Hi guys so here is my scenario ~I want to buy a 3 axle Peterbilt 379 with a 60" sleeper ~I want to buy a 45 foot or 48 foot long hydraulic dovetail trailer I need to be under 65 feet overall length ~ Is it possible to be under 65 feet with this set up?
Yup
Overall or bridge? You should be OK with 45'.
Overall combination tractor trailer length
what is the longest tractor I can use with a 45 footer? what king pin setting will I need? thanks guys
also will a hydraulic dovetail be too heavy to pull with a single axle tractor? I will be pulling 20k loads at most
Should be just fine with a real single axle tractot, (33-35K gvwr) I gross 80k with a single axle CH Mack and tri-axle trailer routinely, and have gone over 100k occasaionally.
South Carolina let's you put 48,000 on a tridem like we do here in ND? That's pretty handy. Just sucks we can't go on interstate with more than 42,000, or 43,500 with a ten foot spread.
as long as you stay 41' king pin to rear axle you will be alright.
Here in SC, vocational trucks (mostly anything but a van or flatbed) can weigh 20,000 per axle; up to a max of 50k on 3 axles, 70k on 4, and 80k on 5 axles, with no concern for length or axle spacing. On the interstate we are limited to following the Federal bridge formula. Off the interstate, with the right tractor and 24' dump trailer, I can carry almost 27 tons; on the interstate, the same rig can carry about 18 tons.
That's good, I thought us up here in the north country were the only ones that load that heavy. You say you can put 50,000 on a tridem, and you say you can put 20,000 per axle, can you put 40,000 on a tandem? We can only do that in the winter with a 10% frost permit, and then it's only 37,400.
It just goes by the overall truck. 3 axle truck = 2 drives and a steer; 1 drive, 1 steer, 1 trailer; whatever, spacing and length doesn't matter= 3 axles, 50k; 4 axles, 70k; 5 axles, 80k. No more than 20k on any one axle, no matter where it is. Nothing over 80k without a permit, no permit for a load that can be divided, except for a sealed container that has or will cross the US border sealed. I didn't know what a frost law was until I went to Michigan to buy a trailer from another contractor.