Manitoba Moose
Member
10
I didn't want to take the importance away from the bluffs, Lake Mary thread so I started a new one in reference to what Mr. Speed had commented about trailer lenghts. Others commented that shippers were asking for longer trailers, etc.
In my humble opinion, if you think back a few years, the longest flatbed anyone had was 45' long. Then someone came along and manufactured a 48'. Guess the reasoning at the time would have been "You can make a lot more money with a longer trailer". Today, everyones asking for a 53', or maxi's, or B-Trains or longer.
I'm with Mr. Speed on this issue. We have 48' decks and, god willing, will stay with 48's. If we had 53's, they'd want 59' or 65' or.... you get what I mean.
And then some of the brokers and larger (read richer) carriers probably use that as a sales tool and walk into a customer and tell him he should be ordering 53' decks and cut his shipping costs.
Has anyone sat back and actually figured out the cost of running longer decks? The cost of more horsepower to pull these longer decks? The cost to the economy? The ecological costs? I'm not that bright and wouldn't know where to start but I do notice that trucking isn't getting better with longer trailers...
And last but not least, the prices paid to the carrier do not increase proportionately with the lenght of the trailer. I see loads posted for $1.50 a mile for 48', 53', and even for maxi's and B-trains.
So will someone please explain to me why I need to invest $60 grand for 5' of trailer? How will I recoup my investment?
In my humble opinion, if you think back a few years, the longest flatbed anyone had was 45' long. Then someone came along and manufactured a 48'. Guess the reasoning at the time would have been "You can make a lot more money with a longer trailer". Today, everyones asking for a 53', or maxi's, or B-Trains or longer.
I'm with Mr. Speed on this issue. We have 48' decks and, god willing, will stay with 48's. If we had 53's, they'd want 59' or 65' or.... you get what I mean.
And then some of the brokers and larger (read richer) carriers probably use that as a sales tool and walk into a customer and tell him he should be ordering 53' decks and cut his shipping costs.
Has anyone sat back and actually figured out the cost of running longer decks? The cost of more horsepower to pull these longer decks? The cost to the economy? The ecological costs? I'm not that bright and wouldn't know where to start but I do notice that trucking isn't getting better with longer trailers...
And last but not least, the prices paid to the carrier do not increase proportionately with the lenght of the trailer. I see loads posted for $1.50 a mile for 48', 53', and even for maxi's and B-trains.
So will someone please explain to me why I need to invest $60 grand for 5' of trailer? How will I recoup my investment?