Part of the problem here is that there are THREE different tons:
Metric tonnes which are 1,000kg = 2,205lbs
Short ton which is 2,000lbs = 907kg
Long ton which is 2,240lbs = 1,016kg
The first is the one we mean when we say 44 tonnes MAM is the limit in the UK (44,000kg or 97,000lbs) this is the metric European measure.
The second is the American ton. They usually use pounds to avoid confusion and 80,000lbs (40 tons) is equal to 36,288kg.
Long tons are the pre metric Imperial measure which is the one we mean when we talk about being limited to 38 tons in the old days. That is equal to 38,610Kg.
So UK 6 axle outfits gross out at over 7,700Kg (17,000lbs more those American “big rigs”.
The old measure of 2,2240lbs may look awkward but it had the advantage of having a lot of subdivisions.
14lbs = 1 stone
112lbs = 8 stone or 1 cwt (This was considered a reasonable weight for a man to carry - over 50kg) (cwt is said as “hundredweight”)
2240lbs = 1 ton = 20cwt
It gets even more complicated when you throw Canada into the mix, they’re metric so everything is in Kgs, I run almost exclusively to the USA so I use the American weights when calculating my axle weights (we can run heavier in Canada so if I’m USA legal then I’m good in Canada)
As well as gross and axle weights you also have the bridge formula, which takes its measurements from the front axle to the middle of the trailer axles and then there’s the king pin to trailer axle measurements (usually 41’ but up to 43’ in some states, then the oddballs like 40’ to the center of the rear axle in California and 40’5" to the rear axle in Michigan) you have to, by the letter of the law, comply with all of these peculiarities, but in practice if you’re heavy then axle weights take priority over length and bridge formula every time.
Thank [zb] I normally pull a reefer and I’m usually at gross on the way out and either near gross or very light on the way back, being very light means that 41’ will be fine as you won’t be over bridge formula, except in California who have a real hard on for their 40’ limit.
Add to this the different hour’s laws in Canada and the USA and the fact that none of them either side of the border can speak proper English and you can see that it can be a lotta fun over here
newmercman:
It gets even more complicated when you throw Canada into the mix, they’re metric so everything is in Kgs, I run almost exclusively to the USA so I use the American weights when calculating my axle weights (we can run heavier in Canada so if I’m USA legal then I’m good in Canada)
As well as gross and axle weights you also have the bridge formula, which takes its measurements from the front axle to the middle of the trailer axles and then there’s the king pin to trailer axle measurements (usually 41’ but up to 43’ in some states, then the oddballs like 40’ to the center of the rear axle in California and 40’5" to the rear axle in Michigan) you have to, by the letter of the law, comply with all of these peculiarities, but in practice if you’re heavy then axle weights take priority over length and bridge formula every time.
Thank [zb] I normally pull a reefer and I’m usually at gross on the way out and either near gross or very light on the way back, being very light means that 41’ will be fine as you won’t be over bridge formula, except in California who have a real hard on for their 40’ limit.
Add to this the different hour’s laws in Canada and the USA and the fact that none of them either side of the border can speak proper English and you can see that it can be a lotta fun over here
Add to that the possibility that there just might be a Polish A Train driver who can’t speak American or French and who just decides to take the idea of a turnpike double A Train literally when he loads it in metric tonnes with a load bound for CA.
no,no,no… NMM no california talk please ,that s hole did my head in ,that was my first run i did myself over here from russell . mb.to L.A.
that ■■■■ place needs to fall into the ocean…
JIMBO47:
no,no,no… NMM no california talk please ,that s hole did my head in ,that was my first run i did myself over here from russell . mb.to L.A.
that ■■■■ place needs to fall into the ocean…
Jimmy, I love going to CA, especially at this time of year
BTW where the [zb] is crazyfreak, there must be enough bait on here to get him going by now
lol ,NMM any place that insists you must have a clean trailor after running down from bc in winter ,snow all the way to ca.
markers /lights clean and still fine you needs … then you cant run your engine for your aircon due to global warming…but its ok if youve got a dog(cant let animals suffer but ok for the driver)…
going for a beer this california talk has me twitching again …hehe…
JIMBO47:
no,no,no… NMM no california talk please ,that s hole did my head in ,that was my first run i did myself over here from russell . mb.to L.A.
that ■■■■ place needs to fall into the ocean…
Jimmy, I love going to CA, especially at this time of year
BTW where the [zb] is crazyfreak, there must be enough bait on here to get him going by now
I’m here but it’s just that I’m still trying to get over the shock of reading that they can still make it pay over there to run all over the States at 36 tonnes gross
Which is why I thought of that idea of using a doubles outfit loaded at around double the max gross weight for a single trailer artic in Canada and just use that to run to CA.
But it’s best to leave that idea to a Polish ex pat because if he can’t understand American or French,assuming that they don’t stop him at the border,he won’t understand Spanish either when the CHP get him.
MGW UK tractor unit + 1 trailer = 44 tonnes (except in special circumstances such as indivisible loads).
Thanks man, appreciated.
I must say Im very surprised at this. There rigs looks huge. I dont know if its the long nose design but they just look far bigger. Yet they carry less? I would have bet money it was the other way around until I started researching this.
switchlogic:
Since when did American become a language?
America and Britain are the only two countries divided by a common language.
But having said that some say that Spanish is almost the main language in the States these days because the yanks won’t allow as many Brits into our own colonies as the Spanish who we fought to keep out before the war of independence .
Driveroneuk:
Yes, a longer outfit altogether. As you mentioned, first there’s the bonneted rigs, then their trailers are upto 53’ where as ours are 44’
The longer trailers might be to compensate for less height because their bridges are often lower than ours and a conventional has a hood not a bonnet.
