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Straight truck and pup trailer
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Hereford
Posted 4/20/2009 23:33 (#687696)
Subject: Straight truck and pup trailer


Central IL
I was wondering what the opinion on a straight truck and pup trailer instead of a semi is. What could I legally haul in IL with a straight truck and pup? My thinking is that during harvest hauling to augers I could have less experienced drivers run a straight truck rather than a semi. But then when hauling corn from our facility to town I could haul more bu. Thanks.
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jalopy
Posted 4/21/2009 00:04 (#687755 - in reply to #687696)
Subject: RE: Straight truck and pup trailer


NC IA
Excellent idea, only downfall is $$$. Big straight trucks are very expensive, especially with a big engine which you will want if pulling a pup. Plan on spending $35-50K or more, and that's not including your pup trailer. You can get a decent semi tractor and trailer in the 25-30 range. $15-20k will buy a decent semi-tractor these days.

Advantages to a staight truck are many-- can unload into an auger with no swing hopper, can haul lots of other stuff other than grain (dry goods on pallets, i.e. seed, water/chemical tanks, gravel, dirt, etc). "Here" in Iowa if you are only hauling your own grain you need nothing more than a basic driver's license. Also cheaper registration and no heavy-use tax. But if you're pulling a pup, then same rules as a semi apply.
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Bluepaint
Posted 4/21/2009 00:10 (#687761 - in reply to #687696)
Subject: Re: Straight truck and pup trailer



Manitoba canada
We made the same choice 3 years ago and bought a pup as we had 700 acres of contracted oats to haul straight off the field to the elevator and it worked well but never used it last year as too wet and it's a pain in the ass around the yard...It was a far cheaper option as our 2 tandems both already had pintles and still leaves you with the option of unhitching ,It is good because of our 5 guys only 2 have class1's but it depends on the size of your outfit i guess...If we were any bigger i would certainly buy a semi..??
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beh
Posted 4/21/2009 00:22 (#687772 - in reply to #687696)
Subject: Re: Straight truck and pup trailer


Heil Harvesting, Ulysses KS/Limon CO
Hereford--

No clue on Illinois but we do use trucks and pups. Very handy. Drop the pup to go to the bin. Go to town pull the pups. Seems to work good for us. The only thing that I would really like to have a semi for is backing. Pulling the trailer, you need to be on your toes. They pull good. Very good. Follow nicely, but you cannot back up. Easily.

Other problem is expense. It takes about 20 to rig a tandem these days. That is after you own the chassis. And assuming no frame work. A thousand for hitch and air to the rear and cab controls and electric.. That 20 is an aluminum Farris and a harsh hoist. So it is easy to drop more than 50 on one. Then a pup is from 8-15K depending on how picky and how lucky you are. I can own 2 very good semis for 70k...

We ahve been going round and round about what our next truck will be...
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Bluepaint
Posted 4/21/2009 00:26 (#687777 - in reply to #687772)
Subject: Re: Straight truck and pup trailer



Manitoba canada
Yeah they do pull and follow niceley ..Don't cut corners at all..???
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beh
Posted 4/21/2009 00:28 (#687779 - in reply to #687777)
Subject: Re: Straight truck and pup trailer


Heil Harvesting, Ulysses KS/Limon CO
I can turn a relatively short turning truck as hard as I can--the rear trailer tires cut about 6 inches in a full circle. That is a 12 ft dolly.
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Bluepaint
Posted 4/21/2009 00:45 (#687788 - in reply to #687779)
Subject: Re: Straight truck and pup trailer



Manitoba canada
Never tried it that tight but we rent some land with some 12ft culverts onto gravel or dirt and if the truck will go the pup will go..???
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beh
Posted 4/21/2009 01:30 (#687815 - in reply to #687788)
Subject: EDIT Re: Straight truck and pup trailer


Heil Harvesting, Ulysses KS/Limon CO
We have got ours in and out of some really tight spaces. Amazingly. When you pull out with your tandem how much do you have to spare to the culvert--if you crowd one way or the other. Backing up gets a little more tricky. And soft shoulders. I would try it empty with a good driver--I bet you can make it.

Figuring the cut is easy. Open area where you can easily see your tracks--like in a lot. Turn a full circle with the truck and pup turning as hard as you can and look at it...

