Say you who have seen my posts before know I'm contemplating the own authority route like Steve. I am mulling over tho....hmmm 48 or 53 foot trailer, will most brokers want me to have the 53? Well running around California though I would rather have a 48 th.....hmmm and about 9k is all I should spend huh?.....havent even reasearched prices yet :-p

 

Pepe, I've always been a pretty good judge of people and you definitely come across as someone with a mind of his own and would do better being your own boss than being leased onto someone and having them tell you were to go.

 

If you're running cali you'll nee to pay close attention to kingpin distance on any trailer you look at. No more than 40' from KP to center of rearmost axle. That will eliminate most 53's.

OOPS....just realized you were probably talking about vans...I'm permanently in flatbed mode sorry. LOL.

 

Yeah Rank...thks but talking dry van here, sorry I should have clarified before, yeah its always a hassle going in to slide the tandems all the way forward and still make legal weight if loaded. My main concern is really wanting less swing distance in back to negotiate tightly overcrowded mall parking lots, since I will get ticketed at my godparents house if I keep the rig there too long. Would have to play a musical chairs game of moving here n there a matter of just a few blocks so I am only 24-48 hours in 1 spot.
Yeah Steve, Ive had it with these %#$$n companies thinking they own my body and soul, and I am just their slave boy. worked 7 years of being abused at USX. Max was a good man to work for, but when he turned the company over to Quinn (his bean counting partner) I was shit on constantly as a driver and trainer.
The thing is tho Steve, I am out here n just might as well make a little $ is tempting, to sign on somewhere and wait for all my authority to come through (while waiting on the papperwork for authority) other then going back to California and just sit a couple months at best waiting for it all to go through.

 

Some shippers will require a 53 even though loads would only require a 48-With flatbeds there's a little lenience with that.

 

Thks yoopr...yeah your response is more or less what I am getting at, is it better to get the 53 foot, cuz too many will require it and put up with the swing hassle, or get the 48 foot cuz not enough demand to justify the extra feet, my question is some=most?...hmmm duno

 

I'm definitely not going to tell you what to buy cuz if I told you to get a 48 and you came across an awesome paying load and they required a 53 I'd feel like hell. With a 53 you're pretty much covered for anything.

 

I think you would be better off running with a 53' trailer. It will give you greater flexibility. A lot of load which require a 53' could just as easily go on a 48'. Sometimes you can just turn the pallets and make it work. There are some lightweight loads which take up a lot of room and would need a 53'. I think you will find it more challenging to get loads with a 48' than 53'. If you plan on only running California, it is a toss up as to which way to go, but I would think you would still be better off with a 53' van. You will simply need to be careful of your king pin setting.

 

I FUCKING HATE THAT WHEN SHIPPERS DO THAT!!!

I unload Swift Wal-Mart dedicated trucks at the WM I work at and they often ship pallets that way. It's a PITA to have to unload them and turn them around so they can be pulled with the pallet jacks.

 

My reefer is a 48 spread. I run Cali all the time. But there have loads I could not haul due to my trailer length. I like the 48.