Can anyone please shed some light on the new regulations regarding the steerable lift axles? One of my jobs is mostly commercial safetys and mostly truck work and the boss gets MTO revisions but they are just email address now days and the MTO link is dead. He is mostly concerned about the 20 year life of the trailers and now every lift axle has to be steerable, but nearly every driver complains about not being able to back them up. Also since I can't find the info on MTO site does anyone know if we're allowed to have a lift control in the cab or just an automatic drop when the weight hits it. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks John
I don't see how they could disallow a lift control in the cab. Regulations are minimum requirements. A control to raise the axle would be extra. An arguement could be made that backing up with the wheels dragging are detrimental to the unit and its future safe use.
I think it is allowed, but only under certain conditions, I'm just wondering what exactly those are. light vs heavy, speed, and other such conditions. And if its open to interpertation. Thanks for your reply the less confusion the better. Also curious to who can install these axles when it comes to retrofitting. Honestly I'm surprised no one has asked anything about it yet, there are quite afew lift axles in my area, Also this may only include raw forest products but there again not 100% sure.
In ND, if you have more than one lift axle, all controls must be outside of the cab. Not saying everyone abides by it, but that's what the law says. I have heard in other states the inspector will unplug the trailer cords and turn the key off, and if any axles lift up, you get weighed like that.
Here in Wa. I think the only in cab control allowed is lift on reverse signal. I.E. backup light switch on the transmission. But I have seen "load light" switches, etc that... well.... did dirty deeds. Ahem...
Well thanks for replys I found what I was looking for under the highway traffic act, I think it won't apply to most of the trucks in my area because they're raw forest products. But for the other ones you need 4-ways on and a device that prevents lifting when over 60km/h. Also b-trains are different too. Anyway if someone else is looking and wants something to read here is the link. It is in section 5 https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/050413 Also our air brake regulations changed a little, I'm not a driver but was reading the book a little bit and it states you put a device in the cab to hold the brake peddle down to check your stroke. A device meaning a stick but that don't sound official enough I guess. Just thought you may get a laugh from that.
I am running SPIF units. You cannot have control in the cab. Unless you are a forestry truck. But that may also now be changing as they want you to spec tri-drives and tandem steer with tri-drive. All non-SPIF lift axle will get allowable gross weight reductions starting 2020. Trailers are 16 years from date of manufacture. SPIF axles have to be recalibrated every 4 years I think? I'm not worried about it because I usually have to tell the MTO inspectors how the law works on them anyway. They still don't have a clue. I had to add the reverse lockouts and illegal in-cab lift switch as, despite what the government tells you, they suck off road and DO NOT STEER on snow packed and icy roads. After the first time I almost side swiped a car making a corner in town, in first gear at low speed.....the switch went in. The system will lift the axle under 60 KPH after you cycle the 4-way flashers and leave them on.....but you don't have time for that once you start sliding out of control. And yes, inspectors now want to see a stick or some device to hold your brake pedal applied for doing your circle check, and they have also asked to see my chock and tape measure, except for on my trucks that have stroke indicators.
Paystar do you know what the rule is on retrofitting? like who can do the work and who recalibrates them?
I don't know where you are located jonnyboy, but around here Gin-Cor is who installs and calibrates them. I think most of the dump body installers can do it and Custom, who builds the dump trailers. My Star came from the factory with the steering axle installed, but it still had to go to Gin-Cor for the SPIF controller. It's $3500 to $4000 for the SPIF conversion IF you already have the steer axle on the truck. A trailer with straight lifts is $13,000 to convert to steer axle and SPIF.
Thanks to all this SPIF and emissions crap, now you know why a dump truck like mine is $230,000 today. There is talk of them revising the SPIF laws but I haven't seen any changes yet. The MTO did have a meeting about it. Lots of dump truckers have been filing complaints. SPIF works ok on an air ride truck like mine, but the guys with rubber block were having lots of trouble. The load cells don't work as good as air and they have problems with the lift axle going up and down when it shouldn't be. And the loggers aren't happy about the spec they will be forced to run. My salesman said to hold off on any new purchase for a bit to see if anything comes about. They are fighting to get an up/down switch in the cab again. I like the steer axle, and I like the self equalizing, but they really do need to put the up/down control back in the drivers hands.
For anybody else out there reading this thread that could not figure what the acronym SPIF means, I googled so as not to ask a stupid question, and now I don't feel so bad that I didn't know. SPIF: Safe - Productive - Infrastructure Friendly.
Question is never stupid Oxbow when someone can learn something new. Thanks for thinking of explaining that though. Kind of a funny name though, considering it isn't safe at all, it hasn't increased my productivity (it may increase your allowable gross, but it also weighs more) and not very infrastructure friendly when it won't deploy when loaded because of an electronic glitch, or plowing trenches while reversing because it won't go up, LOL. What's even dumber here in Ontario is the whole idea of SPIF was they wanted all your axles on the ground at all times loaded, with equal loading. Yet when we wanted to buy a twin steer which has the same axle spacings and works far better than a SPIF lift axle , I come to find out we can't pull our pony dump trailers with one??? If you hook a trailer to a twin steer they reduce your allowable gross on the truck from 37,100KG to 32,000KG. So we have to stay with a SPIF lift to keep our 63,500KG/140,000lb allowable.
Paystar, I understand your confusion on this subject, but I can explain it to you very simply... You do know these regulations were written by gov't employees, right? :falldownlaugh Ok, now I know you are , and want to :duh, but please just accept I can't help being a smartass, and :drinkup on me. Mitch
I believe you hit the nail right on the head mitch504, LOL. The same super intelligent people that want to make Smartway approved dump trucks that can't be ordered from the factory with deep lug tires because they aren't fuel efficient, LOL.
Here's my SPIFy Star.
Man, that's my pet peeve. They make all these rules that may work great on the interstates, but are absolutely flippin' useless on my trucks that have an average haul of less than 50 miles, and are in the mud on every load.
I've had that argument with another driver that is into fuel efficient specs. He was preaching to me about the value of fuel efficient tires, reducing trailer gap, side fairings over the fuel tanks, etc. But where I am, I am running constant 6,8,10 and 12% grades the whole trip. Up and down like a roller coaster. My average speed at the end of the trip is 35 MPH. That stuff is not going to gain me anything in reduced MPG. The law makers are trying to mandate specs for the flat freeways of California.....but they don't work in the hills of northern Ontario or the mountains of BC at minus 40*C in a winter snow storm at 140,000 gross.
Side fairings would last about 15 minutes where some of our loads get dropped. I'm halfway between thunder bay and winnipeg near Fort Frances. One of my jobs is mechanic for gravel business and the other I work at a safety inspection station and I do mostly safeties but we do anything on a truck, It is my boss there that is interested in who can do this work because we would like a chunk of that work if we're legal to do it. It is odd that we can pull walking beams and rebush them but cant bolt a axle on which is much simpler. We have mostly pulp trailers here but there are a couple 5 axle gravel trailers here now but times are changing. There will be some work to retro fit these pulp trailers and we'd like to see some of it. That is why I asked who can do it or how we can get certified.My grandfather hauled pulpwood for 40 years and told alot of times they would run alll the way to town with the lifts up just to get traction and steer as well. The law makers should have some trucking experience maybe then they would understand.
I'm not sure if there is anyone else up your way that does it. I'm down by the Sault and we use Gin-Cor in Mattawa. They are the closest to us that can do SPIF installs. I think Porcupine/Timmins Trailers is doing the conversions for the local loggers here. I'm sure that's were my buddy said he got the pricing for his log trailer conversions. https://sites.google.com/site/porcupinetrailers/home