Semi-Truck Weight

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CuttingEdge
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Semi-Truck Weight

Post by CuttingEdge » Wed Jul 27, 2016 5:24 pm

Does anyone know what the average sized tractor trailer combinations weighs?

I had a load of hardwood go into the mill yesterday and the truck weighed 102,000 going in. No idea yet what it weighed on its way back out, but the driver said it only scaled up at 14 cord. (75,600 pounds). I stick scaled it on the deck and came up with 17 cord. Now 3 cord seems like a lot of loss to attribute to loose piling.

102,000
75,600 for wood
26,000 for the truck and trailer? That seems kind of light to me.

I thought semis could haul 122,000 pounds legally? Sorry for the questioning, typically I haul by tri-axle wheeler!
I have no intention of traveling to my grave in a well manicured body; instead I am going to slide into heaven with a big power turn, totally wore out with busted knuckles, jump off my dozer loudly yelling, Woo Hoo, another Shepard has just arrived!

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Post by Steven Walters » Wed Jul 27, 2016 8:34 pm

80,000 pounds combined is the max with 5 axles, and no permits. I think with permits I can run just under 100,000 with 5 axles, depends on tire size, or I should say per square inch of rubber on the ground. 900 pounds per square inch I thought it was. Each state varies but bridge formula is simaler. It just takes money and the correct permits and u can move anything anywhere. I'm anywhere from 35,000-38,000 depending on what trailer low bed, dump,walking floor. I never weighed truck and log trailer but I'm guessing it's around 28,000-30,000. All my tractors are heavy haul trucks with 46,000 rears and 14,600 steers so they are a bit on the heavy side from the start.

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Post by Lavoy » Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:27 pm

Depending on trailer, that is not out of line. Around here, they can run 83,000, and a long time local trucker says his goal is to net 50,000 on the load, and if he can beat that, that is where he can make some money.
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CuttingEdge
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Post by CuttingEdge » Thu Jul 28, 2016 3:44 am

I know here in Maine our legislatures got special permission to run high weights on the interstate. They did that because 100,000 loads are destined for the interstate that was designed for it and not back roads like what we have. Unfortunately, like all government oversight, it had unintended consequences. Yes it helped keep big trucks on the interstate and beating up our roads, but the small truckstops along these second class roads were no longer frequented by truckers.

I know with a tri-axle wheel, typical registration is for 78,000, but with a "booster" you can legally haul 81,000. We hauled a load in one day with 99,000 on. I will say that it steered easy; it was not exactly responsive steering, but it steered easy!

My truck driver was steaming mad this morning. He has been fetching me 8.3 cords of wood per load so I cured him of that nonsense. Since the paper mills are on quotas again going by truck loads...a truck load being either a wheeler or trailer truck, I cut the trees at 32 feet instead of 26. That will put an extra cord or two on its back and net me more money. The guy does not seem to understand how it works; I pay you to haul my wood, get in the truck, shut up, and drive!
I have no intention of traveling to my grave in a well manicured body; instead I am going to slide into heaven with a big power turn, totally wore out with busted knuckles, jump off my dozer loudly yelling, Woo Hoo, another Shepard has just arrived!

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Post by Paul Buhler » Thu Jul 28, 2016 7:53 pm

Tough work being a logger - at so many different levels.
I recently had a bit of my placed logged, and when I learned what this person's overhead and challenges are..., well, let's just say that it's not easy. On a number of occasions when I logged full time, a mill rep would come to the landing all excited over the quality of the (usually hard maple - Acer saccharum) logs road side. This person would offer me a very nice price per thousand at the mill, which when accepted, was often scaled less than expected - amazing how a log truck which regularly hauls "x" number of board feet of wood, suddenly only carries "x" minus some amount.

Sounds like you're experiencing similar challenges. In my case, the trucker and I were long time friends, dealing with mill scale. Got to the point with some mills where we were scaling on the landing as the logs were loaded, with a check cut before the logs left for the mill.

Good luck sorting out your challenge; keep it professional because if you don't, when the mills cut back, guess who loses.
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Post by CuttingEdge » Sat Jul 30, 2016 6:05 am

I hear what you are saying Paul. I know in VT right now it is even tougher than Maine. That is because I live beside one paper mill where we are the preferred "zone" for wood. That is because they have a contract with Plum Creek to buy X amount of wood from them per week. Whenever they tried to opt out of it, they were taken to court. In that case us landowners get screwed because they buy less wood from us. But here is the rub for VT and NH loggers...

Because they are paid more per cord due to the distance the wood has to be trucked, and Plum Creek is paid on the average price for a cord of wood, my "zone" that pays the least because I am right next to the mill, lowers their average price per cord going to Plum Creek. This helps blunt the blow of paying so much for wood, even though that paper mill...even with its long term markets looking good, is hemorrhaging money. yeah they are making lots of paper, it is just that they are losing money doing so!

