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Michigan Super Tankers

MikeJ

MikeJ

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Hi guys,

Today I ran up to Saginaw, Michigan had some business to take care of up there and I noticed that in Michigan they must be allowed to carry more weight on the road, because the oil companies have these massive tanker trucks that we don't have here in Ohio or that I have really seen any where in the mid west except Michigan. I wasn't on I-75 near Detroit, but usually the steel haulers also run a lot heavier in Michigan.


 
seriously Mike....

when it comes to Michigan....and combo units hauling, and the number of sets of wheels......

you ain't seen nothing yet.......
 
Michigan allows 160,000 pounds, but only so much weight per axle on these units. You would think those centipedes would be hard to turn, even if they do have air tags.

autocar_grain_hauler_by_blacksand459-d5gm7zx.jpg


Autocar Grain Hauler by Blacksand459 on deviantART
 
Last edited by a moderator:
my first time as a driver, going cross country or long haul as it was called back then, i got to see all sorts of combinations.

i vaguely remember i was down i the south west. maybe Utah, maybe Arizona, New Mexico, and i was as new as can be, with the "A-Typical" slow-assed company truck.

i wanted to pass a combo unit that i was speeding up on, at a whopping 62 mph...

(i was so full of **** and vinegar back then)


well i was in for a shock...

it was a (now former..??) MNX trucking company (they had red cabover's i believe)...

ok.....


here i go..getting back up to that whopping 62 mph to pass that slow moving slug of a so and so....


well..

as i got into the left lane....

to my surprise....

he was pulling 3...yep...3, 53 foot trailers......

ok..time to regroup....

pull back in line, and be all pissed off, i had ME a SLOW truck....!!!!!


i think Texas has 55 and 57 footers..????
 
MikeJ said:
Hi guys,

Today I ran up to Saginaw, Michigan had some business to take care of up there and I noticed that in Michigan they must be allowed to carry more weight on the road, because the oil companies have these massive tanker trucks that we don't have here in Ohio or that I have really seen any where in the mid west except Michigan. I wasn't on I-75 near Detroit, but usually the steel haulers also run a lot heavier in Michigan.


Click to expand...

Like Freight Train points out, Michigan allows more CVGW, 160,000lbs, but the truck/trailer combos must have the axles and tires to carry the load. I noticed this the first time I ran up there, and was surprised to see how many axles some of those rigs have.

And as was also pointed out, they don't turn very well. There is a lot of rolling resistance, even when empty. And can you imagine what it is like when the roads are icy or wet?
 
When I was in truck driving school an instructor who said he used to take a lot of auto parts up to Michigan would run across those units and he said they are difficult to turn and guys do from time to time blow out tires and have trouble with them. It is cool though you go to different states and see different things, every state is a tad different. The only company here in Ohio that really has any kind of B-Train set up is Valley Transport of Ashland, Ohio they have a couple B-Train set ups. Ohio doesn't allow any thing like Michigan does.
 
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