They bought a 'new' (cough...cough.....cough) trailer for me

[Big_Dave]

Got in Thursday and found out that the bossman bought a 'new' live bottom trailer for me to drag. It's most definitely 'different' since I've never seen one like it. :wtf:

It's a 'used' (abused???.......it looks to be pretty 'rough') 'V' style, 42' OL, tandem axle live bottom with air actuated swing gates. :wtf:

Our mechanics are making some modifications to it (don't know as to what extent), to make it more 'driver friendly'.

I don't like the concept of air actuated swing doors since air can be compressed (hydraulic oil doesn't), which could allow the doors to 'pop open' more than I'd like when the weight of the load pushes against them during unloading.

I gotta run to Mankato today, so I'll drop by the shop and take a couple pics of the 'new' trailer. If the bossman is 'in', I'll discuss it with him to see what their ideas are for it and offer my opinions and thoughts on 'my' preferrences.

[Acorn Trucking]

If it's a belt feed live bottom don't think the doors will be a problem, material flow is somewhat regulated by the speed of the belt. As long as they have good locking pins for traveling down the highway you should be OK. JMHO

[Big_Dave]

The belt 'rides' on a series of chains (6 or 8 wide). No 'belt panels' bolted to bars & chain links like on the live bottom I dragged around last fall. :wtf:

The weight of the load 'holds' the belt down on the chains, therefore it moves when the hydraulics are activated. The belt is driven by the hydraulic system, but it's more of a 'gravity system' so-to-speak (the weight of the load holds the belt to the drive chains). :explain: :asking:

Gonna be interesting to say the least.

[Acorn Trucking]

Sounds to me like great potential for slipping chains under belts especially if they get wet and are getting to the end of the load. But what do I know I'm a Driver not engineer.

[Kranky 1]

Dave, based on all those other photos & stories you've posted, the guys in your shop do some awesome work.

I'm sure they'll have it working great by the time they get done with it.

.

[Pipeman]

Sounds to me like great potential for slipping chains under belts especially if they get wet and are getting to the end of the load. But what do I know I'm a Driver not engineer.

That's a good thing Dan, Noah built the Ark and Engineers built the Titanic, we all know which one sank.

[Big_Dave]

Well, here it is........... :wacko:

Back end, doors open.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Big_Dave_2006/001-11.jpg

Rear, side view.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Big_Dave_2006/002-9.jpg

Front, side view.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Big_Dave_2006/003-5.jpg

Inside, from the rear.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Big_Dave_2006/004-8.jpg

Inside, from the rear w/ better lighting.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Big_Dave_2006/005-2.jpg

[Kranky 1]

Looks pretty decent Dave.

Could use a paint job, but it's all nice & straight, not beat up or anything.

[Big_Dave]

Yeah, that's what Kenny (the guy that built our drag behind conveyor), said......"Looks rough, but the metal is straight". :rofl:

There's some cross members (for the 'box'), that are broken or bent and those will need to be replaced or fixed.

The 'white side panels' are actually insulated panels, so hopefully when it gets really cold late next fall, the ag lime won't stick to the walls at all. That would really be a plus!

Never did hear how much this thing weighs (I'll ask tomorrow), but it sure looks like it'd be heavy (compared to the belly dumps and the live bottom I dragged last year).

What's your thoughts on air cylinders to open, hold partially open (to regulate flow), and close the doors? I'm kinda leery about them because air compresses. I guess I'd feel better if they were hydraulic instead of air.

I'm also gonna ask about 'arching' the top bows to help when rolling the tarp out or up. Right now they're kinda bowed down a couple inches.

[Kranky 1]

Hydraulic would definitely be more precise and not "spongy" like air.

As you know, a hydraulic cylinder filled with oil won't move unless something breaks or a line ruptures, but a cylinder with compressed air can be overcome if the load on it exceeds the PSI x the surface area of the piston in the cylinder.

I'm not familiar with that particular application on a live bottom, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to mention it to the mechanics.

Regarding those tarp bows, an upward arch would definitely be better, to shed water instead of having water "pooling" in the tarp.

[BANANA Unit #1]

They drag that out of Ritchie Bros?

[Big_Dave]

I honestly don't know where they bought it from. I do know they got it at an auction.

