I agree with the first person, put 5000lbs in nose and 10000 in back, that should counter balance your wait in the nose and then split your centers.also if they are feeders you can gate the centers, that way the shrink will not be so bad and also they will have plenty of room to ride. Good luck.

well i have a question tandum axle 50 ft trl what is the factor i use to load the trl its been about 3 yrs since i have haul a load of sqealers

iam not sure how to load pigs but i would try to load them head first  and go from there you'll  find that will be good place to start

Yes, head first is the best place to start.  If you aint got a deck in there basically cram em in anywhere theres room.  I can usually get 185 on a 48 wilson.  Approx 20 in both noses, 30 in center holes, 8 in doghouse, and 18 on tail.  May want to ask if they are feeding paylean....if so back off a bit or you'll be draggin deads and cripples.

Its better to ask if you don't know we all had to start somewhere, but you already have the experience so don't second guess yourself if you have been loading a tandem for 10 years or so i'm sure you know how to load your weight accourding to the square feet inside your trailer so figure it the same way thats how i learned and it worked for me good luck.

if you want to know who the smart a** was it was brian with prime time express. hey brian why don't you quit being stupid and just stick to finding loads for the hard working bullhaulers out here. and raise your rates cause your a cut rate dispatcher...........................................

You know what Mr. you dont know me and you apparently dont read very well either because my only point was that, that driver would rather make a smart ass negative comment instead of being helpful and telling the guy how to load his trailer...if he didnt wanna help then he could have kept his mouth shut...so anyway i dont know what to tell you i just gave my 2 cents and i guess you got out of it what you got...but no sir im not a steering wheel holder chasing a sweet ride...I care about money and getting home and working for someone who gives a shit about me. The fact is I know who I am and i know what kind of driver I am and i dont know what the hell Im doing wasting my time debating with an idiot like you! Have a good one cowboy

hey truck driver from AZ that wants to haul cattle. the guy from MN was telling you trying to be nice in telling you that it is mainly owner operators who have nice trucks and trailers that haul cattle and they have worked their butt's off to finally afford the nice ride that they have  so don't get all up in his sh** or any one else's when you haven't taken his comment for what it meant. and as far as the proud bullhaulers that you think are to good to talk to you on the radio or walk around the truck stop with there nose in the air, the reason why is because they run on their own channel so they don't have to listen to guys like you talk about things that don't make sense, and they walk around the truck stop with their nose in the air because the cafe food sure smells better that the micro gut bomb they have been cooking for the past three days while running on little to no sleep  so why don't you stay a driver until you grow up and then maybe you will become and o/o........................................ 

Wow another guy that cant read ... if you would read his comment you would see that he was making me out to be someone who is in it (trucking) just for the truck i drive saying that he would be leary of hiring someone who was just worried about the big pipes and bumper so you tell me how i was supposed to take it...the fact is that i guess what i posted is being taken wrong...I respect bullhaulers and even though bull haulers arent the only ones who run their asses off I know that you guys run long hours with little sleep and I understand that when you get that load on that the majority of the time you gotta get it there and you gotta get it there now no excuses...the only problem is you and that other guy are posting things that make it sound like Im shit talking bull haulers and Im not...I really dont know what else to say I mean i could have a big dick contest with you all day about whose done this and whose done that but there is no point in it because I watched my father haul livestock for years and i know what comes with the job so you can take me for some young driver that doesnt know shit if ya want but thats not the case...I get out here and hustle all day every day just like any other driver trying to make a living...I think anyone with half of a brain could see that i was pretty much defending bull haulers all the way talking about how alot of drivers out there envy you guys no matter howm much they do or dont know about the business and the point i was trying to make is that some piece of crap like the driver who didnt wanna tell the guy who started this thread how to load his trailer makes yall(or all drivers for that matter) look bad... I guess next time ill just say "hey dude your a prick" and leave it at that but i didnt think what i wrote was going to be taken the way it was...It was a total misunderstanding and I wasnt trying to ruffle anyones feathers(including yours) except for the bad attitude driver that would rather try and make a guy feel about 2 feet tall instead of helping him with info on how to load his truck...thats it end of story you can reply if you want but i wont so dont waste your time i guess you can take my explaination or leave it...have a good day

the 24 year old peewee from AZ you will never make it in the bull haulers world because you write to many long letters on the internet which tells me you are a bullshitter who would never get a load to its destination on time. you should quit trucking all together. goodbye you dork.

