44 Foot Trailer, option recommendations

Bobcat698

Bobcat698

Pure Diesel Power
I am purchasing a 44 ft trailer next month with the intention of hauling 2 ex-cab long box trucks.. combined weight 16k.

I talked to the trailer place I normally deal with and he priced me out a Sure-Trac trailer with 2 10k tandem dually axles and electric brakes.

I have the option of going with 2x 12k axles instead, along with the option of electric over hydraulic brakes. He said those options aren't necessary for that size load as he's hauled similar loads with a 40 foot trailer for years..

What do you guys think?
 
ALL of my trailers, totalling 9, i have put elec/hydo on.

i absolutely love it and would never go back to just elec.

also, my trailers > 24' deck came factory with 10k tandem duals but i put 12,500 on them shortly after bringing them home.

i would say get a 40' deck, 5' dove tail (4' doves SUCK haha), elec/hydo, 12,500 lb axles. you will LOVE it.

well worth the money spent.
 
Trailer salesman says maximum legal length for any trailer is 53 foot..
I guess I could probably get away with a 45 foot trailer, they measure from the very front bolt on the gooseneck to the back.. I will have flip-up ramps, they would push it a hair over 53 ft.

What do you gross with your cattle trailers?
My existing tow rig is a 96 2500 2wd srw truck.. we will probably only haul one truck most of the season and will probably have only 1-3 hooks hauling both with that tow rig. I plan on picking up a 2009 6.7L Mega Cab Dually.
 
ha, i don't even want to know what i weigh in on a good load with my cattle trailer, my tow rig is down right now so it has been parked for week or two.

as for the length, thanks for correcting me, one of my 40' has a 36' deck with 4' dove and other has a 35' deck 5' dove. either way that leaves you with 13 foot to play around with. each of my trailers have tripple folding ramps.

my tow rig is a 05 CTD S/C 4x4 dually. i would love to have a new personal 6.7 mega cab.
 
I would get the folding ramps but I would run into issues with flipping them up when both trucks are loaded.. Wouldn't work very well. Looks like a 39+5 is what I'll need. I wasn't trying to correct you BTW, I just learned about this law 2 days ago.
 
just watch your weight, that's all the matters. oh and get a CDL, you will need one.

i was hauling my 40' with my 04.5 CTD 2500 (sold the truck 2 months ago) with our backhoe. weighed in at a hair under 30k. legal is 26k. only got caught because i broke my front axle, the set of duals shot off, hitting another car, totalled their car.

also watch your speed. that would not have happened if i wasn't speeding but i was cruising right at 85. took me 1/4 mile to get shut down once i saw what was happening.

trooper gave me 12 or 14 violations (tickets).
i am STILL paying that crap off and JUST got my lisence back haha.
 
yes, you will need at least a 39 if hauling two trucks, if knowledge serves me correctly, one truck is right at 18' from front bumper to back? is that correct?
 
OUCH! Did you get sued for the car getting totalled or did insurance cover it?

Legal is 26k how? Without a CDL? I might be a hair over that because you figure the tow rig at 7k minimum, truck weight on trailer 16k, already at 23k, plus trailer weight at 4k maybe?

I will be hauling the trucks for my biz to get to truck pulls, you think we should both have CDL's even if it reads "not for hire"?
 
ChaseN said:
yes, you will need at least a 39 if hauling two trucks, if knowledge serves me correctly, one truck is right at 18' from front bumper to back? is that correct?
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My ex cab long box is right at 21 feet bumper to bumper... So we need 44 I think! 39 might do it if we hung the a$$ end off the trailer a bit, that is do-able too but I'd like a few inches between the trucks though too.
 
no, didn't get sued. insurance covered it. the big deal was i did not have my CDL then.

if you weigh combinged weight 26k or under, and run farm tags, you do not need a CDL. if you are 26,001 you will need a CDL.

i am going based on my knowledge, confirm what i am saying is correct before you trust me haha, i have been known to make mistakes.

