I know tandem dumps are popular in Georgia because they don't give credit for lift axles, but there are almost none in SC. The SC DOT has hundreds of them, but I don't know why. They have no triaxle dumps, all their material is hauled 15 tons at a time. In SC, (off the interstates), a 3 axle truck can weigh 50,000 lbs, but, if you add a lift axle you get 74,000lbs. So, obviously almost everybody runs triaxles. So, I'm curious, does anybody around your area use tandems, except maybe a few guys who work in real tight areas?
In Ky most guys that haul for a living use tri axle trucks. They have a contract with the quarry to haul and I'm sure its by the ton and mileage. You probably read I want a tandem , not much luck finding what I can afford. The guys running tri axle can tag up to 80,000. Most do but some tag at 73280. Not much savings between the two. I don't want to do my own hauling , I want to be able to move larger equipment and on the occasion haul if need arises. The guys running tri axles , some also run some single axle trucks , I know those are paid a minimum. We have one guy has a KW with aluminum bed , tanks etc , he can scale 27 ton legal. I would think they would have to have a 20k front axle to gross 80k.
Lots of tandems here, I'm guessing because of lack of weight enforcement. We used contracted tandems to haul 8k yards of fill in on a job in 2013... all were tandem dumps aside from maybe 25 loads in a semi.
I can only think of a few tandems... count em on one hand with the exception of AR hwy dept. The dirt guys use triaxles and the asphalt guys use either quads or tractor/trailer combos.
Here in ND, tandems are used in town mostly. Out in the big picture, tri-axle side dumps/belly dumps are the way to go. We are the same here, how much weight depends on how much rubber on the steer. I'm not positive, but I think 16,000 lbs for sure on 425 tires for 50,000 gross and maybe as much as 18,000. Tandems have there place; site truck, rip-rap, small paving jobs, stuff like that, but very few guys run only tandems here.
As long as we are talking dumps here, this is a little off subject. Why is it that so many dumps seem to have sheet metal panels on the outside of their boxes. I fly into Charleston and Savannah quite often and I see these all the time. In Washington (State) you never see them. It appears that they are there for a purpose, as I see them on several different makes of boxes. Thus they are not a style thing. Help?
I think it maybe to hide dents in the box or dress it up a bit.
I remember seeing orange metal caution signs on the back of the trucks "construction vehicle do not follow" and the like. Here for the most part tandems are very slow, super dumps are common, then you have guys frankenstiening road tractors in to super tens, or going to Utah and buying ratty old tri-axels. Here with the bridge law they are only good for 14 tons, but these idiots will still throw 20 tons on them and run them with the super dumps and cops ignore them.
Guys around here use tri but there are still many tandem's. The haul bills are 50 single, 75 tandem and 100 tri coming from the local quarry. Found out I can save 1.50 a ton for rock if I drive 20 miles to the main quarry instead of the local haul station. Quarry haulers get 2 a ton to brin it to the local yard. Figure I'll continue to pay the extra because diesel eats up the savings along with time. A guy here had a tri for many years and runs his own dirt moving Co. It's a good story but to keep it short. He sold the tri and had a single which he added a dump bed. After wards he told me he can now haul his track hoe and dozer much easier and fuel bill is a lot better.
around here 5 axle dumps are the most popular. most the guys that run tonnage run 6 and 7 axle truck
They're primarily insulation panels for hauling asphalt to help keep the asphalt at spec. temp. And that too.. Back to the question. In central AL tri-axles are king and tandems are scarce. A tri can gross 80K on secondary roads which gives them a 25 ton payload there a bouts. If I'm hiring trucks for a job, I don't want tandems as the difference in price per hour between them and tri's is way less than the difference in material moved. Now if I hire a truck to move on site material, I prefer a tandem as they are better suited for that task. A little insight to our local market. During the last several years of bad economic times many small trucking outfits shut their doors, with a few surviving. Now that the work load has picked up a small amount, trucks - tandem or tri's are hard to get. I saw this coming and it's a blessing in disguise as it means work is on the table but it makes trucks hard to get when you need them. Gotta love supply and demand. It'll make you money or put you in the poor house.. It's getting to the point I am considering getting a dump truck but then on second thought, I'd rather just be kicked in the rear and call it even.
