B Trains in the States

weight limitations is the main reason. I think that Michigan and Montana are the states with the highest limits for divisible loads. Other states being 105,500 and with the train weighing in at 17k add that to the truck at 22k and you are looking at 39k tare weight minimum. That only leaves you with 66,500 pounds of payload availability if you can get the axle weights correct.

Now that same tractor with a 4 axle flat can gross nearly the same. Because of bridge law I go with 103k for that setup but then you are pairing a 22k tractor with a 13k trailer so that puts you at 35k tare weight. You should be able to scale 68k of payload.

So with a 4 axle trailer, all things being equal, you can haul more product weight.

 

I run around Michigan pretty regularly, and it's not uncommon to see 11 axle setups on the highways, including B-trains.

 

@Mike2633 On the NY thruway you can pull 2 48's I see em all the time. I think they're allowed somewhere around 120-140k

 

That's the thing, you see them in local or regional areas. I can go 130k in Montana but not any of the surrounding states.

 

My guess would be convenience? How do unload the lead trailer after you unhook everything?

 

i think Florida Turnpike also allows turnpike doubles.

 

B-trains (5th wheel on rear of lead trailer, no convertor dolly) are permitted on the NY Thruway, though it may be on a case by case basis. The primary advantage to them is they can be backed up, without the headache of breaking the set or trying to push a squirrelly dolly backward. Depending on axle count, I believe they can gross up to 140K, same as the double 48's. I'd like to see more of them, myself.

 

yea, they have a staging area at commercial and the sawgrass on the west side