Mine is the same But I wouldn't trade the CAT for anything else. It'd help to have a longer wheelbase. Mine is 235"... I'd love to have 240" or 244" just to help with the weight distribution.

 

Don't think you would get heavy on the steer, won't be any different than any other load when you get 34,000 on the drives. The shipper will back it on unless you are at a port. Watch the height if you put the front up on the step. Really should be a easy load.

 

I moved my 5th wheel all the way back on my International when I pull the step deck. It has a CAT. I have never had a problem being heavy on the steers. The main reason that I moved it back was for clearance on the drives when making sharp turns. I have tall rubber on the drives. Were it not for that it would probably not be a problem. You should be able to position it either way that I noted and be all right on your weight. If you back it on and keep the wheels of the grader about 5 feet of so behind the step it should be more balance than pulling on the trailer. Since you essentially have a closd tandem you are only allowed 34,000 pounds on the trailer. If you decide to pull the grader on and get the front wheels up to the step, the rear tires of the grader should be in front of your trailer tires or close to it. That should shift more weight forward. I think that it will work either way. It is a matter of personal perference.

I believe someone else mentioned it, but you need to make sure to throw a chain or strap across the blade. The same thing is true if you load a bulldozer. Excavators should have a strap or chain across the bucket.

 

Thanks. I"ll buy those 3/8" chains and use four of those plus tie the bucket if it has one. I scaled the empty truck after fueling. Here's the axle weights:

Steers: 11,600 lbs
Drivers: 12,300 lbs
Trailer: 6,980 lbs

Total empty: 30,900 lbs

So, it looks like I can take 27,000 lbs on the trailer axles and 21,700 lb on the truck drives.

 

I guessed pretty good for a old man.

Please do yourself and the agent a favor and don't post the rate. It could come back and bite you in the butt.

 

Just let the air out of the tires of the grader that will save you a bunch of weight LOL!

 

We don't want that!

 

Someone bragging about his good paying loads(in overdrive magazine) cost a agent a 30 million account and cost a lot of drivers their good loads.

 

That's foolish - I agree.

 

This is the article

RUNNING PATRIOTIC
CARGO: New military equipment
RATE: $6-plus/mile (including fuel surcharge)
HAULER: Brian and Marie Patrick, leased to Landstar
SHIPPER: BAE, U.S. armed forces
RECEIVER: Various military installations
EQUIPMENT: 2007 Peterbilt 379 with lift axle and 2006 tri-axle Load King removable gooseneck with detachable fourth axle
LOAD/UNLOAD: Typically under one hour, longer if tarping required

Brian and Marie Patrick, of Chelsea, Mich., haul oversize, new equipment from manufacturer BAE Systems’ five facilities in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania for the U.S. military. “There are 55 of us who do this,” Brian Patrick says of the core of Landstar’s specialized team delivering new Bradley fighting vehicles, MRAP military personnel carriers and other vehicles.

Since they landed that niche with agents Doug and Nancy Cooper, out of Arkansas, after years hauling general military freight as well as arms, ammunition and explosives, they’ve increased their gross revenue, Brian says, by $100,000 a year while decreasing their gross miles. Their take-home is up at least $50,000.

“We’re clearing $300,000 in the end,” he says. But making that kind of money comes with sacrifices, Brian says. “Our home time is very limited.”

The road to success in the standard AA&E hauling arena starts with having a team operation. Other entry hurdles require significant carrier investment in satellite tracking equipment and hazmat-type levels ($5 million) of insurance, frequent background checks and DOT inspections. And unlike the rates in the Patricks’ specialized operation, say Duenweg, Mo.-based owner-operators David and Teresa Hill, leased to Landstar, typical AA&E freight averages less in revenue – between “$3 and $4 a mile, typically,” David says. Although quite high compared to some hauls, the rates the Hills were seeing fell off a bit in 2007.

All the same, AA&E haulers are a select bunch, with about 30 carriers participating in the program nationwide, including in addition to Landstar and the Hills’ former carrier, Tri-State Motor Transit, sizable outfits like Mercer and Baggett. Most owner-operator teams approved are leased to carriers, but not all.

However, team haulers looking to run AA&E on their own authority now need to establish a relationship with an armed-forces shipper to enter the program.

The Patricks wouldn’t do anything else, says Brian. “You never drive at night,” he says. Plus: “An older gentleman who has a master sergeant’s stripes told me, ‘If you work for the government, they never run out of money.’ There’s always opportunity out there.”

The best perk of the job is the gratitude of those who receive the equipment – “the latest, the greatest and the best that’s available,” Brian says. “When you see the soldiers’ faces who’ve got to use these things… I wouldn’t give it up for nothing.”


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He gave it up, and had to sell his truck, "Loose lips sink ships" or "keep your pie hole shut"