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is a quad really worth the extra money

catwelder

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Jan 5, 2016
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383
Location
north carolina
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welder
paving season is coming soon along with a lot more trucking and I want to add another dump truck I got a triaxle so I can be part of the paving jobs ( local company only allows triaxles and up ) but Im having problems deciding if I want to to and buy a used quad or a triaxle. anyone got any pro and cons of having each besides carry more but more expensive to keep up and price.
 

petepilot

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Jul 7, 2018
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2,167
Location
central shenandoah valley va,
paving season is coming soon along with a lot more trucking and I want to add another dump truck I got a triaxle so I can be part of the paving jobs ( local company only allows triaxles and up ) but Im having problems deciding if I want to to and buy a used quad or a triaxle. anyone got any pro and cons of having each besides carry more but more expensive to keep up and price.
fwiw if you haul by ton might be worth the extra axle but by the hour not so much
 

catwelder

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Jan 5, 2016
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383
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north carolina
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welder
fwiw if you haul by ton might be worth the extra axle but by the hour not so much
the paving jobs are by the ton but beyond that I do hourly but even then when I do go for paving jobs is when nothing else is going on which due to the virus that's really about all we are doing is trucking and doing a few dumpster repair welds for a local company
 

DoyleX

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Feb 2, 2013
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571
Location
Minnesota
Occupation
Lever Puller, Gear Jammer, Pipe Twister
Your wear and tear goes way up with every pusher you add. Going down the road the with the wheels down they drive nice. Less weight on the steer. They will eat tires compared to your tandem or tri. Off road with the wheels up they are hard on frames from twisting and they get stucker faster. Hauling blacktop is a easy gig. If ittl work everyday its worth it.
 

catwelder

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Jan 5, 2016
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Location
north carolina
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welder
Your wear and tear goes way up with every pusher you add. Going down the road the with the wheels down they drive nice. Less weight on the steer. They will eat tires compared to your tandem or tri. Off road with the wheels up they are hard on frames from twisting and they get stucker faster. Hauling blacktop is a easy gig. If ittl work everyday its worth it.
it wont work everyday doing blacktop but I do a lot of driveway repair so even having a 2nd truck will make those jobs easier
 

RenoHuskerDu

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
359
Location
Texas
Depends on your job sites and roads you drive to get there. If you spend much time with the drop axles lifted, it does stress the frame and stock axles more. I see the guys at the quarry with their axles up and you really see frame twist on the rough bits. There are sharp turns to get onto the scales so they keep them up.

But if you're mostly on pavement with them extra axles dropped, my understanding is that it's all gravy and you get your investment back soon. That said, it's usually the big outfits that run the fancy super dumps. Us indy guys are usually just tandem, maybe one drop axle added.

We have extra spread rear drops around here in TX due to bridge rules. Looks really funny but heck, it works.
 

catwelder

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north carolina
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welder
Depends on your job sites and roads you drive to get there. If you spend much time with the drop axles lifted, it does stress the frame and stock axles more. I see the guys at the quarry with their axles up and you really see frame twist on the rough bits. There are sharp turns to get onto the scales so they keep them up.

But if you're mostly on pavement with them extra axles dropped, my understanding is that it's all gravy and you get your investment back soon. That said, it's usually the big outfits that run the fancy super dumps. Us indy guys are usually just tandem, maybe one drop axle added.

We have extra spread rear drops around here in TX due to bridge rules. Looks really funny but heck, it works.
i think im go with another tri I found a decent price for one the quads are a little to high for me right now
 

RenoHuskerDu

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Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
359
Location
Texas
i think im go with another tri I found a decent price for one the quads are a little to high for me right now

Funny you guys call them tri, because in Texas we call them tandem. I guess we just ignore the steer axle :rolleyes:
Calling them triple makes more sense. In France were I started trucking, they describe trucks by total axles x drive axles. The dream dump truck in France was 2 steer axles, 2 drive axles. Everybody wanted one. Don't see many of those in TX.
 

Steve Frazier

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Oct 30, 2003
Messages
6,599
Location
LaGrangeville, N.Y.
This thread got my attention because I used to drive dump trucks hauling gravel and asphalt. After reading I'm curious of the terminology used, I'm not sure I'm thinking the same thing as being stated. In my area the number of axles behind the cab is how it's defined, a ten wheeler is a tandem, a ten wheeler with a single lift axle we refer to as a tri-axle and a quad would have two lift axles. How does this compare to what is being discussed here?
 

Mother Deuce

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Jul 17, 2016
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1,603
Location
New England
Funny you guys call them tri, because in Texas we call them tandem. I guess we just ignore the steer axle :rolleyes:
Calling them triple makes more sense. In France were I started trucking, they describe trucks by total axles x drive axles. The dream dump truck in France was 2 steer axles, 2 drive axles. Everybody wanted one. Don't see many of those in TX.
They take an acre to turn...
 

