Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 19, 2019 03:33AM
For those of us not in the trucking business:

1) What is the maximum weight a semi can legally haul?
2) What is the weight of a Bauer-built sled set to stop an unlimited at 330' on an average track?
3) Is it common for the sled owner to bring more than one hauler to carry the necessary weight at pulls which run the unlimiteds?
4) If needed, how many more blocks could be put on a sled for the unlimiteds?
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 19, 2019 01:16PM
Bauer’s bring both sleds as a package usually and need both of them on site to have enough weights for the Unlimiteds
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 19, 2019 11:37PM
Sleds can fit 13 weights on (10 in box, 2 on pan, one in-between the rails up front). That works out to be around 25,000 lbs of possible weight to add. Rare to see all 13 used bit it happens on occasion.
New sleds weigh in the low 30,000s so you're starting to get in the high 50,000s total possible weight.
80,000 is Max gross weight you can run down the road. They would be well over that if they hauled 13 weights on the truck.
I believe ntpa rules require two sleds if the unlimited class is running. No way to get enough weight there with only one sled.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 20, 2019 05:30AM
The sled box actually will hold 11 full weights and one half weight along with the 2 weights on the back corners of the pan and 1 weight up front in between the rails for a total of 14 full weights and 1 half weight
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 20, 2019 02:06AM
NTPA also brings 2 weights anywhere the bigscreen trailer goes.

CP
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 20, 2019 07:18AM
Unless the box is in it's highest gear now and there is no more trip adjustment left then the sled can be set to pull harder. Problem is they won't get any run before the box hits, and it will be a dud of a show. I've seen a super farm stopped at 75ft. with a sled that was not a class 8. Wrong transmission gear and the box was topped out at 75ft.
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Re: Sled setting question August 20, 2019 08:18AM
Ok, let's say a sled operator wants to stop Boyd or Purser at 300 feet on a good clay track at night with low humidity. How many blocks on the sled, and where does the box top out?
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 20, 2019 06:07PM
Very rarely is a nose weight used for a mod or a semi. The purpose of the nose weight is to give the vehicle more drawbar to hook quicker & get up to speed quicker, thus making a vehicle like a mod or semi harder to stop. Sometimes we have no choice but to add the nose weight, on looser tracks where the sleds slide easier, weight is the only option without tripping the pan extremely early or shifting to high gear & sacrificing ground speed, therefore killing the quality of the show in my opinion.

Over the years Vaughn & crew have made changes in the gears & the adjustable stops for blocking the box out under the cab. My sled that I run is a 2003 model, I have 4 holes to block the box out which are on 6" or 8" centers, I can't remember off hand exactly, and with the box clear back my first gear is in the 260' range, 5th gear is in the 200' range. As a general rule of thumb we figure each hole out the box is blocked is 10' off the gear, so 1st gear 1 hole would be 250', 5th gear 4 holes would be 160'. The older sleds had approximately a 20' slower gear set. The new sleds have 1/2 holes for blocking the box, those I am not familiar with.

But to answer the question for a general sled setting on a good track, I would say a full box plus the 2 on the pan, 3rd or 4th gear, 2 holes out (which would top out in the 220-200 foot range) and trip the pan about halfway between the front of the fenders & the pin, which would approximately drop the pan 140-150 feet. Its pretty mpressive that pulling 57,000 lbs with an 8,000 lb tractor, a maximum speed of 35 mph can be achieved, which would be right before the pan drops at half track.

The Tim Engler & Dave Banter seven engine tractors were marvels in the golden days of pulling, but I'm sure if they reached a ground speed of much over 25 mph, they were GONE, out the back door! Tractors today are making as much power in three motors with big blowers as they did with seven chevys. The difference in tires, chassis, etc... my how the times have changed!!!
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 20, 2019 10:08PM
Logan:

Can you talk about % of weight transfer between your sled and newer models?

Thank you,
Bobby Maxwell
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 22, 2019 06:03AM
Quote
bmaxwell
Logan:

Can you talk about % of weight transfer between your sled and newer models?

Thank you,
Bobby Maxwell

There really isn't any difference in the performance of the older Bauer sleds versus the newer sleds. Maintenance in the areas of grouser bars & the hydraulics of the pan functions (drop speed & keeping the accumulator charged appropriately) are the only things that may hinder an older sled. The improvements & changes have been made in durability areas & maintenance items. Changing a drive belt on a new sled is easier than an older sled, bolt on grouser bars versus the old welded on style, things such as that.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 21, 2019 05:02AM
The semi tractor toting the sled can be outfitted with a lift axle, allowing an extra 10,000 to 18,000 lbs to be hauled.
Would need an annual overweight permit.
Bauer's semi's have the room for a lift axle easy.
Space to add two more full weights on a Bauer style sled right in front of the rear axles, that weight would mostly come into play when the pan pushes down, but initially would act like rolling the box ahead a couple holes.
There ARE soloutions, but they are all a pain in the butt.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 21, 2019 06:55AM
% of weight tranfered is based on how far ahead of pan pivot the weight box goes.Ntpa requires atleast 120% of sled weight to apply at forefront of sled.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 21, 2019 11:05AM
It's not as simple as just adding axles. I'm not up on how some other states do it, but in IL you can only get overweight permits for a non-divisible load, not just because you want to haul more of something.

I think you guys are trying to fix a problem that isn't really much of a problem.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 22, 2019 01:00PM
Also they only.need the extra weight a few times a year. So the added hassle isnt worth it. Plus when the trucks aren't running with the sled they are running regular freight duties.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 22, 2019 01:11PM
If it’s true that the sled weighs around 50k with all the weights in it it should be no problem being under 80k gross. An average road tractor with a sleeper is 17to20 k. We put together a Kenworth T800 with a 50 inch bunk that weighed 14k. Being over on axles may be an issue but not gross.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 22, 2019 01:40PM
They're much closer to 60k fully loaded than they are 50k (over 25k can be added to an over 30k lb sled). And you've got to add the weight of the neck that they hook to on the truck as well as the scales. Those two things add several thousand pounds. Should be no problem to get in the mid 80s or higher.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 25, 2019 05:41AM
There are a lot of truckers in Illinois wasting money on lift axles IF what you say is true.
Dump trucks, bull racks, grain trucks, quite a few heavy haul loads are divisible, but don't get split because they can get axled out fine.
In other words, you are wrong.
But carry on.
No sled's from Illinois get used for unlimited or super semi on the GN or Champions tour circuits.
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Re: Unlimited mods, sleds, and DOT weight August 25, 2019 10:50AM
I didn't say all extra axles in Illinois were wrong. I've got a 34' dump trailer that has to have a 3rd axle on it so it can haul 80K and be compliant with the bridge laws. That is why dump trucks have extra axles, because of the bridge law formula. Which of those "dump trucks, bull racks, grain trucks" are hauling more than 80K in Illinois because they have an extra axle? None of them, they're probably from another state just happen to be going through Illinois. And yes, I know about the 88K harvest permit for grain trucks, that's not the issue we're discussing.

What about those sleds from Iowa? How are they going to get to the big show in Bowling Green without going through Illinois? Going clear through the Michigan UP or down to Kentucky seems like a lot of trouble for carrying a few extra weights.
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