Login
or
Register
Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
Truckers using more rail intermodal
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by daveklepper</i> <br /><br />Mny highway departments are concerned about what the current weight of trucks does to their maintenance costs now! <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />It shouldn't suprise you to know that it is possible to raise or eliminate GVW and at the same time <i>reduce </i>wear and tear on roads. The current weight limits of 20,000 lbs for a single axle, 34,000 lbs for a tandem, and 42,000 lbs for a tridem are all based on the federal bridge formula from the 1950's. Subsequently, you now have trailes with two single axles spaced nine feet apart that are allowed to carry 20,000 per axle (40,000 lbs combined) which is only slightly less than allowed by a tridem. Obviously, a tridem axle set spreads the weight over three axles at 14,000 lbs per, and this causes less road damage than the two 20,000 lb axles, yet because of the regulation it is cheaper for the truckers to go with the two spread singe axles than a tridem axle set. <br /> <br />What is needed is a modernization of axle weights, perhaps allowing a max per axle of only 15,000, but make it consistent per axle, so that tandems carry 30,000 lbs and tridems carry 45,000 lbs, even add quads at 60,000 lbs, and this would encourage truckers to go with more axles to spread the weight over more area, which in turn would decrease road wear. Then, the truckers can carry more cargo per load, which would reduce the number of trucks on the highways e.g. 5 trucks at 145,000 GVW will carry more cargo than 9 trucks at 80,000 GVW. <br /> <br />Spread the weight over more axles, and you can increase GVW without increasing road damage.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Join our Community!
Our community is
FREE
to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Login »
Register »
Search the Community
Newsletter Sign-Up
By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our
privacy policy
More great sites from Kalmbach Media
Terms Of Use
|
Privacy Policy
|
Copyright Policy