So it is a no-win situation for me. If I go to my congressmen and complain that Plum Creek has a monopoly on pulpwood in Maine, and it is ruled as such, Scott Paper will start buying from VT and NH again. Yet with so much wood being flooded from Plum Creek, they are not buying as much wood as they could from private landowners, in particular American Tree Farm's and Forest Stewardship Counsel forests like mine, where agreements have been made, we would get priority over non-certified forests.

I try not to get frustrated and remember that my goal has never been to be a logger again. My goal is to remove the trees from my land and convert it to fields and raise more sheep.

That is a good thing. We have 6 paper mills left in Maine, 3 of which I can deliver wood to due to distance. International Paper in Jay just shut down one paper machine and is operating under bankruptcy protection. Boise Cascade in Rumford is under bankruptcy protection as well, where as Scott Paper in Skowheagan is operating, just in the red.

I watched the shoe industry, chicken industry, and dairy farm industry all die in Maine; I feel downright stupid for never considering that the Forest products Industry would do the same thing!
I have no intention of traveling to my grave in a well manicured body; instead I am going to slide into heaven with a big power turn, totally wore out with busted knuckles, jump off my dozer loudly yelling, Woo Hoo, another Shepard has just arrived!

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Tare weight

Post by Mikeym70 » Sat Jul 30, 2016 8:15 am

I worked in the family trucking business, hauling grain, for quite a few years. Legal weight was 80,000 for us, and tare weight was 32-35,000. We would therefore net around 45-48,000 payload. Keep in mind we had large kenworths with 60" sleepers on them and 45' walking floor trailers, which are heavy.

Generally log trucks are daycabs(or short wheelbase) and have stick trailers, so you could get down to 28,000 tare weight, which is a reasonable weight for such a setup.

If you're talking a tri axle with the loader on it, I would say they're close to that 28k tare weight.

I'm not familiar with legal limits for local drivers in each region, but this should help answer the original posters question.
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Post by pop pop » Sat Jul 30, 2016 4:32 pm

surely the mill doesnt use hardwoods for paper,,?
Arizona has some mills, pine is the #1 abundant tree.
chipboard, and all the stick lumber, and railroad ties, i dont know what else they produce,,, maybe i should find out.
18 wheelers here are limited to 80k.
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Post by Paul Buhler » Sat Jul 30, 2016 7:00 pm

Pop pop: hardwood is used for many paper products; it has a shorter fiber than softwood, so it's often used in a paper blend, or as a main ingredient in writing/printing paper. The other fillers often used are clay and calcium carbonate for sheen and/or whiteness - along with bleaching. Softwood's long fibers are often used in brown paper bags or corrugated materials because of their inherent strength
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CuttingEdge
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Post by CuttingEdge » Sun Jul 31, 2016 1:24 pm

I asked the truck driver yesterday what he could legally haul and he said its registered for 100,000 pounds. In Maine, you are allowed 10% for being overweight, so a 102,000 pound load would mean they probably would not fine you. Anything over 105,000 pounds and they surely would.

This is NOT an 18 wheeler, but a tri-axle trailer, but does have a sleeper for whatever reason.

Pop Pop: The paper mills that used softwood are the ones that have closed. In some respects it is like the old days where you now cut Spruce, Hemlock and White Pine for the logs and leave the tops in the woods. Back in the 1980's it was the other way. You cut only softwood and if hardwood was in the way, you cut it, but left it in the woods! I never thought I would see the day when you could not get rid of softwood!
I have no intention of traveling to my grave in a well manicured body; instead I am going to slide into heaven with a big power turn, totally wore out with busted knuckles, jump off my dozer loudly yelling, Woo Hoo, another Shepard has just arrived!

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Post by Tigerhaze » Mon Aug 01, 2016 4:05 pm

One thing I would point out about DOT enforcement of load weights- when stopping at a weigh station or getting a portable scale used on you, they look at the weight per axle for your setup. Thus it is not only the actual gross weight but also how it is distributed on the trailer or vehicle.
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Post by pop pop » Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:38 am

so its a 22 wheeler :D
we have a hardwood called ironwood, which is aptly named.
the (very few we have)mills are usually sitting idle, some for years.
good point Tigerhaze, i'd forgotten that trick of theirs.

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Post by CuttingEdge » Tue Aug 02, 2016 3:52 pm

Not sure if it is the same thing, but here we have ironwood as well. Here it is prized for horse hitches since its about the only wood that can tolerate two draft horses sitting on their haunches and not breaking the beam in two.

It was also used for pulling stumps out of the ground by horses. It was a darn slow process, but considering way back when they did not have bulldozers, and specially built ironwood beam with plenty of chains and iron would beat using a shovel and axe to chop the tap roots and toting the stump out of the hole with oxen.

This is one style...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QgRymeiV-k
I have no intention of traveling to my grave in a well manicured body; instead I am going to slide into heaven with a big power turn, totally wore out with busted knuckles, jump off my dozer loudly yelling, Woo Hoo, another Shepard has just arrived!

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