Good luck--

Edit: I looked in my notes (why I kept this I have no clue) but 3 trucks each making 2 circles. Range in cut was 5 to 13 inches. We can get these trucks places we cannot get a semi. 256"? wheel base on the trucks



Edited by beh 4/21/2009 01:33
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jdflyer
Posted 4/21/2009 04:27 (#687847 - in reply to #687696)
Subject: Re: Straight truck and pup trailer


Centralia, MO
A couple of area farmers pull a single axle dolly with a short single axle hopper bottom instead of a pup. Besides being impossible to back up any substantial distance, it looks like it would be easy to be overweight with this setup. I'm guessing they are using this setup because it's cheaper than a pup.
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pat-michigan
Posted 4/21/2009 08:21 (#687986 - in reply to #687696)
Subject: RE: Straight truck and pup trailer


Thumb of Michigan
We had one set of "short doubles" (thats what we generally call em here) and got along just fine with it. Get into and out of tighter places than we could with any semi we have. It had a manual dolly lock when we bought it, added air to it so it could be locked from the cab. Also put a couple of leaf springs on the tongue so we didn't have to use a jack to unhook it.

We sold it a few years ago, but it still hauls a lot of deer bait every fall.

If you already have a straight truck that'll handle the pup, adding a hitch and a pup won't be real pricey if you shop around. That stuff is laying all over Michigan and Ontario. Our pup had a hoist, but I did look at building one with a hopper pup instead. If you can make that happen, you don't have to screw around adding oil to the back.
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jakescia
Posted 4/21/2009 10:55 (#688227 - in reply to #687696)
Subject: RE: Straight truck and pup trailer-- We run both pups and semis.........



Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577

From a "management perspective"------the pups make more sense..........haul enough........4-5000lbs short................but a lot more flexible.  Pups are dumps, with three-door grain boxes like the trucks..........really flexible.  Drop the pups if wet or can keep up, add the pups for hauling fertilizer, etc.

We put plastic in all the boxes, so can haul litter, whatever, nearly as handy as the belt semi trailers.

Get in tighter places.

Need only to have regular licenses in IA..........no special licenses required to run truck and pup within 150 air miles.

Semis are, however, much more comfortable to drive.......don't have that weight on the frame like on straight truck.

Need at least an Iowa Class D chauffers license to drive semi within 150 air miles.

Semis look cooler............at least that is what my guys tell me.

My guys will work their butts off to avoid using the pups, as compared to the semis. 

In fact, I am probably going to sell 2 of our three pups this fall--------with the belt trailers, and the propensity to use the semis, just don't need them.

However----again----from a "management perspective"--------I think the pups USUALLY make more sense.............but semis look cooler!.

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Thud
Posted 4/21/2009 12:48 (#688300 - in reply to #688227)
Subject: Re: Straight truck and pup trailer


Near-north Ontario, French River
Only drawback to a pup, beyond the initial added cost, is they sometimes have a tendency to 'wag the dog' so to speak. They will pup just fine going down the road and are great for getting into tight places but if you happen to drop off the pavement at road speed they will tend to act like a whip behind the truck. Not really a big issue but something you should be aware of if you have no experience with pups. One other point, a truck and pup combo will generally weigh more then a straight semi , but depending on your local/state regs you may be able to scale more with a truck/pup combo ( they tend to be longer then a tractor trailer type setup so axle spacings will be different) I used to pull a 28ft tandem/tandem pup behind a tri-axle lead, was legal for 140,000lbs here in Ontario BUT my empty weight was almost 10,000lbs heavier then a typical 4leg 42ft dump and long wb tractor. Total legal payload was in the 92,000lb range.
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DC97
Posted 4/21/2009 22:07 (#688795 - in reply to #687696)
Subject: RE: Straight truck and pup trailer


Get one that looks good



(pete pics 002.JPG)



Attachments
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Attachments pete pics 002.JPG (32KB - 491 downloads)
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Hereford
Posted 4/21/2009 23:14 (#688966 - in reply to #688795)
Subject: RE: Straight truck and pup trailer


Central IL
DC97 looks good, What do you weight empty? Thanks everyone for the comments.
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DC97
Posted 4/22/2009 08:22 (#689295 - in reply to #688966)
Subject: RE: Straight truck and pup trailer


I weigh 28,000 empty, and if you look at the bridge laws in Illinois i can haul 76500 and be legal. this combo in my picture wook well for us. It has plenty of power and hauls grain in tight spots. Also back up with ease.
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