TOOLS TO CARRY?

Aug 12, 2011 at 11:21 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Well, I sold my dry van and bought a hopper today. 2008 Timpte 42'x96"x78" with removable vibrator. Wondering what tools I need to carry. I have always carried two boxes of hand tools and a 50' air hose that hooks to a glad hand and a broom. Wondered what I might need for hopper freight in paticular. Do I need a shovel and a rubber or plastic head hammer? What? Thanks in advance.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 12:27 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. I plan to do some lightening up of the truck tomorrow. Taking off the roof faring. I was just checking on weight exemptions for apu's. Tennessee and Kentucky don't have one. Anyone run those states and have an apu? Have you had any problems trying to run with the 400#s over (80,400#)? Also please excuse my ignorance but is a dead blow hammer one with a rubber head or plastic?

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 12:27 AM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

I plan to do some lightening up of the truck tomorrow. Taking off the roof faring. I was just checking on weight exemptions for apu's. Tennessee and Kentucky don't have one. Anyone run those states and have an apu? Have you had any problems trying to run with the 400#s over (80,400#)? Also please excuse my ignorance but is a dead blow hammer one with a rubber head or plastic?

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 01:09 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Quote: "I plan to do some lightening up of the truck tomorrow. Taking off the roof faring. I was just checking on weight exemptions for apu's. Tennessee and Kentucky don't have one. Anyone run those states and have an apu? Have you had any problems trying to run with the 400#s over (80,400#)? Also please excuse my ignorance but is a dead blow hammer one with a rubber head or plastic?" I always though that 400lb APU weight was a federal law? I never had any issues in any state when I had mine. That 400 lbs will be added to nearest axle...thus 34,400 on your drives. But, if you've been running with your APU, I'm sure you were already aware of that. DO NOT hit the hopper(s) itself with your hammer, be it a rubber mallet or anything else...That's what the knock rails are for. And Dale is right, those dead blow hammers are the deal!! When inside your wagon, if you lose your grip on the crossbows on your way up, it's a FAST trip to the bottom, and usually hurts. Some guys will tie a rope to the front crossbow with knots in it every couple of feet, and use that to help pull themselves up. Tie one in the back hopper too. When crawling up/down the ladders, as we were taught in the militry..." 3 points of contact ". That aluminum can get slippery...Safety First!! As far as losing weight...one doesn't have to be radical about it and take off the second air horn, 1 antennea, remove the passenger seat and only keep a 1/2 galon of milk in the fridge. When ya get $50/ton, 50lbs is gonna cost ya $1.25 in revenue. I'm just saying be smart how you lighten up. You can only get so light. Guys will spend more time and fuel pulling around to get another 250lbs on to get to gross. In my opinion, they just wasted 20 minutes and $4 in fuel (for example) to make $6.25...after fuel you made $2.25, and are 20 minutes behind where you coulda been. I use Right-Weigh guages, one on the drivers and one on the trailer axles, (both dash mounted) and can load within 500lbs of gross everytime. If I'm 500 under gross I roll with it...If I'm over, pending on where I'm at and how much over I am, I may dump a bit to get legal. It's hard to tell the scale boys that "I didn't know I was over" when your BOL is a scale ticket from the shipper with EMPTY, GROSS, and TARE weights. These are my opinions and how I do things. Everyone has different ideas, views, and opinions. Good luck with the new venture and do enjoy it!! One super nice aspect with hoppers compared to dry van, you WILL NOT hear " put it on those pallets over there, here is your ti-hi sheet "!!!

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 01:09 AM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Quote: "I plan to do some lightening up of the truck tomorrow. Taking off the roof faring. I was just checking on weight exemptions for apu's. Tennessee and Kentucky don't have one. Anyone run those states and have an apu? Have you had any problems trying to run with the 400#s over (80,400#)? Also please excuse my ignorance but is a dead blow hammer one with a rubber head or plastic?"

I always though that 400lb APU weight was a federal law? I never had any issues in any state when I had mine. That 400 lbs will be added to nearest axle...thus 34,400 on your drives. But, if you've been running with your APU, I'm sure you were already aware of that.

DO NOT hit the hopper(s) itself with your hammer, be it a rubber mallet or anything else...That's what the knock rails are for. And Dale is right, those dead blow hammers are the deal!!

When inside your wagon, if you lose your grip on the crossbows on your way up, it's a FAST trip to the bottom, and usually hurts. Some guys will tie a rope to the front crossbow with knots in it every couple of feet, and use that to help pull themselves up. Tie one in the back hopper too.

When crawling up/down the ladders, as we were taught in the militry..." 3 points of contact ". That aluminum can get slippery...Safety First!!

As far as losing weight...one doesn't have to be radical about it and take off the second air horn, 1 antennea, remove the passenger seat and only keep a 1/2 galon of milk in the fridge. When ya get $50/ton, 50lbs is gonna cost ya $1.25 in revenue. I'm just saying be smart how you lighten up. You can only get so light.

Guys will spend more time and fuel pulling around to get another 250lbs on to get to gross. In my opinion, they just wasted 20 minutes and $4 in fuel (for example) to make $6.25...after fuel you made $2.25, and are 20 minutes behind where you coulda been. I use Right-Weigh guages, one on the drivers and one on the trailer axles, (both dash mounted) and can load within 500lbs of gross everytime. If I'm 500 under gross I roll with it...If I'm over, pending on where I'm at and how much over I am, I may dump a bit to get legal. It's hard to tell the scale boys that "I didn't know I was over" when your BOL is a scale ticket from the shipper with EMPTY, GROSS, and TARE weights.