Entyre is the manufacturer of the trailer. It's a 2001 model.

http://www.etnyre.com/

This pic is from their photo gallery.
http://www.etnyre.com/images/live6lg.jpg

[ODwife]

my daughter just looked at your pics and said, "the outside looks much better than the inside". LOL, too cute.

[Duster]

It looks like the asphalt trailers built by ETNYRE....
their version of a flowboy.
One asphalt operation in this area had about 20 of these..
they only used them 1 season...found that they didn't
work very well for raw gravel materials....terrible for
sand or dry-screenings. Too much leakage around the belt.

[Joethemechanic]

Here in the northeast I have never seen a live bottom used for construction material. We use end dumps for everything.

What is different about your conditions/materials that make a live bottom more productive?

[Joethemechanic]

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u176/joethemechanic/longlivebottom.jpg

Oh God look at this thing. It has frame repair written all over it. And with all those axles to deal with, making up fish plates and/or replacing crossmembers must be a joy.




http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/loeb/mack_b83_d1_1984.jpg

Now this is a real dump truck. You can roll these over and really not do too much damage. Put a new mirror on it, check the fluids and it's back to work.

[Kranky 1]

http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/loeb/mack_b83_d1_1984.jpg

Now this is a real dump truck. You can roll these over and really not do too much damage. Put a new mirror on it, check the fluids and it's back to work.

Now that's a truck!!!

Here's the one I had back when I lived in CT:
http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/uploads/1168514989/med_gallery_261_46_6978.jpeg

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/uploads/1168514989/med_gallery_261_46_696154.jpeg

.

[Big_Dave]

What is different about your conditions/materials that make a live bottom more productive?
They mostly bought it to haul ag lime and hog manure for the farm co-ops around here.

http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24642

http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23611

http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23604

This conveyor is why we have the live bottom trailer. We often get into farm yards that are kinda 'cramped', so the lowboy conveyor can't get into them. That's when this rig comes in handy.

http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23141

[snoope]

Big Dave,

When are you going to begin "dragging" that thing around???

Joe the Wrench,not sure where you are in the Northeast but the two largest paving companies in NH both utilize them........With the Red River being the most popular......They can haul asphalt out and sand back to the "plant"...and when it rains they even move 3/4" stone....
We purchased an older model for doing shoulders and it saves tying up 2-3 "wheelers".......

S

[Big_Dave]

Big Dave,

When are you going to begin "dragging" that thing around???
I dunno. :noclue: I asked the other day and they said something about 2-3 more weeks yet. As it is now, the guys in the shop have it ready to go, but they're waiting on the conveyor belt.

They were also talking of 'adapting' a spinner set-up like we have on the TerraGators so I could haul gravel for township roads. :wtf: They think it'd be 'the thing' for dumping gravel right off the blacktop. :noclue:

[Kranky 1]

I dunno. :noclue: I asked the other day and they said something about 2-3 more weeks yet. As it is now, the guys in the shop have it ready to go, but they're waiting on the conveyor belt.

They were also talking of 'adapting' a spinner set-up like we have on the TerraGators so I could haul gravel for township roads. :wtf: They think it'd be 'the thing' for dumping gravel right off the blacktop. :noclue:

If they put that "spinner" on there, that would work great for spreading salt in the winter too, provided you could slow the belt way down.

.

[Big_Dave]

If they put that "spinner" on there, that would work great for spreading salt in the winter too, provided you could slow the belt way down.
Yeah, there's a control on the left rear side that allows full control of the belt speed.

If they do adapt a spinner assembly on the trailer, there'll be a separate control for spinner speed also.

So basically, once both are set, I'd just have to flip 3 toggle switches on the dash and I'm in business.

The toggle switches would be.......

The Master Switch (main power switch for all other toggle switches)
The 'Gate Switch' (to activate-open/close the doors)
The 'air activated' PTO Switch.

Once these switches are turned on, let the clutch out and go (in whatever gear the truck needs to be in - 2nd or 3rd - remember, I drive a truck w/ an autoshift :rolleyes: ).

Oh, I highly doubt I'd be spreading any salt/sand mixture during the winters. Though I'd greatly welcome the opportunity to do so on highways and blacktop county roads if it'd keep me from having to go OTR during the winter months. :cheers:

[Acorn Trucking]

Maybe now is the time to be putting a bug in the bossmans ear, provided you can do it without yelling at each other. :36_1_24[1]:



Oh, I highly doubt I'd be spreading any salt/sand mixture during the winters. Though I'd greatly welcome the opportunity to do so on highways and blacktop county roads if it'd keep me from having to go OTR during the winter months. :cheers:

[Big_Dave]

:rofl2[1]:

We actually did have a nice conversation the other day with no yelling or arguing involved at all. :wow:

I'll mention it to him and let ya know what he says.