Many tandems here along with tri axles as well. I have a tandem but still hire most all our rock delivered to the site, will only haul some if time allows, but in reality I would much rather pay someone else to haul it. My tandem is used for towing a tag trailer and site haul off material, on that account I would not be without it either.
If I got another dump truck it would be primarily for moving equipment as well JB, on-site hauling and other small tasks. In the past I had a tri and a tandem. They were very useful but it's also another round of headaches with maintenance, drivers, taxes, tags, etc.
I don't recall ever seeing a lift axle on a rigid tipper here, we have a few twin steer eight wheelers but that's about it. By far the most popular application is the "truck n dog". I would guess, maybe, 75% of tandem tippers have a dog trailer following along. This truck of ours normally has a water tank on the back, working with our road crew, but we also have this super dog , 3axle trailer, to shift gravel from time to time. Most new trailers these days are quad dogs , 4 axle , and a few 5 axle also getting around. Then you get into semi tippers and the axle number just keeps going up. Cheers, Greg
CM, Yes I agree everything that has an engine and wheels is a round of headaches from license to keeping it road ready, for me my dump truck is kind of a necessary evil. Around our area it is hard to get someone with a big dumptruck when you need it, so it is handy for us to have it ready when it is needed.
Add a pusher to that truck, you would be able to haul 105,500 most anywhere. Except the communist states that don't acknowledge extra axles. You guys know who and where you are.
In SC, and most other eastern states, we are limited to 80,000 lbs, (except an extra 4,000 for logs and farm products, loaded with no scales available), no matter what. You can't get an overweight permit for a load that can be divided up.
In NH there is a mix of tandems and tri axles. I register my tandem to 65,000 and can haul about 20 tons. 20,000 lb front with 46,000 rears. I was talked out of getting a tri axel since the third axle can get hung up when off road.
Its the same here in florida and with a lift axle you can carry 70k but here we see a 50/50 mix of tandems and tris
I see some states allow 74k. In Alabama you can haul 80k with a pusher axle. I just don't see how they have the braking power with just three braking axles at that weight.
What kind of weight formulas are they using? Surely not federal bridge law. That only allows 42,000 on 8' tridem, or 43,500 on 10' spread. Here in ND, we can put 48,000 on any tridem with duals on all wheels, but have to follow federal bridge on overall length. I can't see how you can put more than 60,000 on a tandem truck, and to put 65,000 on 4 axles the truck would have to be 32' long. 74,000, truck would need be 48' long. I think maybe either I'm misunderstanding what you guys are talking about, or these weights are not accurate.
they don't use the bridge law like some of us have to
That would be handy. :drinkup. Maybe wouldn't have to work as hard. Wonder how much you can put on 7 axles??
The bridge laws only apply on federally funded roads, which means the interstates basically. My first overweight ticket was in a truck that was legal on the state highways, but too heavy on the interstate.
These a coupe screen shots from the florida regs on trucks
Here the most you can possibly put on a tandem truck is as follows: 34,000 on drives, UP TO 20,000 on steer, provided you have 425 rubber, and the truck is long enough.
Lots of triaxles getting to be more superdumps than quads. I'd say 75% of the tandems are DOT/County/Township. Off the interstate it's 85,500 and no bridge law. Tri can go to 66
what about super dump are they good ,bad what are the disadvantage's of them or the bad point's, how do they handle
Were allowed about 40k on the drives and up to 20 on the front( with 425s) so long as the gross isn't over 58000 lbs. Lift axles don't fly here, nor do tri drives, but twin steers can go to 75000 lbs. Payloads on tandems are in the 16 ton range, twin steers 22 ish. I'm generalizing the weights a bit because we use metric and I don't feel like doing the coversions from KGs tonight! Lol
I think Alberta is the same as Manitoba. 17,000 kgs (37,500 lbs) on the drives 23,000 kgs (50,700 lbs) on a tridem. Been about 4 yrs since I had to go out there. Saskatchewan lets you put 18,000 kgs (39,600 lbs) on drives in the winter.
In Michigan you can run upto 160,000 lbs if you throw enough axles under them. We will load approximately 40 to 43 ton on these depending on the truck and trailer. However, were starting to ho to semi's because of the time it takes to break down a double. We can run 28 ton on these legal.