. Shameful.

Bethlehem, PA? We've done some wheelin over in that area on a few occasions. Might be going back this summer if we can find the time in between our trip to West by god Virginia and Wyoming.
No worries on the detour, I value a good conversation more than the direction it goes.

 

[JR]

My apologies to JR as well, I've hi-jacked him before....he must be getting used to it as he joins in on whatever we veer over to.....

You probably owe me a few, I know Ive been guilty as well more than once

 

[TFucili]

Bethlehem, PA? We've done some wheelin over in that area on a few occasions. Might be going back this summer if we can find the time in between our trip to West by god Virginia and Wyoming.
No worries on the detour, I value a good conversation more than the direction it goes.

The general Lehigh Valley area, which also includes parts of Warren and Hunterdon Counties in NJ.

 

[S.Morris]

My personal best was years ago....

. Have a look at where that is. We routinely weighed up from 110,000 to 125,000 lbs....but if the bark was just the right density it was a lot heavier and we filled the trailers every trip...
When brother and I had shop in British Columbia
Brings back some memories.......Used to do powertrain rebuilding.....There were 2 guys that brought their tractors in for 2weeks over Christmas holidays every year. They got full rebuild of 18speed (bearings , main shaft , and full replacement of backsection.) Full rebuild of 46000lb rears including gear sets. This was the only time the trucks were down long enough to comfortably do this work. They from experience started breaking hard parts(twisting mainshafts and backsection countershafts, chunking gear sets etc) at about 18months and could not make 2 years.
They were V8 Cats that were putting down 2000lb/ft (back in 90's). These truck hauled wet bark from one plant to another, a total of 6miles one way. 3miles up to a plateau , then 3 more miles up to second mill. (not sure the grade but it was more than7% 2 lane). There were no scales and they routinely weighed in between 160 and 180K.

I remember taking the one Pete for a test run and it would smoke the tires if you laid into it in high gear at 50mph.

They did not mind paying and were extremely happy to make it year to year without major breakdown