[Big_Dave]

Well, the shop has the trailer done. I hooked it up tonight and we checked everything out to make sure it works as it should.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be hauling 3-4 loads of 1 1/2" limestone to Fairmont MN.

First time at the quarry with this wagon, so I'll have to get a new tare weight. While at the scalehouse, I'll tell the scale master that I need the loader operator to load me up as normal, then I'm gonna dump it right away to make sure the belt moves the load (I refuse to shovel off 24 tons of 1 1/2"!).

If that works like it should, load it up again, scale out and head over to a local paving company so I can back up to the paver and the new 'apron/chute' can be checked for clearance at the front of the paver hopper.

If everything is ok, do the loads to Fairmont. If not, do the 1 load to Fairmont then head to the shop to grab the other trailer (they bought another trailer just like this one), and finish hauling the 1 1/2" with that one.

Gonna be a busy day! :rolleyes:

New pics will be posted tomorrow evening.

[ODwife]

Great! Bet your happy it's finally done....lookin' forward to seein the new pics.

[Big_Dave]

Well, this one isn't 'mine'. This is the second one they bought. Same make and model as the red & white one earlier in this thread, but this one's an 2005 model. The red & white one is a 2002.

I dragged the red & white one for 2 rounds this morning while the guys in the shop worked on this one. Around 1 pm, I swapped trailers and took 1 load out with the black one while the guys in the shop made a couple modifications to the red & white one.

Both work out pretty well. The speed at which I can unload is faster (I think), than the live bottom trailer I used last fall.

Anyways, here is a pic of the black one hooked to my truck. They still have to install a tarp system and 'front' fenders over the drive tires.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Big_Dave_2006/001-18.jpg

[snoope]

Now Big Dave,

Since they are "dressing out" the trailers....save the Boss a few pennies and have them put "Phantom" ( Cool Truck Components Fenders) fenders on your "Office"........that will leave the trailer frame rails clean and ad "Style" to the Volvo.....or to save a few more pennies,the "Stealth" kit would be OK.....

S

www.cooltruckcomponents.com (http://www.cooltruckcomponents.com)

[Kranky 1]

That one's nice and straight looking too.

I like seeing things that are well taken care of, and not all smashed & abused.

:23_11_60::23_11_60::23_11_60::23_11_60:

.

[Big_Dave]

Oh, the tare weight with full fuel tanks is 35,100 lbs. :wow:

With a belly dump, it's 32,400 lbs.

[Big_Dave]

Ok, they got all the modifications done to 'my' trailer today.

Anyways, here it is......sure is ugly though...... :plbbbb[1]:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Big_Dave_2006/001-19.jpg

Some of the modifications are;
A chute on the back to aid unloading into our conveyor (that was built last year), or a paver.

A 'knuckle' in the tarp rod so the tarp rod can be secured out of the way of a paving machine.

Reflectorized tape to the little 'paddles' on the air cylinder arms so anyone that may drag this trailer knows when the doors are open.

They also mounted a 'shovel holder' behind the landing gear legs. :wtf: Great!! Just what I wanted to do..........use a muddy freakin' shovel if I have to scrape the trailer walls. :angry:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Big_Dave_2006/002-15.jpg

They did a few other things, but being as that info is on a 'need to know basis'...........and of course, since I don't 'need to know' just yet :duh1: , they didn't tell me. :wtf:

[snoope]

Big Dave,

If your "legal" is 80k.....that is a sparse 22.45 tons of payload.......
that shovel rack would be changed to either trailer nose,deck plate or rear of cab....slimy tools usually lead to a driver "oops" that draws blood.....

S

[Big_Dave]

Big Dave,

If your "legal" is 80k.....that is a sparse 22.45 tons of payload.......
that shovel rack would be changed to either trailer nose,deck plate or rear of cab....slimy tools usually lead to a driver "oops" that draws blood.....

S
In MN, they'll let us run at 81K........no more. So basically, I can haul 22.95 tons (with full tanks).

