Maiden Voyage.....the right way this time around!!!

[apextrans]

Back again with some photos of the first trip with the new big truck. No used crap leaking this & that this time around. Brand spankin' new, front to back. Rides real nice when it's loaded too. This ACERT seem to perform ALOT better than my 04 did when it was new. This one needs some time to break in (only has 1100 miles on it after the first trip) but runs well despite the "newness". Here's a few pics.

 

[pafixitman]

I see it is lettered. I assume you have your M&M's on it also!

Fix your sig!

 

[apextrans]

No M&M's on this one. This one is called JOY & PAIN. Joy could be the kids & pain could be the wife. Actually, it's just refering to carhauling. Most of the time I love it, sometimes I hate it.

 

[geonc]

Lookingoomaing!

 

[Russ]

Well, I learned something tonight. I never realized that car haulers were not 5th wheels I always assumed that semi=5th wheel Very nice outfit you have there BTW you left the windows down in a couple of cars

 

[pafixitman]

Scott can explain it much better, but it is what I would call a modified 5r. Think of a 5r plate bumper hitch mounted (he can raise it, lower it, move in/out). It is behind the axle, not over it. Pretty cool actually and for all the years I was around car haulers, I did not know they were different either!

 

[Ak HDM]

Nice looking unit. It should give you good service for a long time

 

[apextrans]

Well, I learned something tonight. I never realized that car haulers were not 5th wheels I always assumed that semi=5th wheel Very nice outfit you have there BTW you left the windows down in a couple of cars

Well, Joe is mostly right. Carhaulers are 5th wheel equipped. It's refered to as a "stinger 5th wheel". Both my trucks are equipped with adjustable Fontaine fifth wheels. They slide just like a high mount 5'er. The only up/down control I have is with the suspension over-ride. The plate is much smaller than a conventional road tractor but it does the same thing. The stinger name comes from the 5th wheel & plate hanging off the lower rear sorta like a bee's stinger. Most commonly used on car haulers & multiple-boat carriers. They offer a tighter turn in some cases because there is less off-tracking as you go around the corners but you are limited to a turn angle of no more than 90*.This is because the trailer will punch out a drive tire or you will crush the cars/boats on the back of the tractor & front of the trailer as the turn gets tighter. I think I have a close up of one of my 5th wheels. If I find it I'll post it.

The windows are left down a few inches in all of them. It's very annoying when they lock themselves (alarm induced) on the way to NC.......with the key in the Ignition This way I can stick my arm in & hit the lock button or do it manually without breaking out the slim jim. Happens quite a bit really.

 

[apextrans]

If your interested, here's a site that addresses what a car hauler is and the road rules that apply.

http://vsw.fhwa.dot.gov/qa/qa.jsp?category=23 CFR 658.13(e)#S0-65

Not the greatest picture but you can see the tongue of the trailer sitting on the 5'er plate behind the drive axles on the freightliner.

 

[06bowtie_guy]

Looks real good. Got to really love those 379's, I think they are really a nice rig.

Did you sell or decomission the old one or are you running 2 now?

 

[towcat]

scott-
what are the max heights you run out there?
I noticed in more than one pic you have a minivan or a suv on the overhead. Out here in kali, you are just plain asking for trouble with DOT.

 

[apextrans]

scott-
what are the max heights you run out there?
I noticed in more than one pic you have a minivan or a suv on the overhead. Out here in kali, you are just plain asking for trouble with DOT.

Bowtie, got 2 of them on the road now.

Towcat, Some stuff out here is 13'6" or lower. The route I run to NC, there's nothing lower than 13'10" A buddy of mine moved to AZ to haul car from there to Cali. He worked for the Mitsubishi plant out there. He could stack three cars in the fronmt of his trailer which would put him at about 15'6". I got a pick of that somewhere in here. As long as you don't overload a set of axles, DOT doesn't really hassle us (or me) much.

 

[Sbrem]

Great looking Pete you've got there!

 

[Freightrain]

Nice outfit.

Those stinger 5th's always made me wonder....how often you guys get hung up on bumps? That stuff is really low and with the access roads and local stuff I can't see how you don't? I know you can pump the bags up, but it still amazes me when I watch haulers get in/out of local dealerships. The road shows it!

 

[apextrans]

Nice outfit.

Those stinger 5th's always made me wonder....how often you guys get hung up on bumps? That stuff is really low and with the access roads and local stuff I can't see how you don't? I know you can pump the bags up, but it still amazes me when I watch haulers get in/out of local dealerships. The road shows it!

Freight,

Most of the newer carhaulers are equipped with a ride height override option. What that is - a second leveling valve on the other drive axle & trailer axle which are set at a ride height anywhere from 4-7" above normal ride height. If you get hung up or know you're coming to an area you just flip the switches & up you go. I set mine up where I can lift the truck or trailer independent from one another. I have mine set at 7" on both trucks because we cross a few really nasty spots. Very bad idea to run with them up though. EATS u-joints & makes a horrible racket but they are only supposed to be used for momentary situations @ slow speeds.

Everybody that drives these things has been hung up at one time or another, override or not. Just part of the game. I've paid for alot of asphalt repairs through the years . It sucks when you put down the original set of grooves in new paving. My buddy says I'm one of his best customers. He just bought a new hotbox patching machine on account of me!!!