Michigan gravel trains (2024)

On a recent trip to Michigan I was impressed with seeing many gravel trains , and walking floor trailers with different Axle combinations it makes sense to spread the load with more axles to prevent road damage but I did also see plenty of bad roads

The winter plays a big role in road damage in Northern states. Michigan road trains have a gvw of 82 tons. That's alot of tires.

It makes very little sense….

6-7 axles hauling up to 120K gross is plenty

If my mental math is right, 82 tons = 164k, which is a bit much for only 6 or 7 axles. 10 axles sounds better to me.

Sticks too, I've seen some pretty big lumber loads. I was always impressed by those, that's a lot of tires to kick. I asked one driver what kind of motor pulls those loads, expecting a 800 Cummins, but he said they ran 3406Bs, about 450 HP. If I had stayed in N.Wis. I probably would have done something like that. Can't beat the scenery.What really amazes me, is those stick haulers out west. They have balls that clank,,,
They used to have those dump trucks trains at the Empire mine near Ishpeming, now closed, I think. They ran ore from that mine, that is gargantuan, to Marquette, about 15 miles. Those guys wore a groove in the road, for sho'.

That’s my point you don’t need to be hauling that kind of weight (no matter how many axles) unless your in the Australian outback. Or heavy hauling permit loads.

130K gross on every day bulk commodities and freight is plenty….

Think about the wear and tare on the road while cornering 12 axles.

our heavy-weight regs come from the automotive days when they would haul steel from one plant to another, it just stayed on when the trains started to appear in the late 60s.

People here blame the trucks but the truth is that once MDOT allowed counties and even cities to choose the road specs in a regional sense, the roads went to crap.

MDOT blames it on the sandy soil. Yet at the state line it smooths out in Ohio. Must be better sand.

Ohio dont have much better roads, butt f@$< MDOT.

Studded snow tires did more damage to Wisconsin roads than all the trucks put together. There is some merit to the fact trucks do damage roads. Look in the case where trucks are relegated to the right lane. Lot rougher than the left lane.

Most common up in Michigan is 11 in total 4 of those lead and pup lift when Empty