IF the trailer is bought personally, i would title it as farm trailer. if a company buys it, is MUST be titled as DOT trailer and you WILL have to have a CDL.

that is how the state's get their money.

last week i re-newed my 40' farm trailer: $5.60
renewed my 40' DOT trailer: $96.80

as far as the length of the trucks, 21' each = 42' combined, foot inbetween = 43', foot on tail = 44'. that will be extremely tough with folding ramps, even if you chain them up, it will still be tough... hmm.. get a 3 car hauler, they are alot cheaper anyways haha
 
ChaseN said:
no, didn't get sued. insurance covered it. the big deal was i did not have my CDL then.

if you weigh combinged weight 26k or under, and run farm tags, you do not need a CDL. if you are 26,001 you will need a CDL.

i am going based on my knowledge, confirm what i am saying is correct before you trust me haha, i have been known to make mistakes.

IF the trailer is bought personally, i would title it as farm trailer. if a company buys it, is MUST be titled as DOT trailer and you WILL have to have a CDL.

that is how the state's get their money.

last week i re-newed my 40' farm trailer: $5.60
renewed my 40' DOT trailer: $96.80

as far as the length of the trucks, 21' each = 42' combined, foot inbetween = 43', foot on tail = 44'. that will be extremely tough with folding ramps, even if you chain them up, it will still be tough... hmm.. get a 3 car hauler, they are alot cheaper anyways haha
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A lot cheaper and flimsiers if you are talking about a wedge.

I am not going to get folding ramps, I'm getting the stand-up ramps which gets me the full 44' to work with.

I'd rather title it as a DOT trailer than get nailed when the "farm trailer" is in Texas hauling trucks when I live in WI..

We should be able to just go in and get our CDL's with the truck and trailer then.. I just won't get certified for air brakes, no need for it.
 
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Most of next year I bet you I could get away with no CDL as we will be well below the 26k weight mark.
 
Don't forget the weight box or bracket on both trucks when measuring those trucks.

Why not get a semi? You can pick on up for the price of a pick-up, sleep in it if needed, look cool and have an enclosed trailer for 2 trucks.
 
I have to second the Semi, you can get a nice used truck for 10K to 15K that will out pull a 6.7 and you can register it as an RV. I have seen guys drop one of the rear axles to save weight and they pull mini floats with them. Fuel mileage is not as bad as you would think, around 10 MPG. Jeremy.
 
16k combo sounds a bit low if you going to be running 2 trucks with weights on it. The lenght Might also be a question as well. My buddy's got a 53fter and sometime you woner if the trucks are going to fit on there. My maint thing is the weight, I think your going to need alot higher than 16k, I'd just move up to 21k just to be safe, if not higher.
 
On some trailers the ramps will either fold flat or stand straight up depending on how you want/need to have them based on load.


Tcolesanti said:
A 44' trailer with 12,500lb axles is going to weigh alot more than 4K.

-Tom
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Yep.
 
You will need the CDL as stated. I was just nailed for this last year, with my 40 footer. With the load I only weighed 13000 but the trailer was capeable of 32000 and that is what they go by. Get the heavy axles and the elec. over hyd. brakes. But I also would go with the semi or at least a wedge with a soild bottom that you can put weights and tools in.

Chuck
 
You might want to look at a trailer with a hydraulic tail, 10-15 ft. The tail will add some weight but cut down on your length. The rear of your trucks should not weigh much and most tails will pick 7k or better. The axeles.... In your case it really shouldn't matter. A set of 10k HD Dexter axles will do just fine with a max brake or Brake Smart brake controller. Unless you're hauling 40,000 miles a year the disks/hydro are not worth the expense.
 
Burner said:
You might want to look at a trailer with a hydraulic tail, 10-15 ft. The tail will add some weight but cut down on your length. The rear of your trucks should not weigh much and most tails will pick 7k or better. The axeles.... In your case it really shouldn't matter. A set of 10k HD Dexter axles will do just fine with a max brake or Brake Smart brake controller. Unless you're hauling 40,000 miles a year the disks/hydro are not worth the expense.
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How would the tail cut down on length? I need 42 feet of space for the trucks..
Thats why I figure a 39+5.
You think with 2 trucks (tractor weights factored in) at 8k each total 16k that 10k hd dexters is enough capacity?

As far as the wedges go (not quoting you) I'm told they are flimsier than a deck over style design.
 
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