Please help me with a newbie question. I have no heavy haul experience. I am evaluating 55 ton stretch RGBs for future purchase. For example, Fontaine 55MX or XL Specialized 110HDE or Kaufman 55TON. Some have 20 inch loaded deck height and others have 24 inch loaded deck height. My business model would be to haul oversize rather than overweight. It is logical to think that lower deck height would be better from money making perspective. I need your input to understand how much revenue loss is going to be caused by lack of 4 inch deck height? In ballpark numbers, how many loads will I lose because of 4 inch higher deck? 10% less loads, 20% less loads? Is the difference marginal? How much of a big deal is a 20 inch deck compared to a 24 inch deck from the annual profit angle? I plan to run all 48 states (and possibly Canada). Thanks for your kind consideration. I look forward to all replies. Regards, Singh
Well if you say you are hauling more oversize rather then overweight you don't need a 55ton trailer to begin with. With that being said a smaller 35ton capacity has a lower deck height then a 55ton. Yes, you can get a 55ton with a shorter height then 24", but then your empty weight goes up....the shorter the deck height the mor the empty weight. Another thing you need to know that 80%+ of the people out there do not know is that a stretch trailer derates when you stretch it open. Rule of thumb you loose 20,000# capacity when fully stretched, so a 55ton is good for 45tons open....also it needs to be in a 2-point load criteria, so you have to block the load up on the ends with 4 bys....it raises your load height, but that is a stetch for you. I bet 80% of the guys who pull stretches out there overload there trailer and don't even know it. There is actually more to it then that about a stretch, but I don't have the time to type it up. I can talk about it for days. Honestly you can not know enough info when it comes to a stretch trailer. Justin
JBlackwell has pretty much covered it for you. Just want to add though in the lowboy business four more inches can make a huge difference.
According to me it wont cost you more if you hired a professional deck constructor.