Good Luck Joe on this one if you have questions on what you find out give Bob a call I am sure he will have some ideas for you to think on and decided what will fit your situation best.
Axle weight
- Thread starter layoutshooter
- Start date
Thanks Linda and Bob. I will get with you as I learn what is going on. We are at home now, be here all week. Jan needs a CDL, we are due for a DOT and all that good stuff. Will try to squeeze in some fun. Going to a Mud Hen's game Monday night. Cook out at my Dad's with the family for Father's day. Hope do get a bit more than that in. Give us a shout if you get close to here. Layoutshooter
12'000# are pretty much the norm, especially on a class 7. I'm not sure you could or would even want to go to a 14,000# axle and heavier rated tires on a class 7.
The truck I drove prior to this one had 14,000lb axles. It ran "h" rated tires. That truck is still running strong. If I had the 14's and could get my weight down below that of the "H" tires I would be ok. Look at the bright side. I have a lot to keep me busy for several months. Layoutshooter
layoutshooter, listen to what has been said about moving the main drive axle, you have the room. 325" wb is way to long for a 106 business class. i am speaking from experience here not speculation. we built one of the first business class 112's and had a front axle weight problem with a 318" wb. the nose was 12,000# w/us our stuff and full tanks, no freight. we moved the axle or should i say mgf. moved it 14" to 304" wb and got the axle wgt down to 11,780. now that doesnt sound like alot but with an even split on the box, 11' in front and in back of the drives, ok not 11' but the axle centered up in the middle of the box [it is a 22' box ] it makes loading easy. 2000# 2' off the front wall of the box drops the front axle to about 10,800 and it gets even lower the further back the load is. now you still have to watch how you load a full box i.e. 10 or more skids that weigh alot, but if you keep the heavy stuff or the dbl. stacked stuff to the rear it works fine. we do have a 96" sleeper and a water tank and a apu and big fridge, the tanks are 80,s mounted under the doors and we have a 48" box on the dr. side and a 60" on the psg. side both mounted under the sleeper. the eng is the 12.8 mercedes and the heavy 4000 series allison tranny. the cost to move the axle is not that great or should be taken care of buy whomever built the truck if it is brand new. plus by moving it and since you have a pusher the transfer of weight when the pusher is down will be better w/ the drive axle moved up. good luck, also if i can help or you want to discuss this further or need a second opinion from a reliable builder pm me your ph# and i will call you. its a pain but i dont think its impossible without being to terribly expensive. pm if you need to. TNT
Thanks for the info, I sent you a PM. I sense hope in the future. Layoutshooter
Jefferson3000
Expert Expediter
Wow. That is long. Let's see a picture.
I will get a pick as soon as the truck comes out of the shop. It is in for a DOT and pm's on the reefer and APU. I talked with Alumi-bunk. They said they think that the truck had 14,000lb axles put on, they will get back to me with the info. There is no record of that being done as far as Freighliner knows. They also say that they think the wheelbase was altered after it was sold, like when the lift axle was put on. I hope to learn more later today. Layoutshooter
I don't know Leo, only time will tell. The shop I have it at now is working with a sales/truck build engineer at Freightliner to come up with a number on how far we need to move the axles. At least I will have numbers that I might be able to trust. They are also checking to see how the truck left Freightliner, wheel base etc. I hope all you rookies are reading this. Don't make my mistakes. In fact, maybe I can start a new business!!! I can charge people to learn from my mistakes!! What a cool idea, a don't be a dummy school!!! Layoutshooter
Heck Layoutshooter you are rapidly become the smartest person on how to buy a used truck! Experience is the best school of hard knocks and you are sure attending that school regularly. It is the pits you are learning all of this the hard way but your experience will sure benefit a lot of new people since you are so willing to share. I keep hoping the next installment of your saga will be all good news as you have a lot of people pulling for you.
That is a really sharp looking truck but by eyeball it looks like the centerline of the drive axle should be about under the o in Glove not back at the W and your drop axle behind the drive axle. I hope the current shop and FL engineers can get you some accurate and reliable info so you can get it straightened out asap. Another thanks for sharing this. You are helping a lot of new folks avoid a huge hassle. Good luck.
Thanks to all for the support. I talked with Alumi-Bunk again today and they say that the truck was shipped with 13,300lb axles. They cannot put 14,000 on this truck. They also state that it was shipped with a "300 wheelbase. They are sending me a copy of the build sheet. I am about 800lbs off of what I need. Good news is that with the lift axle down I am at 12,880lbs and very legal. That gives me time to work this out slowly so I don't goof it up any more than I have already. Layoutshooter
That 13,300 was the figure that Freightliner gave me yesterday when I had them pull up the specs on the truck. Layoutshooter
Jefferson3000
Expert Expediter
Hey Layout,
Can you put a full sized tire on the lift-axle, or are you stuck with a donut?
Can you put a full sized tire on the lift-axle, or are you stuck with a donut?
I should be able to put on a full size tire. Freighliner was no help. I need to talk with someone else. They suggested leaving things alone and putting a 16,000lb axle on the front, with tires to match. They told the shop that they don't build trucks like mine. Is the whole world goofy? Layoutshooter
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Not goofy. Just accustomed to passing the buck.
I'd tell them "you know, you're right. you guys didn't make that truck. I see the decal now. Kenworth made that truck and put your chassis, your cab and your everything else in there.".
I guess that would explain it all Leo. I just wish that just once one of these goobers could just forget there are lawyers and just answer the questions. I don't understand why I can't just return the axle to the position that it came from the factory with. I was given a price of $6-8000 to do the job. Am I nuts or does that seem high? There does not seem to be that much to it. Jack the truck up, un-bolt everything, move it up to the holes it came out of and bolt it back up. Then re-do the drive shaft. A bit simplified to be sure, but that much? I need that tornado soon. Layoutshooter