clearing snow.

my 80 year old neighbor cleared a road for the B train. time to haul grain.

The right equipment and the skill to use it, PRICELESS

B train = NYC subway train? (LOL) B train is not a term used in the Midwest.

What is a B train?

Comes right before the C train! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Guess its a Canadian thing. The front trailer has the axles sticking out the back with a 5 wheel hitch. Then you hook the second trailer on to it to Pull 2 trailers. Get u a pic on Monday.

Australia has them also, a 2 trailer semi.

In the USA they use some short versions on the interstates, mail and UPS and Fedex I see a lot.

Individual states have different rules on those big setups so they are not common on general roads.

Im surprised you use them in Canada in winter. Modern braking systems can deal with a lot, but controlling all those axles and pivot points on a slippery winter road can be something.....

Paul

(quoted from post at 12:21:08 01/14/23) Guess its a Canadian thing. The front trailer has the axles sticking out the back with a 5 wheel hitch. Then you hook the second trailer on to it to Pull 2 trailers. Get u a pic on Monday.

Click to expand...

Like this one that hauled for me a while back? They also talk about "super Bs'

Yes thats the thing. Johnny says I hear the train a
comin

An A train is what you commonly see in the US and Australia.
The hitching point for the second trailer is an A shaped dolly that comes off the back of the front trailer.
The A shape gives it a single hitch point to the front trailer.
The only difference between the US and Australia is the US limits the trailer size to 28 feet in most states and only 2 trailers.

On a B train the rear axles of the front trailer and the hitch point of the rear trailer are on one frame.
While legal a couple of things make them unpractical in the US.
Bridge weight laws and most that pull doubles in the US use box trailers.
Kind of hard to get a box trailer to a dock with the front trailer of a B train.
Sysco experimented with a B train that the axels slide under the front trailer.
Does not work well with the 28 foot trailer length in the US so only practical in Mich and Wa that allows longer trailers.
Canada uses B trains a lot because it reduces a pivot point of the A train.

Then there is the C train.
It uses a dolly like the A train but has 2 connection points to the front trailer behind each frame rail.
This makes the dolly ridged to the front trailer about like a B train.
It gives the axle spread you need for US bridge laws and eliminates the problem getting the front trailer of a B train to the dock while eliminating a pivot point so on paper it was a good idea.
But it is very hard to hook up because of the dual hook points and wears tires badly from dragging the extra tire spread around turns so no one uses them.

No, Paul. What you see UPS, FedEx, etc pulling are referred to as A trains, where there is a converter dolly attached to the rear of the front trailer that converts the rear trailer into a wagon with a pivoting front axle (same as early farm wagons). B trains, the rear undercarriage of the front trailer extends out beyond the body enough to mount a 5th wheel on that the rear trailer attaches to. The setup results in one less pivot point and much greater stability than an A train.

I will add Australia uses a lot of B train trailers also.

Here in MI they have both A trains and B trains A trains turn on the dolly and B trains have the fifth wheel for the pup on the front trailer with axles under it. Both can legally with 11 axles haul 160,000 on them. Some with the right axle set ups can do a bit more legally. During harvest I'm sure they get closer to 200,000 on them at times. We had some guys hauling for us that could put on legally 1800 bu. What can you put on them there in CA. I know there are different rules for adjustable tongues and fixed length tongues on them. I got that information from a few guys out west talking about length and tongue length in some states like OR,WA,MT,ID,WY,ND,SD and more southwest of there. The one shown is a B train.

The fun part is watching them back up a set of A trains with the pin locked to keep the dolly from turning. They have about a 3 inch pin that locks the dolly to the pup trailer frame with an air diaphragm so it stays straight then the only pivot is the pin pulling the pup. They can be backed a long ways like that. You can back an A train without locking the dolly with a lot of care and work. I've done it a few times a long time ago. Would need to practice to do it now days. Been 20or30 years since I pulled a set of doubles in SD on Wheat harvest.

while i am not a truck driver but last year the guy that came her to load up could not back up at all . i told him just drive around and come under the auger again. he said its ok i will get it. i timed him and he spent over 1/2 an hr going ahead and back till he got the trailer in position. i make the road very easy for them ,... just drive around the bins and come in again. then he said i am not a truck driver i am just filling in. wow. as the saying goes good help is hard to find.lol.

I do not know what kind of setup you have been around but I have been pulling A train IE double 28 foot trailers for 35 years and have never seen a setup where the pin can be unlocked and move the trailer.

I assume you are talking about the pin in the pintle hook.
It comes out the front of the trailer pintle hook section and holds tight against the circle part of the pintle hook on the dolly.
This pin is supplied air and activated when you release the brakes on the trailer.
No turning it off or on at will. Brakes released activated brakes locked not activated.

While the pin holds tight it has nothing to do with backing or going forward.
It is there to take up slack and keep the hitch point from moving around as you brake and take off.
In other words it prevents slapping or jolting on the hitch point.

So with the trailer moving the pin is always out.
It does created some resistance where the rear trailer will mostly turn on the 5th wheel it does not prevent the dolly from pivoting on the front trailer especially while backing up.

The trailer set up in that picture is a set of super B grain trailers. Straight B trailers are only tandem axle in the middle not triple axle. Just allows you to haul more weight
all together. As told to me by a custom grain hauler.

Thanks, guys, for explaining this stuff. I had never heard that terminology before, and was just being a smart a$$ in my earlier comment. My apologies!