When maintaining your tires, inflation is the most important thing to check. Carefully and regularly check the tires on your low bed trailer. Purchase a pressure gauge that you can trust to give you an accurate reading of the inflation level.
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Check the inflation after the tires have cooled down. At the heaviest load a low bed trailer can carry, the tires can be inflated to the maximum atmospheric pressure limit. However, this limit should not be exceeded no matter how heavy the load is.
Use valve stem caps to maintain air tightness at all times. Valve caps also help keep dust and moisture out. Even if a tire is properly inflated, its sides may bulge.
Bulging is caused by low tire pressure, which is the worst-case scenario for trailer tires. After checking and inflating your tires, check the pressure again within 48 hours. To avoid crashes, dont forget to inflate your tires in a safe cage.
Due to the increased temperature, the tire pressure will rise when using the tires. It is possible for the pressure to rise as high as 10 or 15 psi. such a high pressure means that the tire is underinflated, overinflated, or the wrong size.
High pressure also indicates that you are driving too fast. When several of these conditions occur at the same time, it can cause inflation to exceed healthy levels.
Always make sure that all drive lines have the right size tires and that the load remains within the specified limits. Dont drive too fast, especially if the trailer is fully loaded.
Make sure the axles are aligned in place. If the wheels are not properly aligned, it can make the road rougher. Because of this, tires wear out faster and more severely.
You know the reasons why tires are under or over-inflated. Make sure you fix the problem before you travel. Dont rely on past inflation records.
Air pressure should be checked with a good gauge before each transport or at least once a week. When checking your tires, dont forget to look for cracked, warped, and rusted rims.
In other words, if the rims are bent or cracked, dont weld them. Instead, repair the rims the way the manufacturer tells you to. If you weld a broken rim, you may cause more damage to the tire and wheel.
Semi trucks are a vehicle we see almost every day. Many young kids are fascinated by the big cars. But the average person likely doesnt know a lot about semi trucks. For example, you might call them tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers or just trucks. In this blog, well answer all your basic questions about semi trucks.
A semi is a heavy-duty truck used for hauling large loads. Technically, theyre Class 7 or Class 8 vehicles. For comparison, the big pickups you see pulling camping trailers are usually Class 2b or Class 3 vehicles, sometimes Class 4.
Its actually a bit of a mistake to call the truck a semi. The term originally referred to the trailers. Because the trailers dont have a front set of wheels, they arent technically trailers. So they were called semi-trailers. Over time, people started referring to the truck-trailer combo as a semi, then just the truck.
There are tons of other common names for them as well. 18-Wheeler is one of the most popular and refers to the 18 wheels that a semi typically has when pulling a trailer. Tractor-trailer is also another term you may hear a lot. All of these names refer to the combo of the truck and trailer, though are most commonly associated with just the truck portion.
You can divide trucks into two categories: sleeper and day cab. A sleeper is used for long-haul trucking because it has a bedroom compartment in the back of the truck. Sleepers can be pretty basic with just a single bed and some storage. Or they can get pretty fancy with two beds, a minifridge and microwave, TV and surround sound, and more! That may sound like a lot for a truck, but drivers can spend a week or more living in their truck, getting out only for bathroom breaks and to fill up the tank.
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A Volvo Day Cab TruckA day cab is just a big truck without the sleeping area. These trucks are used for shorter distances where the driver gets to go home at the end of his shift. You often see day cabs at distribution centers, ports, and even airports. Wherever there is a high volume of things shipped, youll often see day cabs around.
You can have high-roof, mid-roof or flat roof trucks. High-roof trucks have the tallest roof possible, giving the driver plenty of room to stand up. High-roof trucks can be over 8 feet high inside. Mid-roof trucks are usually around 6 ft 9 inches inside. Flat-roof trucks are around 5 feet tall inside. These features determine how comfortable the driver will be while living in the truck, but also impact what you can pull with that truck and where you can go. Low bridges, tunnels and other road features mean tall vehicles cant take some roads.
A Mack Anthem Sleeper TruckThat answer varies a lot depending on the make and model of the truck as well as the engine in the truck. Day cabs (the ones without beds) generally weigh around 15-16,000 pounds, around the same as two adult Asian elephants. Small sleepers (the flat roof ones) are about 1,000 pounds more. Thats like putting a polar bear on those elephants. Large sleepers can weigh over 18,000 pounds.
Nope! The trailer attaches to the truck with a large pin, called a king pin, thats usually 2-3 inches thick sticking out of the underside of the trailer. Imagine a water bottle-sized solid steel pipe. The king pin goes through the fifth wheel, a big horseshoe-shaped piece of metal on the back of the truck, and clamps lock it in place. Tow hitches just wouldnt be strong enough to pull a full trailer. Fifth wheels also bring the weight of the front half of the trailer right over the back wheels, making it easier to pull tall, heavy trailers.
As with weight, the price changes depending on the kind of truck, the engine and other features. New semis generally start above $100,000, but with more features on larger trucks, the price can get close to $200,000. Used trucks can be a great way to get a good truck at a lower price. Those are generally priced lower around $40,000-70,000. But prices can go lower or higher depending on the mileage, condition, age, make and model, and features of the used truck. Some can be as low as $10,000 for older or high mileage trucks.
Curious to learn more about what buying process looks like? Check out our buying guide for used semi trucks.
Semi trucks are between 6.5 and 10 feet. The height depends on whether the truck has a higher roof on the sleeper, or a roof cap. The roof cap is a curved piece coming over the roof of the truck to make it more aerodynamic. Many day cabs have tall roof caps, allowing air to flow smoothly up the front of the truck and across the top of the trailer.
They pull anything over 26,000 pounds. But the maximum for many trucks is actually road weight limits. In every state, 80,000 pounds is the limit for all vehicles. Thats the equivalent of 26 Prius cars! The weight also depends on the type of trailer.
Dry van trailers are the typical rectangular box you see on the road. They are used for shipping lots of consumer goods like clothes, toys, electronics, books and more.
Refrigerated vans, or reefers, look like dry vans, but they have a big cooler attached to the front of the trailer. They are used to transport food that needs to stay cold like meat, cheese and ice cream.
A Volvo VNX towing a flatbed drop deck trailerThen, there are flatbed trailers which can be just a flat base, or a big step, called a drop deck or step deck. These are used to transport big things that dont need to be protected from rain or wind, or things that dont fit in a van.
Another type of trailer is a tanker. There are lots of kinds of tankers. Some empty from the back, some from the bottom, some from the top. They can carry all kinds of liquid like milk or oil, but they are also used to haul things like wheat and beans.
The last common type of trailer is a car hauler. There are open and enclosed car haulers. Open car haulers are more common and used to move cars from a port or factory to a distribution point or dealership. Enclosed car haulers protect the car from any damage on the road, so theyre used more for very expensive cars or custom cars, like racecars.
Well, thats hard to say. As an authorized Mack and Volvo dealer, we think they are some of the best performing semis on the market today. But the best truck is often based on opinion and the exact application.
So, those are the basics! Youre always able to browse our large inventory of new and used semi trucks for sale. We always welcome questions, so find us on social media!
Contact us to discuss your requirements of low bed semi trailers. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.