DMiller

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Feb 21, 2010
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Hermann, Missouri
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Cheap "old" Geezer
Again the local company here uses tandem pushers on tandem dumps single steer for their typical machines. Still only set 20-22 t on a unit and only use the drops for road operations. Bigger box on truck reduces the spill over for a load under tarp and no he does not prefer the drivers overload. Once get to jobsite axles come up, stay up until back to quarry/dig site. They have also gone to taller/shorter, square side dump trailers with tandem push axles for hauling clay. Not having issues with overloaded on drives or trailer axles with that set up as far as portable scales, faster to load out as not having to watch gauges on front or rear fill outs to stay legal.
 

Don.S

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Joined
Mar 28, 2016
Messages
397
Location
Montreal Canada
20200219_075203.jpg This is what we use in quebec and call them a 12 wheeler. On newer trucks the second steering axle lifts. Can hold 20T and cost 120$ hour. Here 10 wheelers only hold 15T and cost 110$ hour. Not many people will hire them. A two axle semi can hold 26T and costs 130$ hour, Three axle 140$, four axle 160$.
 

CM1995

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Jan 21, 2007
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13,250
Location
Alabama
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Running what I brung and taking what I win
This thread got my attention because I used to drive dump trucks hauling gravel and asphalt. After reading I'm curious of the terminology used, I'm not sure I'm thinking the same thing as being stated. In my area the number of axles behind the cab is how it's defined, a ten wheeler is a tandem, a ten wheeler with a single lift axle we refer to as a tri-axle and a quad would have two lift axles. How does this compare to what is being discussed here?

That's the terminology we used down south Steve. A tri-axle has 2 drives and a lift axle. We don't have any quad axle dumps that I know of in my area.
 

DMiller

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Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,435
Location
Hermann, Missouri
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Cheap "old" Geezer
Took this this morning as paid a bill

IMG_7567.JPG
One pusher is just behind the fuel pump.
These are his typical dump trucks,

Tri County.jpg

Last load delivered to us was last week of 2" base for at my barn feed lot entry, 20.64t , Tare for the Frt Lnr was 24500, gross was 65780
 

RenoHuskerDu

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
359
Location
Texas
Texans have odd words for many things. I was trying to explain gravel and road base to a customer from Cali. And another from Maine. Lots of folks moving to Texas these days. Even the gravel and road base have different names. Just like our trucks.

Here is a typical 8x4 as we call them in France. Don't count the wheels, it doesn't work that way.
OTR rigs run mostly super singles, but construction rigs run duals like in the USA.
Over the border in Switzerland we'd see lift axles, always surprised us, they're not authorized in France.
At least not when I left in 2017.
218.jpg
 

redneckracin

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Joined
May 19, 2010
Messages
574
Location
Western PA
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Civil Engineer
Pennsylvania maxes out at 72380 for a single unit truck. Due to the bridge law, (inner and outer) a tri-axle (tandem drive with a lift and steer axle) is the cheapest way to get it. To go to 80k, you have to go to a truck and trailer. The tandems on the truck and trailer are allowed 36k and I think the steer is allowed 20k. This is of course all dependent on 100lb/in of tire width. I'm always surprised at how little truckers understand why the specs are the way they are and that as weight goes up, the damage done to the road is not linear, but exponential.
 

RenoHuskerDu

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
359
Location
Texas
Pennsylvania maxes out at 72380 for a single unit truck. Due to the bridge law, (inner and outer) a tri-axle (tandem drive with a lift and steer axle) is the cheapest way to get it. To go to 80k, you have to go to a truck and trailer. The tandems on the truck and trailer are allowed 36k and I think the steer is allowed 20k. This is of course all dependent on 100lb/in of tire width. I'm always surprised at how little truckers understand why the specs are the way they are and that as weight goes up, the damage done to the road is not linear, but exponential.

There's a macho thing about overloading. I'm macho myself, but overloading hurts my rigs. And the road.

I'll take a couple days off work when my own (long, private, dirt) road is too wet, just to spare it the load damage. The county official who maintains our roads is a friend. I see overloaded guys and just smh.
 

suladas

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2016
Messages
1,731
Location
Canada
Suprised you guys don't allow tridrives down there yet. Its to the point they almost outnumber tandems up here on everything besides lugging a van around.

Agreed. In some cases like concrete trucks going to tandem tri-drives. Anytime I see those trucks with lift axles I think WTF were they smoking? A tri-drive is a million times better truck in everyway. Never mind all the damage the lift axle trucks would cause anytime it's loaded and axles are lifted.
 
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