Tag/pusher/drop axle on your tractor.

Just dont want to have it but never use it.. erm... Ok.

Let me take you to tag axle school.

You just CAT your truck and trailer, lo and behold your two drives have 37000 on them. No way to shift the weight anywhere because you gots a bridge girder beam on.

Drop axle. PResto three axles something like around 46000 capacity now. 37000 no longer a problem

Be well.

You can load down tag axles have two, drop em down now you gots 4. Suddenly you have oppertunities open up.

Good luck!

 

Max load on a 15' tri axle is 43,500, so most tags are single wheels: that gives you enough tire width to get to the max. legal load. Advantage is the ability to carry extra weight where permitted. There's a lot of them running around the PNW.

Disadvantages are weight, maintenance, and they aren't legal in Canada unless they are behind the drives.

 

Are you talking about a 4 axle tractor or a 3 axle tractor? If it's a 4 axle and your not doing heavy haul it's added weight and maintenance with little to no added benefit, also means the truck was used for heavy haul. If it's a 3 axle it's more trouble than it's worth, if your not familiar with the way the operate you can overload axles and run into traction problems.

 

You need a refund on that school. 9.5 feet spread will allow you 43.5k in most states. 5th he dude does not know what the axle is there is no way he will have a bridge girder on. You dont put one on unless you know what will be sitting on the truck. You don't scale those things, you just roll. For someone t hat has supposedly drove for as many years as you have you spew out a lot of ignorance and stupidity.

Here is a thought, quit giving advice on things you know nothing about.

OP, if you are never over 80k the drop is useless to you and added weight. If you are in a state that allows higher weights then it can be useful. But by the sound of your post you dont have the excperience with heavier weights.

Nothing wrong with ignorance the problem is staying ignorant. Last thing everyone should definately ignore 4 axle trucks because they hauled heavy. I need them cheaper.

 

they are for extra weight. for general otr freight i don't see a reason to have one unless you are doing permitted heavy haul loads.

i have one but i run in a region that allows greater than 80klbs on divisible loads with my axle spacing i am allowed 42,500 lbs on my drive axle group with my pusher down. light loads or empty i can lift it and only have 2 rather than 3 axles on the ground in my drive group.

my gross weights legal can range from 92k lbs (with shorter 3 axle gravel trailers) to 96k lbs with the trailer pictured and 105,500 on seasonal permits. thoughs are the legal weights with taking a tape measure to everything i have rolled threw the scales at 98k without the scale master even blinking a eye at me

i have permitted a 118k lbs gross non divisible load using my truck once. to move a excavator for someone using there trailer due to there tri axle truck being broken down and they would not issue the permit on a tandem.

honestly if i was going to go to hauling dry van over the road i would probably remove my pusher axle. the axle assembly weights about 1500 lbs dead weight if your not going to be using it.

the problem with trying to run this setup otr is every state has different rules, regarding gross weights, interstate vrs state roads max gross weights how they calculate gross weights permits required ect and then some states that are 80k lbs max. like nd has one formula for gross weight for state routes another for your interstate permit then mt has a different way of calculating there allowable weights, then sd is similar to nd's state route calculation but they have no max gross limit, its entirely determined by your axle groups/spacing. i also run in canada and they have a totally different way of calculating there weights.

if i were to go into mn i can get a permit for slightly higher weight on state routes but there is no permit you can buy for interstate routes.

 

Yup

 

Here in Arkansas we had a drop tag forward of the drives under our Mixer. Those things are useful as hell off road believe it or not. Even though we are not "Supposed" to do certain things with them. We are very careful not to allow them to get abused.

 

What's you net load weight on that...?

 

96k gross with a tall sidewall temptie tri axle trailer and my truck is a 64k lb net load or 73k lb net load on a winter or harvest permit for 105,500 gross.

my gravel trailers come out to around 28 ton net load.