These are my opinions and how I do things. Everyone has different ideas, views, and opinions. Good luck with the new venture and do enjoy it!! One super nice aspect with hoppers compared to dry van, you WILL NOT hear " put it on those pallets over there, here is your ti-hi sheet "!!!

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 02:53 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Quote: "I plan to do some lightening up of the truck tomorrow. Taking off the roof faring. I was just checking on weight exemptions for apu's. Tennessee and Kentucky don't have one. Anyone run those states and have an apu? Have you had any problems trying to run with the 400#s over (80,400#)? Also please excuse my ignorance but is a dead blow hammer one with a rubber head or plastic?" Unless things have changed..You don't get any weight allowance for an APU..I know that they talked about it..and that was it Talk...It is still 34,000 and 80,000.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 02:53 AM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Unless things have changed..You don't get any weight allowance for an APU..I know that they talked about it..and that was it Talk...It is still 34,000 and 80,000.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 07:03 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Quote: "I plan to do some lightening up of the truck tomorrow. Taking off the roof faring. I was just checking on weight exemptions for apu's. Tennessee and Kentucky don't have one. Anyone run those states and have an apu? Have you had any problems trying to run with the 400#s over (80,400#)? Also please excuse my ignorance but is a dead blow hammer one with a rubber head or plastic?" A dead blow is hard plastic coated with shot inside it. Anything else is a POS. Don't waste money buying a rubber mallet. As was said use the knoch rails on the trailer and not the slopes for two reasons. Material will come off better using the rails and you won't dent your trailer up.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 07:03 AM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

A dead blow is hard plastic coated with shot inside it. Anything else is a POS. Don't waste money buying a rubber mallet. As was said use the knoch rails on the trailer and not the slopes for two reasons. Material will come off better using the rails and you won't dent your trailer up.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 11:06 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Also try to watch who helps you. The guy next in line will help, but he will hit the slops to get you out so he can get in. You can't trust they are going to treat your trailer the same as theirs

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 02:40 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Quote: " Unless things have changed..You don't get any weight allowance for an APU..I know that they talked about it..and that was it Talk...It is still 34,000 and 80,000." Here's a link that describes the allowance laws. The 400lb allowance was signed into Federal Law in '05, but for some reason the states don't have to abide by it and can set there own rules. That's what I got out of the article... http://www.ooida.com/Education%26BusinessTools/Trucking_Info/Vehicle_weight_exemptions_for_APUs.shtml

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 02:40 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Quote: " Unless things have changed..You don't get any weight allowance for an APU..I know that they talked about it..and that was it Talk...It is still 34,000 and 80,000."

Here's a link that describes the allowance laws. The 400lb allowance was signed into Federal Law in '05, but for some reason the states don't have to abide by it and can set there own rules. That's what I got out of the article... http://www.ooida.com/Education%26BusinessTools/Trucking_Info/Vehicle_weight_exemptions_for_APUs.shtml

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 03:20 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Thanks for the replys. I had an apu when pulling the van but weight was seldom an issue. I could haul most any load without going over gross. I checked on OOIDA's web site and found that some states have passed laws allowing the 400# exemption for apu's while some states have not but they are allowing it anyway. A few others including Tennessee and Kentucky which I will be traveling through will not allow the extra weight according to OOIDA's information. I am heavy enough that without the allowance I will have to watch how much fuel I carry to be able to get on 25 ton. I don't know yet how much weight I will be able to lose by removing the roof faring and a few smaller items. I hope to have some help this weekend to get it off. Not sure I can do it by myself without messing up something. I have an older apu but I still hate to have to take it off but that may be the case.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 03:20 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Thanks for the replys. I had an apu when pulling the van but weight was seldom an issue. I could haul most any load without going over gross. I checked on OOIDA's web site and found that some states have passed laws allowing the 400# exemption for apu's while some states have not but they are allowing it anyway. A few others including Tennessee and Kentucky which I will be traveling through will not allow the extra weight according to OOIDA's information. I am heavy enough that without the allowance I will have to watch how much fuel I carry to be able to get on 25 ton. I don't know yet how much weight I will be able to lose by removing the roof faring and a few smaller items. I hope to have some help this weekend to get it off. Not sure I can do it by myself without messing up something. I have an older apu but I still hate to have to take it off but that may be the case.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 03:28 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Personally, I would leave the APU on. It will save you way more in fuel money than what you will lose in not carrying an extra 400lbs of payload.400lbs on a $50/ton load is gonna cost ya a whopping $10. You will spend that in 2-4 hours idling your truck. Keep the APU. Taking it off wouldn't even be an option I would consider. And you're not obligated to haul 25 ton. Load what you can get on and go down the road.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 03:28 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Personally, I would leave the APU on. It will save you way more in fuel money than what you will lose in not carrying an extra 400lbs of payload.400lbs on a $50/ton load is gonna cost ya a whopping $10. You will spend that in 2-4 hours idling your truck. Keep the APU. Taking it off wouldn't even be an option I would consider. And you're not obligated to haul 25 ton. Load what you can get on and go down the road.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 04:57 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Go get an extension handle for your broom. Lowe's has one that has four extensions that will reach easily all the way from top to bottom of your trailer. It's aluminum with blue handles. I think those yellow one's most guys use are good too, but, not as long. I have not gotten inside my trailer for a long time.

Replied on Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 11:26 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Thanks for the reply's. You all are giving some very helpful information. I took of the faring with some help from a friend. It probably weighed around 100#s.