However, we 'cheat the system' and, like today, got a new tare weight with 1/3 tank of fuel........... :D :36_6_4[1]:

That tare weight is now 'good for the season'........full tanks or not. :hi5[1]:

[Kranky 1]

That thing looks pretty long, what is it about 48'?

.

[snoope]

We have to "scale" in new every day now.......State holds the "mine" to a higher standard and there is talk they might do away with the 2-3% if you have overweights anyway...66,000 will mean just that....

D.O.T. just did a warm-up and come June...look out in NH.......Drivers will be "Legal" or red tag,equipment will be "dead on" and even locals will have to show time sheets with start,loads and finish...Sad thing is with this economy,the "jerks" and "junk" fly out of the woodwork to "steal" a few crumbs.....


S

p.s.

BD,you know now that your NEW "wagon" is paver ready,Florida for the winter hauling "mix" for Middlesex or Ranger could be a "warm" idea:swelter::shades:Could you handle shorts and sneakers for attire 3-4 months a year?? Put the camper in Davenport or Clermont and Mom would love you plus their is GREAT bass fishing not 5-10 minutes away.......not that I would know such things......lol

[Big_Dave]

That thing looks pretty long, what is it about 48'?
Honestly, I dunno. :oppss::explain:

From what I hear, it's somewhere between 42' and 48'. :noclue"

For comparison, the belly dump behind it is 38' long.

[ODwife]

That thing looks pretty long, what is it about 48'?

.

I was thinking the same thing.....just looks longer than any I see around here.

[Big_Dave]

We have to "scale" in new every day now.......State holds the "mine" to a higher standard and there is talk they might do away with the 2-3% if you have overweights anyway...66,000 will mean just that....

D.O.T. just did a warm-up and come June...look out in NH.......Drivers will be "Legal" or red tag,equipment will be "dead on" and even locals will have to show time sheets with start,loads and finish...Sad thing is with this economy,the "jerks" and "junk" fly out of the woodwork to "steal" a few crumbs.....


S

p.s.

BD,you know now that your NEW "wagon" is paver ready,Florida for the winter hauling "mix" for Middlesex or Ranger could be a "warm" idea:swelter::shades:Could you handle shorts and sneakers for attire 3-4 months a year?? Put the camper in Davenport or Clermont and Mom would love you plus their is GREAT bass fishing not 5-10 minutes away.......not that I would know such things......lol
SMC (Old Castle Materials Group........look them up :wtf: ), makes us (every hauler that hauls product outta their quarries), 'scale in' the first time we go into one of their quarries (SMC), each spring. As it happens, all of their scalehouses are 'tied together' (via computer networking), and what I scaled in at the Kasota Quarry, is what I scale in at over in Owatonna MN. :wtf:

The local scales won't let us out of the quarry weighing over 81K (MN allows 81K).

The idea of 'working elsewhere' throughout the winter appeals to me (beats the f*** out of OTR........even if I gotta spend nights in a motel or camper).

BTW, Dave don't wear shorts AND/OR sneakers............it's a 'boots, jeans & T-shirt' kinda thing........ :D

[Big_Dave]

That thing looks pretty long, what is it about 48'?
well, I parked beside a belly dump tonight after work. Our belly dumps are 38' long. I didn't measure it, but it appears that these 'flowboys' are 42' long.

Oh, as far as that chute on the back, lemme just say that it took the 'flow' out of flowboy. [smilie=real mad.gi:

Sand hangs up on it while dumping. :wtf: I gotta get out and 'sweep' it off after each dump. :angry:

[Big_Dave]

Regarding those tarp bows, an upward arch would definitely be better, to shed water instead of having water "pooling" in the tarp.
Well they ordered a new tarp system from Shur-Co ( http://www.shurco.com/constr/index.html ), for the black trailer like 'mine'. It's got fiberglass bows and they spaced them far enough apart so any loader bucket won't hit them during loading. Of course, since they're spaced so far apart, they had to send the new tarp out to have a sleeve sewed in it for a pipe to run down the center. The pros & cons of this are;

Pro: Will keep the tarp from sagging during rain or snow storms and allowing the rain or snow to pool up and freeze.

Con: Pain in the azz to roll up/out when it's real cold out.

Once they get the new tarp back and installed on the black trailer, they're gonna pull the tarp off mine and have that set up the same way (pipe down the middle, fiberglass bows).

