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Did anyone notice shorter trailers?
- Thread starter daveo
- Start date
Professional Fan
Nitro Member
I asked Steve Torrence whether he had cut his trailer down and his comment was "I don't even want to talk about it."
ch3no282
Nitro Member
I talked to Steve Torrence over the weekend. I asked if they had removed the extra 3' and he said no. He told me they just blew the scales. He said the fine is only $75 for blowing the scales. He was also saying that the cost to put his rig on that low boy for the finals was crazy. Im gueessing they will just blow the scales from here on out. The fine is cheaper than getting the trailer fixed.
I am not a trucker, but my guess is blowing the scales will not work for too long. (Now I am not a trucker but....)
When that happens doesn't a officer of some sort, go after you and write the ticket or is it just an electronic ticket that gets mailed to you.
If a scale cop chases you for bypassig a scale wouldn't they inspect the hell out of the truck.
Dean
speedzonemagazine.com
Deuce
Nitro Member
Dean...If you blow a scale they will and do chase you down and write you a ticket. They also check your log book and if they want to they can inspect your rig. So in addition to your ticket for not stopping they can also ticket you for being oversize, overweight ect.
If he blows the scales and gets pulled over and they inspect him and find out he's overlength isn't he back in the same position as he was last year?
That was exactly what I was thinking Darrell!
So Eugene said that Schumacher and Tasca fixed their trailers....anyone else? I'm guessing Force did as well given the number of trailers that he has in his operation?
If he blows the scales and gets pulled over and they inspect him and find out he's overlength isn't he back in the same position as he was last year?
Exactly my point except I would think they would be way more strict,
not worth a risk imo
dean
.
Nitro Member
I remember reading last year during the Finals that Force's trailers were about the only ones that were NOT illegal length.
ch3no282
Nitro Member
Thanks Alan...Sorry If I was a little vague on the last post guys. Steve blew the scales by driving through when they were closed. Again I dont know the process for the fining or how it works. He just explained to me that it was cheaper than chopping the 3' off.
Wayne
Nitro Member
Thx Alan!
Correct me if i'm wrong but the issue is overall length. 53' is the standard length trailer. However, aren't most teams' tractors long wheel base units? That's why moving the 5th wheel helps. Of course if you're hauling upwards of 65,000lbs, moving your 5th wheel too much can/will screw up your axle weights.
Before this job, I drove for a company that went into BC many times a day. We had several tractors (mainly owner-operators) that were too long for Canada so those tractors never went in.
Eugene, Alan, or some else in the know: what does a fully loaded rig weigh? I'm pretty sure that the "load" has to be below 40-45,000 to run with just 5 axles.
Correct me if i'm wrong but the issue is overall length. 53' is the standard length trailer. However, aren't most teams' tractors long wheel base units? That's why moving the 5th wheel helps. Of course if you're hauling upwards of 65,000lbs, moving your 5th wheel too much can/will screw up your axle weights.
Before this job, I drove for a company that went into BC many times a day. We had several tractors (mainly owner-operators) that were too long for Canada so those tractors never went in.
Eugene, Alan, or some else in the know: what does a fully loaded rig weigh? I'm pretty sure that the "load" has to be below 40-45,000 to run with just 5 axles.
Deuce
Nitro Member
The lenght measurement is from the kingpin to rear axle (KPRA). California has a motorsports exemption that allows a KPRA measurement of 46' and an overall lenght of 65'. A fully loaded rig cannot exceed 80,000 lbs.
Nitrohelper
Nitro Member
80,000 pounds for now, Congress is considering raising it to 97,000 with a third axle on the trailers...
The 53' law is for the trailer, it has nothing to do with the 5th wheel on the tractor...
The overall length rules were changed when the trailer law went to 53' from 48' and the width went from 8'-0" to 8'-6"...
That's when all the "cabovers" started to disappear and the long wheelbase tractors became common throughout the US...
Huge
Nitro Member
If they see you blow by an open scale they usually will chase you down and either write you a ticket on the spot, or make you turn around and go back to the scale and they will inspect you. When I was bringing Del Worshams rig back to California after we got Alexis Dejoria licensed, I was coming up on a New Mexico scale and there was a highway patrol had a car pulled over so I had to move over in to the left lane, and then a car behind me passed me on the right side and I couldn't get back over to enter the scale, so they came after me and wrote me a ticket for $167.00. The good part is that there is no points taken off your license. We have a pre pass in Bob Bodes hauler, so we don't have to stop at a 90% of the scales.
Last edited:
TR
Nitro Member
