QUOTE: Originally posted by ndbprr Always has and always will. I expect legislation proposed by the truckers that when one of the ridiculous behomeths takes your half of the road because he can't turn legaly that you will be the cause of the accident by not yielding.
Quentin
QUOTE: Originally posted by farmer03 I figured it would come sooner or later. The argument about slower trucks uphill is not all that valid. They make engines nowadays with up to 625 hp. So you should be able to pull that 150,000 lbs uphill doing a wheelie. But all jokes aside, heavier and longer trucks=more payload which in turn equals more $$$ for the truck/fleet owner. I doubt it has anything to do with improving the overall domestic whatever you are trying to argue. It'll just enable more imported crap to be shuffled about with one truck.
QUOTE: Originally posted by edbenton QUOTE: Originally posted by farmer03 I figured it would come sooner or later. The argument about slower trucks uphill is not all that valid. They make engines nowadays with up to 625 hp. So you should be able to pull that 150,000 lbs uphill doing a wheelie. But all jokes aside, heavier and longer trucks=more payload which in turn equals more $$$ for the truck/fleet owner. I doubt it has anything to do with improving the overall domestic whatever you are trying to argue. It'll just enable more imported crap to be shuffled about with one truck. They may have 625 hp but trucks are geared what they called gear fast run slow. When I drove a 550 Cat was a big engine and I drove one for a year and the best Icould do pulling Sherman hill on 80 eastbound was 42 mph with a 470 detroit I did 39 so not much better. You can have the biggest motor in the world gear it wrong and you are so messed up.
If there are no dogs in heaven,then I want to go where they go.
QUOTE: Originally posted by APG45 While it might provide a slight benefit to domestic producers but it would be offset by higher taxes to pay for repairs to our highways and bridges, not to mention higher insurance costs. Manufacturers move overseas for cheaper labor and exemption from environmental regulation.
QUOTE: Originally posted by edbenton I can tell you one thing the drivers will fight this. Todays trucks are set to pull 40 tons at a decent speed uphill. Even adding 17 thousand pounds with a 3 trailer axle you will see fuel economy drop plus slower trucks up hills not to mention longer stopping distance. Driving a truck is hard enough with all the regulations that are out there let alone adding more weight onto the mix.
QUOTE: Originally posted by Luke M I think APG45 is correct on this one. On I-5 in Woodburn, Oregon there is a gigantic Winco warehouse that has so many truck stalls it's unreal, yet no rail spur at all when the P&W or maybe its Willamette Pacific is a stone's throw away. Personally I would like to see highway length and weight limits reduced to 1950s levels! Then I'm pretty sure we'll see industry get with the program in terms of conserving fuel.
QUOTE: Originally posted by farmer03 I figured it would come sooner or later. The argument about slower trucks uphill is not all that valid. They make engines nowadays with up to 625 hp. With the proper gearing you should be able to pull that 150,000 lbs uphill doing a wheelie.
QUOTE: But all jokes aside, heavier and longer trucks=more payload which in turn equals more $$$ for the truck/fleet owner. I doubt it has anything to do with improving the overall domestic whatever you are trying to argue. It'll just enable more imported crap to be shuffled about with one truck.
QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal QUOTE: Originally posted by farmer03 I figured it would come sooner or later. The argument about slower trucks uphill is not all that valid. They make engines nowadays with up to 625 hp. With the proper gearing you should be able to pull that 150,000 lbs uphill doing a wheelie. I was gonna ask how those Canadian truckers were managing to pull 160k. Thought for a moment someone was going to suggest that they use converted SW1500's! QUOTE: But all jokes aside, heavier and longer trucks=more payload which in turn equals more $$$ for the truck/fleet owner. I doubt it has anything to do with improving the overall domestic whatever you are trying to argue. It'll just enable more imported crap to be shuffled about with one truck. I will disagree there. First of all, there are the two different aspects being proposed; higher GVW and longer LCV's. On the weight front, that will definately favor US ag and natural resource producers in getting product from farm/forest/mile etc. to the nearest rail terminal. On the length front, longer trailer combinations will be of great aid to UPS and other LCL carriers for domestic light bulky loads. Neither will be of aid to overseas importers, who will still depend on their US railroad allys to get them containerloads of crap to the inner city masses. You're not going to see LCV's on city streets or county lanes, they will be stricly limited to enabled Interstates and other appropriate roadways. Most likely scenario is that an LCV consist will run as singles from point of origin to Interstate roadhead, as LCV's from Interstate roadhead to the distant Interstate roadhead, and then broken up again as singles for the haul from roadhead to final destination. And you have to remember that the US railroad network is actually quite limited in it's coverage of most worthwhile freight corridors, let alone those within coverage that they are actually willing to serve. You're not going to use rail to ship a few truckloads from Boise to Flagstaff. First of all such a routing by rail would be twice as long as by highway, and secondly you'd have to deal with two different rail companies who more often than not would rather not cooperate for such less than 16,000 tons freight moves. Increasing both LVC and GVW standards will increase productivity in those corridors not effectively served by rail. And there are hundreds of such corridors in the US. Unless someone can come up with more viable counterarguments, one can only conclude that higher LCV and GVW standards will be a win-win for the US economy. And it ain't gonna hurt the railroads one bit.
QUOTE: Originally posted by farmer03 I figured it would come sooner or later. The argument about slower trucks uphill is not all that valid. They make engines nowadays with up to 625 hp. With the proper gearing you should be able to pull that 150,000 lbs uphill doing a wheelie. But all jokes aside, heavier and longer trucks=more payload which in turn equals more $$$ for the truck/fleet owner. I doubt it has anything to do with improving the overall domestic whatever you are trying to argue. It'll just enable more imported crap to be shuffled about with one truck.
QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal So you're saying auto drivers will be paying more in road fees? Can you back this up? We do know that one 160k truck can replace two 80k trucks. Would you rather increase the number of trucks on the road?
QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal And BTW, not all US manufacturers have moved or are planning to move overseas. Why not cut them a break as incentive to succeed here?
QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal This attitude seems to confirm my suspicion that railroad folks have more loathing than love for those who provide the bulk of the business.
QUOTE: Originally posted by Kurn The ATA are a bunch of idiots.They support longer and heavier trucks,and at the same time call for speed limiters and horsepower reductions.I doubt any of them have actually seen a truck,let alone driven one.They lobby against owner operaters,the LTL and Teamster driven fleets,and small fleet owners.They only seem to represent the big truckload carriers(Schneider,Swift,etc.),so wages stay down and turnover stays high.
QUOTE: Originally posted by edbenton I just saw that Heartland Express is now paying 50 cents a mile to run for them and they gove around 2500 miles a week. Heck the last company I drove for now pays 38 cpm and there you get around 3500 a week and I know that comapny gives that I ran it week end week out.
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