Overall Length

paid vacationer · Apr 29, 2008

What is the legal overall length for a straight truck ? What might be the biggest sleep you could have with a 24' box ? While I'm at it... anyone take a guess at how much weight could be hauled with a "typical" 10 wheel truck ? I know sleeper size and some other factors play in here. Just looking for the ballpark figure.. THX

flatdecker · Apr 29, 2008

The overall length for a straight truck is 40 feet just about everywhere I think. The size of the sleeper with a 24 foot body would depend on the type of truck and the length of the hood etc. You're going to get a lot more bunk on an M2-106 than you are on a 389 Pete. Your weight will also depend on the truck that you are using, subtract the tare from the gross to find out what you can haul. You are going to have to provide more info before these questions can be answered.

paid vacationer · Apr 29, 2008

THX flatdecker. I know good answers depend on details. I'm thinking outloud about my next truck. I'm thinking a stretched out class 8 w/ custom sleeper and 24' box would be great. I'm seeing a good bit of freight these days that's just too heavy for my lil ol' FL-80. Does adding a liftgate count against that 40' overall length??

x06col · Apr 29, 2008

IL is a 42ft state, CO,CT,ID,KS,KY,ME,MO,NH,OK,SD,TX,UT,ARE 45FT states, VT 46ft state, ND 50ft state, MT 55ft state, WY 60ft state, NV 70 ft state. Rest are 40 foot.

Jefferson3000 · Apr 29, 2008

Adding a liftgate does count on length if the footer plate extends beyond the end of the box. Worst case scenario, you can get a tuck-away liftgate that doesn't extend further than the box. However, you will need good balance to swing in from the side. Of course you would have a few extra inches to play with if you get a Century or Columbia vs. an FLD or W900L.

Doggie Daddy · Apr 29, 2008

paid vacationer said:
Does adding a liftgate count against that 40' overall length??

It does if it adds length to the truck.DD.

ATeam · Apr 29, 2008

A lot of good folks helped us think through our truck specs when we built our truck. As a way of giving back, I have published the specs online.

This is not to suggest you should build a truck like ours, but the items listed may help you think through your own build.

Our truck length is 40'0". We can legally scale about 15,000 lbs but have told our carrier 12,000 to leave a margin for error. As a practical matter, this CR-unit almost never carries more than 5,000 lbs of freight. That is the limit our carrier will place on a CR-unit.

piper1 · Apr 29, 2008

24 foot clear box and "big sleeper" don't go together. With a 112 (short nose) truck the biggest bunk you could have is a 72 inch.

Jack_Berry · Apr 29, 2008

phil,

got that pic of glen rices coe with the drom living quarters handy?

if you went coe short lth cab you could get a bigger seperate sleeper and still have room for cargo.

P51bombay · Apr 29, 2008

x06col said:
IL is a 42ft state, CO,CT,ID,KS,KY,ME,MO,NH,OK,SD,TX,UT,ARE 45FT states, VT 46ft state, ND 50ft state, MT 55ft state, WY 60ft state, NV 70 ft state. Rest are 40 foot.

Straight trucks?............I thought the 40 foot rule was federal. Shortest BBC around is one of the IH 7000 or 8000 series, otherwise I think you can still get an Argosy 110 and still have room for around 29 feet of box.

tec1959 · Apr 29, 2008

Hi I'd get a 20-22 ft box and not really have to worry about a sleeper In less you want like a 100' or larger sleeper...

x06col · Apr 30, 2008

Well, "our" Carrier loads em like a freight train. After all, they are trucks. And as Broompilot alerted me to in a PM, lots a yous clowns could have some humdinger camping machines, if'n ya wanted to do Nevada.

TeamCaffee · Apr 30, 2008

Get the biggest box you can then worry about the sleeper. The freight in the box pays the bills so you will want to be available for every load possible. We have a 40' truck, 24' box, 96" sleeper and an elevator lift gate, with a pusher axle. We can legally haul 13,000 lbs and we are very comfortable in our truck.

ATeam · Apr 30, 2008

Jack_Berry said:
phil,

got that pic of glen rices coe with the drom living quarters handy?

if you went coe short lth cab you could get a bigger seperate sleeper and still have room for cargo.

I know the photo you are talking about but can't find now. I'll see if Glen can dig it up from his photos. Attached is a photo of another cabover expediter truck. The truck itself has seen better days but it provides fun food for thought.

RobA · Apr 30, 2008

Glen Rice Volvo:

From Hanks Truck Pictures Website.

William Banks - Expediter Truck Collection

Jack_Berry · Apr 30, 2008

yeah that is the volvo but Phil had a pic of a coe with a drom box sleeper and a stretch chassis for trailers. think it was just before the volvo.

P51bombay · Apr 30, 2008

Here's some I saved, the first two were on here I think - the blue one was on truckpaper not too long ago. As I recall it had the smaller (90"?) sleeper a 29 or 30ft box and you can see the railgate out back.