I'm trying to talk them into putting strobes (kinda like on the back of garbage trucks), on the back that come on when I activate the master power switch. The black trailer has them and they seem to want both of them set up identically.

I'll try to get a video of unloading some day soon.

Oh, the bossman told me the other day that he's thinking of having the guys in the shop 'move' the axles 1' forward so it'll dump far enough into a paver or our conveyor without needing the chute. That would be nice!

[snoope]

Big Dave,

I'm starting to think you are preparing to "Work" yourself and that trailer into the "sunshine state" for Winter work......:shades:

S

[Big_Dave]

Don't bet on it Snoop.

They tried that a few years ago but quit when they found out our guys weren't being used all day, every day. Evidently the guys were sitting a couple days a week.

[Kranky 1]

Well they ordered a new tarp system from Shur-Co ( http://www.shurco.com/constr/index.html ), for the black trailer like 'mine'. It's got fiberglass bows and they spaced them far enough apart so any loader bucket won't hit them during loading. Of course, since they're spaced so far apart, they had to send the new tarp out to have a sleeve sewed in it for a pipe to run down the center. The pros & cons of this are;

Pro: Will keep the tarp from sagging during rain or snow storms and allowing the rain or snow to pool up and freeze.

Con: Pain in the azz to roll up/out when it's real cold out.

Once they get the new tarp back and installed on the black trailer, they're gonna pull the tarp off mine and have that set up the same way (pipe down the middle, fiberglass bows).

I'm trying to talk them into putting strobes (kinda like on the back of garbage trucks), on the back that come on when I activate the master power switch. The black trailer has them and they seem to want both of them set up identically.

I'll try to get a video of unloading some day soon.

Oh, the bossman told me the other day that he's thinking of having the guys in the shop 'move' the axles 1' forward so it'll dump far enough into a paver or our conveyor without needing the chute. That would be nice!

Good idea with the strobes if you're gonna be doing shouldering & other highway type work.

We've got strobes on all the dump trucks, though they're mounted on the mirror brackets, when the trucks are on those "highway jobs", such as when we were hauling the millings off the 172 bridge, the strobes are on.

In addition to the required strobes on the heavy haul lowboy tractors, we also have strobes on the rear of the 2 "big" RGN's. Comes in handy for when we have to detach & unload in the street. The RGN strobes have a separate "battery back up" power source to keep them flashing even when the tractor & gooseneck is detached for loading/unloading.

Regarding the one foot axle move, that sounds like it will make it easier to dump in a paver or shoulder machine, but will that extra overhang cause an overload on the trailer axles?

.

[Big_Dave]

Regarding the one foot axle move, that sounds like it will make it easier to dump in a paver or shoulder machine, but will that extra overhang cause an overload on the trailer axles?
I doubt it. I refuse to let the loader operators load anything within 3' of the rear doors (I don't trust the air cylinders to 'hold' the load in).

Our black trailer is a couple years newer and it is identical except the axles on that one are forward 1' more than the axles on mine are.

As for strobes, we have them mounted on the back of the sleepers (our const. trucks only), on a height adjustable post. I like the idea of strobes on the back of these trailers because during 'lime season', most of our unloading is done on gravel roads and many times we work late into the night. The better the visibility (for other traffic to see us), the safer I am!

[Kranky 1]

I should probably clarify what I said about the strobes on the rear of the trailers.

They are 4" round amber lights that look just like turn signals, they're mounted in the rear bulkhead of the trailer, right next to the tail/stop/ turn signals.

When turned on, however, they resemble flashing yellow laser beams.

These might be an option for your application, they're very discreet and out of harms way, yet they certainly command attention when activated!

I'll try and get a short vid of them in operation.

[Big_Dave]

I know what you meant. :devil[1]:

The ones on the back of the black trailer are 2x6 amber LED's wired into a relay. They're activated when the tractor strobe is turned on.

[Pipeman]

Up this way, all gravel trailers have the tarp and hoops travel on top of the sides and they are operate on a 12 system. When you retract the tarp, everything is at the front end so it doesn't matter where the loader is dumpimg.

[Big_Dave]

Automatic tarping systems are out of the question. They cost money and there'd be no way in hell that my boss would have one installed on the trailer....................unless I offered to pay for it.......lock, stock & barrel.

and well, that ain't happening. :D