Live Floor Trailers
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 190
Live Floor Trailers
Just wondering if anyone here pulls one of these.I have a opportunity to do so and was wondering how the work with the live floor and what the overall deal is . This certain deal would be hauling c&d thanks for any info.
#5
FDMAX knows walking floors. Maybe you could PM him. You should never have to wait to unload!
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#6
Not all walking floors are equal.
The Walking Floor is divided into three sets of narrow floor slats, with every third slat connected together, hydraulically-powered to move forward and backward either in unison, or alternately. When all three sets move in unison, the load is moved upon them in the direction the operator wishes. Good for bulk commodities such as wood chips, grain, cubed alfalfa, which are generally light and soft material. And on buying a new trailer, it's good to request the slats to handle a forklift, as to be driven upon. If not designed for such traffic, a forklift will damage the slats. and there no additional cost for this setup. *KEITH WALKING FLOOR *HALLCO Live Floor *Trail King Belt Floor Trash and automotive recycling needs a stronger trailer, also, for, *Refuse Live Floor Trailers
#9
I used to haul C&D in a walking floor to the landfill. We loaded it in with a excavator so I just sat in the truck while getting loaded. Once full I would scale it to make sure it was not overweight and then tarp it. That's where the shitty part of a walking floor is. We didn't use roll over tarps because they would just get screwed up and ruined while loading. So we had a regular tarp that would fold up towards the front of the trailer. Most of the time it was not real hard to tarp it but if the C&D was wet and heavy it would be low in the trailer and made it harder to tarp because you have to walk on it. Before tarping you have to walk down the load and get rid of anything sticking up too high or that could rip the tarp. Most of the time the load was almost to the top of the trailer so it was alright. But the other thing you have to deal with is the wind. Most tarps used on walking floors are light weight and the wind takes them easily so that can make it a total pain in the ass if you get the tarp on and climb all the way down and go to hook the bungees and the wind blew the tarp and you have to climb back up there to get it right again.
Once loaded I would head to the landfill. When I arrived I would untarp which was another ordeal if it was windy. And if the load is low in the trailer like I said earlier it's a real pain in the ass untarping because you're trying to fold it up but at the same time you have to walk on it. Each landfill seems to do things their own way. The one I went to you would pull in there and then back up to where they were dumping tight with 2 other trucks that were unloading and they would "cut" the garbage away from the back of the trailers as it came out of the trailer. I would climb in the trailer and sweep it out as it was unloading. I could wait to sweep it out but sometimes a good sized pile of garbage would be hung up on one slats and not walking off the trailer like it should so by just putting pressure against it with the broom would get it off the trailer. Also, depending on the landfill it can be a real mess when it rains or snows. Sometimes the mud would get over a foot deep and I would have to get pulled or pushed around by the bulldozers. Spinning the tires in the landfill results in flat tires quickly. It really depends on the landfill. Some are really great and you never have to worry about getting stuck and unload truck an entirely different way. Running a walking floor is an alright gig. I could get loaded in about 20 minutes and then it took about 5 minutes to tarp. At the landfill if everything was going smoothly I could get in and out of there in about 45 minutes. It was 45 minutes from our yard so we would do about 3 loads a day. If you get a nice run where the landfill is far away and only have to do 1 load a day that would be great. I knew guys that came into the same landfill that we went to and they were bringing garbage in from the Albany,NY area and some trucks were from Vermont. That would make it about 250-300 miles each way so they would drive out, unload in 45 minutes and head back and get loaded for the next day. Also, in my area at least, the DOT's favorite thing to do is mess with the walking floors. There's about 200-300 a day headed to the landfill near my house and the DOT is always around. It's easy to get nailed for being over on an axle or having low tire pressure. They don't even bother with the regular trucks, they concentrate on the trash haulers. There's many other things I'm forgetting about but it can be an alright deal if you want to be home everyday and have consistent work, especially if the company your driving for has a contract to haul for a city or something along those lines. What kind of gig are they offering you ?
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