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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 Dave, You have just sliped a new term under the table: [quote]QUOTE: In terms of handling, it's my understanding that the "b-train" combo design allows for better driver control than the drawbar pulled trailer design. It shouldn't be too hard to design a b-train combo for double 53's. [/quote] Is this a Canadian thing? When talking about a b-train combo, why did you bypass 48's and go right to double 53's. Don't you owe it to the readers to explain b trains and Canadian doubles, or are you just wanting to impress all of us? Jim [/quote] Not quite sure what you're getting at in that last sentence, but.......... B-trains are a trailer combination set up in which the 5th wheel for the following trailer is embedded into the frame of the leading trailer, in contrast to the drawbar pulled 5th wheel unit where the 5th wheel is located on the drawbar wheelset. The advantage of the b-train is that there is only one pivot point between the 1st and second trailer, compared to the drawbar unit which has two pivot points, one where the drawbar connects to the lead trailer's hitch and the other in the 5th wheel itself. Therefore, the b-train allows for better control by the driver. It's comparable to the difference between an articulated railcar set and a drawbar connected railcar set. I'm not sure if the Canadians invented the b-train, but they sure have taken advantage of the concept. This is probably due to the fact that the Canadians have allowed higher GVW's on their highways, and this led to the quicker adoption of the concept for the control factors. Compare most Canadian grain trailer combos vs the standard U.S. grain trailer combo's. We have mostly used the drawbar unit, while their trailers incorporate the b-train. The Canadian truckers are allowed to pull two fully loaded 20' containers, and the 5th wheel is located at the rear of the slider chassis, a natural fit. Our GVW regs only allow one fully loaded 20' container per cab unit, so there has been no real incentive to install a 5th wheel in our 20' container slider chassis. The downside of the b-train concept for a dry van or other rear discharge trailer is that you need an extension in the trailer frame past the rear doors of the trailer to allow room for the 5th wheel and the front of the trailing trailer. Since our trailers are limited to 53' in most states, you could only have a 48' box on the 53' trailer frame, unless the feds allow an exemption to the 53' limit for use of b-train technology. Also, this dead space between the rear doors of the lead trailer and the trailer's rear frame doesn't allow a dry van to park the box flu***o a loading dock, possibly exposing cargo to weather while loading or unloading. The solution to this dead space is to use a separatable 5th wheel dolly that can fit solidly (e.g. acts as a solid extension of the lead trailer's frame) to the rear of the 53' trailer when in b-train mode yet can be removed easily to allow the box to fit flu***o a loading dock. I'm not sure if such a dolly exists, but I have seen air adjustable dollies that are used to help spread the lead trailer's load over more axles, and I believe these dollies are solid connections rather than pivoting connections. Here's a good link for pictures of b-train chassis: http://www.max-atlas.com/eng/train.html
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