Most of the BIG FEELING BULLHAULERS are the kind that wear cowboy hats and wranglers and boots and are barley shaving.  If you listen to them long enough you will see that they are ex-freight haulers or they hauled frozen chickens!!!!  These guys always dreamed of pulling a cow wagon just so they can say they did it.  If you don't believe me just sit and listen to them.  They have many stories.  They think that once they become a so-called cow hauler, you always need to speed, find drugs, and get tickets....THEN YOU ARE A COW HAULER!!!  Well I'm not in this catagory nor do I ever want to be.  You will find in a real cow hauler, they don't brag, they are always willing to help and they are consistant on every load, therefore the real cow hauler will be asked for over and over.  That is how you become a REAL GOOD COW HAULER, and get the good loads.  Just ignore the idiots, and do your job.  By the way, it was a girl that posted this and it just goes to show how immature all the guys are out here, just read about them!!!    Oh, did you guys know there is a spell check option you can use?  You should use it if you want to be understood.  I know you will have fun with this one.

Peewee? well you really got me figured out don't you...I could sit her all day and tell you how wrong you are but it would be just about as pointless as fighting with a guy on the radio...It's always funny how you older guys like to pick on the young guys as if you were born knowing how do this shit! We youngsters are damned if we do and damned if we don't because if we screw something up we catch twice the shit as a "VET" such as yourself would..and not toot my own horn but if we do a good job day in and day out like I do without tearing up equipment we're still screwed because we aren't supposed to be good yet and then guys like you get jealous I guess I'm not sure what to call it but it sure is strange... In all honesty I have nothing but respect for all you older guys out there that are still hitting it hard every day but yall should try to be a little more original when you feel like bitching about something instead of taking the retard route and making an easy target out of a young driver like myself because I may not have been born knowing how to truck like a big strapper such as your self..but i was damn sure born to do it and nothing you say is going to change that...so one of these days 10 20 maybe even 30 years from now I will be sure to lay on the horn when i drive by you sitting on your porch in your rocking chair bragging about things you never did and ill do it just to let you know I'm still here...hope this wasn't to long of a letter for you but i do think its interesting that you criticize me having the time to write them when you yourself apparently have the time to read them...And did you really call me a dork? are you sure your not the young one here?

Im trying to break into the world of hauling cattle...Im a damn good driver and even though i have never hauled cattle myself my dad has and I picked up quite a bit about it from him and it seems like an awesome job especialy if you like long hours and makin' money and I do! Bull wagons in my opinion are usualy the envy of the road man cuz most of the trucks are long and low and stretched out and haulin' ASS somewhere..I am 24 years old and since istarted driving 4  years ago  I have been lucky enough to be driving nothing but nice petes... hell an 05 pete was my VERY first truck it had the tall stacks a big bumper and lots of chrome..and every truck I have driven since has been just as nice or nicer...What Im getting at is even though I have been in good quality good lookin' trucks so far they havent been "bull wagon nice" thats just something you cant touch ya know something that you dont see unless its pulling a bullwagon...I guess what my point is, is that I have all this envy for the guys haulin' ass ( and yes I know thats not what its all about) in the bad ass trucks and i think to myself there is nothing else i would rather do...but then I wonder "why does everyone think these guys are such assholes?" I mean yeah it's pretty hard to get ahold of a cattle hauler on the radio most of the time and I've seen a few cattle haulers at the truck stop that walk around with their nose in the air like their better then me and everyone else but are they really all cocky pricks? I think the answer is NO! but I think know-it-alls like the fellar who was to good to offer up some info but instead dished out a bunch of negative horseshit to a fellow driver who just wanted to know how to load his trailer is the reason why people have this opinion...Let me say for the record that I have run into plenty of cattle haulers and for the most part they were all great...they were the same as any other driver they just might have had som better stories lol...I just hope that Mr. Negative will stop to think before he opens his mouth because Im sure that this website isnt the only place that he represents the Cattle hauling industry in such a poor manner...and In case you all havent figured it out Im not trying to offend anyone...I guess this is just a very long way to let someone know i think he is a prick! thx for reading if you made it this far

Those big fancy cow trucks are owner operators who pride themselves on good equipment. I dont know of very many hired drivers driving trucks like that. I would be very leary hiring a driver that is worried about big pipes and bumpers. Just my 2 cents.

The people that didn't answer with a smart ass answer are all fairly correct.  The thing that no one commented on is:  You need to take into consideration where your fifth wheel is set and placed on your truck, which will determine how much you can put in your nose.  The way my truck is set up I can put 5600lbs in my nose and be legal, but other guys i work with can only put 3000-4000 in there nose to be legal.  Since you've pulled a livestock trailer before you should have a good idea what you need in the nose weight wise.  They are 100% correct about the 10,000lbs in the back.  As for the cuts, not all the trailers are set up the same.  If your center gates are not in the middle then the cuts will not be the same.  If they are in the middle then you will have 5 cuts the same exact size.  I own and pull a 53' spread, I have pulled all other various sizes and brands of cattle pots, that is what I go by all the time when loading.

 Thanks alot......I'm sure that will help out.   Could never get enough weight on the drives but will definetly take your advise.  Thanks a million.

