Any Problem With Using A Tandem Semi Trailer With One Axle Cut Off?

I am very new to trucking, and am only getting interested in it because I am 6 years into running a start-up business of partnering with farmers in my region to grow, transport, process, and market food-grade beans and grains. Right now, we are in a processing facility that we are starting to bust at the seams. The primary space usage is for storage of one-ton tote bags of the crop, while it awaits processing, so to ease that pressure while we make plans for a larger facility, we have elected to buy a reefer trailer whose reefer unit is defunct, because the insulation should allow us to store the crop outside in all kinds of weather, without threatening moisture from temperature changes. I found a man selling such a truck (48' X 102" Great Dane/Timpte SuperSeal) for $6,000. It all looked good when I went to look at it today, except that he has chopped off the front of the two axles to put under another trailer. He says it's no big deal- "Now it's a single-axle trailer", but I wonder if it is really that simple.

The truth is this trailer will be sitting outside our mill for the next few years (he is furnishing its transport to my location, about 75 miles one-way, included in the price), storing as many one ton pallets as I need to/can store in it (they fit two across, on standard pallets, so maybe 45k lbs at the most), and then the only transport would be A.trying to sell it, or B.transporting it across the county to our next facility, in which case it would be nice to use it to haul our inventory and equipment.

Any concern here? Balance? Total strength? How much of the concern is legal issues related to regulation of psi/damage to roads, as opposed to structural strength and functionality as a storage trailer and/or as a short-haul transport?

Finally, while my understanding is that this is a good price for this unit, should the missing axle make it significantly less valuable?

Thanks in advance for any help. I have to make this decision in the next couple of days, as the harvest is ready to ship from the farms.

You can get a better deal with both axles. $6k is a lot of money for a trailer missing an axle.

You can get a better deal with both axles. $6k is a lot of money for a trailer missing an axle.

Thanks, Pat M. I have had trouble finding one. The only other one I found is a 48' by 96", which I am not sure would fit two tote bags across, for $6300 delivered. It's possible I am not looking in the right places. Do you think this trailer is safe, if I am able to talk him down because of the missing axle? If so, what do you think it's worth?

You could always block it up like a mobile home. but yeah the tires will not hold the same weight as tandem axles. What would happen if a tire blew while the forklift was inside the trailer? those are the kinds of things to think about.

You could always block it up like a mobile home. but yeah the tires will not hold the same weight as tandem axles. What would happen if a tire blew while the forklift was inside the trailer? those are the kinds of things to think about.

No forklift in the trailer, at least not in our current set up. We do not have a dock, so I would be keeping a manual pallet jack in there, and loading/unloading via forklift on the ground.

How would I figure out how much weight is safe inside? And what is the difference between what is safe to store stationary, vs. what is legal because of the wear on the roads due to higher PSI of four wheels instead of eight?

Check the ratings on the tires. You could go something like 24-30k but that also includes the weight of the trailer.

it would be nice to use it to haul our inventory and equipment.

-Brandon J

No amount of savings can make up for the lack of safety with this single axle trailer. Don't use it to haul.

...The only other one I found is a 48' by 96", which I am not sure would fit two tote bags across, ...

Brandon J.

For the added $300, you get dual axles, safety, and a lot less brain damage. The totes most likely will not fit 2-across, however, with the large amount of weight that comes with a full tote, depending on the contents, you probably wouldn't want to load them side-by-side anyway. They'd be better off loaded in either a staggered pattern, single file down the center, or a combination thereof. If this forces you to make two trips rather than one across town - so be it. At least you did it safely. Accidents and injuries will multiply your time and expenses immeasurably anyway.

Also, go to Brett's online classes here on this site that teach you everything you need to know about loading and secure-ment in the High Road Training Program

Good Luck with everything.

-mountain girl

No amount of savings can make up for the lack of safety with this single axle trailer. Don't use it to haul.

For the added $300, you get dual axles, safety, and a lot less brain damage. The totes most likely will not fit 2-across, however, with the large amount of weight that comes with a full tote, depending on the contents, you probably wouldn't want to load them side-by-side anyway. They'd be better off loaded in either a staggered pattern, single file down the center, or a combination thereof. If this forces you to make two trips rather than one across town - so be it. At least you did it safely. Accidents and injuries will multiply your time and expenses immeasurably anyway.

Thank you, Mountain Girl, and everybody else. I think I will check out the training course, so I am on the up and up, but first I have to resolve this storage issue we have. So, to review, three main questions:

1. It seems clear that the single axle reduces the trailer's safe hauling weight. It would be nice to know what that safe weight now is. Stuff I've seen online says 17,000lbs per axle (at least that's the legal). Does that apply here? If so, would that be multiplied also by the tractor axle(s), or just the one trailer axle?

2. But since we are really using this as a storage trailer, with hauling only as a secondary convenience feature a few years down the road, I am trying to understand the implications of a missing axle on this stationary storage application, with no forklift inside. Wouldn't that be considerably more than the safe hauling weight? Pat M. says I should see what the tires say about max load. Is that a good guideline for safe stationary storage, or is there a considerable buffer between what is safe/recommended for the road and what is safe for stationary storage?

He also says I could block it up, to make up for the missing axle. Can I simply add 17,000lbs per cinder block "axle" added?

3. Finally, it seems clear that this trailer is not worth $6,000, because it is not really a whole trailer. Assuming answers to the above two questions indicate that I can make it work as a storage trailer by blocking it up and then minimizing the weight I have in it when it comes time to move it, does anybody have any thoughts about what price range I should be trying to talk him down to?

Thanks again. I don't want to be unsafe, but I also don't want to spend more than I have to, considering this is really just a storage trailer.

Have you thought of buying a 40' container?

This is just my opinion, but if all you need it for is storage, then yes, $6k seems a lot. I would not transport anything with that on public roads. Any mechanical failure could have disasterous consequences.

Try him for $4k, delivered.