I Hauled my first load of cattle in 1977 for Cactus Hill Ranch, Ft Collins CO. I did not know a bull from a cow but needed a job and told the dispatcher I could do the job. He sent me to Mobridge MT. with a cabover freightliner and 48 ft Wilson inside slat  trailer. When I found the road where the pens were there were 4 cowboys on horses waiting for me. I got out of the truck and told one of them that this was my first time hauling cows. He looked at me and said, "get in the trailer and close the gates when I tell you". After closing the tail gate he came over and said, "thank you for telling me you were green, It saved us a lot of time". I have never pulled a spread cow trailer and would not know how to load it right, I can load a 50 ft  tandem with any kind of stock and have helped many drivers load theirs. After reading all the replies maybe I could load a spread now. Thank you.    Ron, Jewell Kansas

Hello,

I'm 25 and a owner/ operator.  I've always wanted and old 359 two tone white and tan all tricked out so you and I definetly have some things in common.  However,  I own a 89 379 short hood (3406B) and the paint isnt that great, but she leaks no oil and starts every time and prefers 63mph over 70.  I own a 78 model barrett slat side with all new running gear and tires. Its not much...but its mine!  My two cents is this...take it easy, these guys were our age once too.  They have paid their dues-we haven't!!! It doesn't matter how much you know, they have forgotten more.  Just keep that in mind next time you want to get "stirred up" over them stepping on your pride.  It hurts- I've had mine stepped on more than once.  Get you a cattle truck, take your hat off your head, hold it in your hand, work hard, and say please, thank you, and YES SIR.  You do that and you'll be fine. 

By the way: I'm going to get my 53' spread next week.  It's all paying off!!! Gentlemen thank you for all your help and support.  We'll see you at the chute.

Arizona-Go get 'em! Just remember it takes time. Start with what you can afford and you'll make $. THEN, you'll get what you want.

Off the topic here sorta, but I have grown up in the cattle trucking industry. My father has hauled cattle for over 33 years. I haul cattle also now ever since I came home from Iraq. I learned on a 50 and 53' closed tandem, my father has never pulled a spread either. When I got hired on an outfit with a 53' spread, me and my father were lost. Your not dumb cause you are not 100% on how to shift em and fill the extra space.

Also, I rarely ever speed, and when I do its 1-2 over. And yet I am never late. I NEVER take drugs, and I don't brag about all the stupid shit that these new age "cow truckers" do. I grew up around all of the old school bull haulers, learned it from good people. I hate running into people who decided that they wanted to haul cattle and feel they gotta look and act the part. I have always been told, your born into it or you know someone, also it doesn't matter if you can drive a truck, you can be taught to drive a truck, but you gotta know cattle. Now a days all ya gotta do is go work for Swift or Schneider, get a CDL, drive for a bit then put in an application at a bull hauling outfit.

But I am sure that some whiner will find something on my post to bitch about, since they got too much time on their hands.

 You know I was just reading threw the discussion board and seen this comment! This board, I just started looking at and addressing so I need to apologize and to clarify, there are two offices for Prime Time and the other person that uses this board will not sign off as Brian at Prime Time. I do. I use to drive, for 16 yrs. to be exact, and in that time I did tanker, grain bucket, detach, skate board, step deck and Bull wagon and the reason that I stayed in the Bull Hauling part of it is because of the people! Bull Haulers take care of Bull Haulers!!!!!! I don't care if you are a newby or not. Everyone needs to start new at some point and everyone needs help! The day you start knowing everything is the day you need to get out of it. The peson that posted this just forgot that. He is a good person, he just forgot himself and how he started, and misspoke. So my deepest apologies to the original poster, there was no reason for a comment like that and I will address it and take care of it. Again I am sorry! If you have any questions or need an apology in person feel free to call me anytime. Brian at Prime Time (605)-223-9297

I'm in the same boat as the original poster.  My truck has four axles and my new trailer is a quad-axle; I used to have a tri-axle trailer.  I have no idea how to load a spread axle or even a tandem trailer.  If someone rolled up in a tandem truck/tandem trailer, I wouldn't have a clue how to load them.  But drive up in a quad/quad or quad/tri and I'd know exactly how to spit up the cattle. :)

For what it's worth, though, I load my friend's truck (tandem truck/tri-axle trailer) with 55,000lbs and cannot put over 4000 lbs in the nose or he'll be overweight on his drives.  But if you're only loading 50,000lbs then maybe you can get away with 5000 in the nose like some other guy said.

Thank you ma'am its one thing to be called a dumb truck driver but the way these boys spell do we really need to remove all doubt. Hahaha. Im twenty two years old born into this buissness and if i had to drive an old cabover binder everyday i would cause i do what i love and love what i do.