As the title suggests, what is the weight of an average 40ft trailer fully loaded and empty.
cheers,
Jon.
Concept asked,
what is the weight of an average 40ft trailer fully loaded and empty
Theres a lot of answers to that question Concept as there are many factors to the wts,
The 40ft trailer is now obsolete, the modern 33 europallet trls are 13.5 mts, in feet i am not sure 44ft maybe■■?.
The number of axles eg 5 or 6 axles
The gross plated weight of the vehicle eg 40 or 44 ton
So i will give you the wts for the truck i am driving now which is a 3 axle fridge trailer pulled by a 3 axle unit my tare wt is 18500kg full of fuel and my gross wt is 44000 kg in the uk which means i have a payload of 25500 kgs.
Hope this helps you a bit as i said there are many combinations.
It is hard to answer your question with exact numbers.
I saw yesterday a new milk tanker which weighs just 5 tons. Together with an average unit this gave a payload of about 31.5 tons of milk.
My trailer is a sturdy built thing with 4 adjustable decks, weighing a ton each. That brings the weight of my empty trailer up to 10 tons.
Usually, I am guessing they are anything between 5 and 10 tons.
I would think an average, modern, 45ft curtainsider would weigh in at around the 6 tons mark. Probably with about a 30 ton payload (assuming the plated weight of truck and trailer is 44tons).
So an average trailer, loaded on its own without a unit would be somewhere in the region of 36 tons. (Assuming it was loaded ready for a unit plated at 44tons to pick it up) If a 38 ton unit was picking it up, it would weigh about 30 tons loaded.
Nowadays though, you have to take into consideration the weight of the clamp, which must be around 50kg. So allow for an extra 50kg for when you get clamped at MSA’s and such. If you were bang on 44 tons and they clamp you, they will probably do you for being overweight at the same time. 
It is a little strange. If you look at the plate, it will have a kingpin weight on it. My newest tank had a pin weight of 14500 kgs, which when you add that to the 24000kg of axle tolerance, gives a gross weight of 38500kgs.
On my older tank, it was 11000 on the pin and 24000 on the axles, giving 35000kgs gross.
On the plate of the trailer will be the weights for the kingpin and for each axle. Add them up and you get the gross weight of the trailer.
Brewery wagons which are usually a light weight tractor (FM etc) and light weight curtain-side trailer are designed to take a 28 tonne load. Many could carry nearer 29t.
(Light = flimsy, bendy and knackered after about 5 years for the trailer)
I’ve been given (to drive) a Merc’ Megaspace 6x2, with a Schmidt Cargobull Euroliner trailer (curtain-sider with opening curtain type roof), on 3 air suspended axles. The whole rig weighs just over 15 tonnes empty.
I would say the trailer was roughly half of that weight.
Fully freighted the whole rig would be 44 tonnes, less the weight of my unit (7.5t?) makes the loaded trailer 36.5 tonnes. I would be able to load just under 29 tonnes, 28 to have a bit of lee-way, unless the load weight could be guaranteed.
Normaly, maximum length trailers are 13.6 to 13.7 metres long, which is 45 feet roughly.
A couple of examples of gas tankers:
2-axle propane tank trailer 12,000kgs empty +
3-axle tractor unit (rest cab) 7,000kgs = 19,000kgs empty
Load: 19,000 kgs propane = just under 38,000kgs gvw.
3-axle carbon dioxide tank trailer 13,500kgs empty +
2-axle tractor unit (day cab) 6,500kgs = 20,000kgs empty
Load: 20,000kgs carbon dioxide = just under 40,000kgs gvw.
dieseldave:
A couple of examples of gas tankers:2-axle propane tank trailer 12,000kgs empty +
3-axle tractor unit (rest cab) 7,000kgs = 19,000kgs empty
Load: 19,000 kgs propane = just under 38,000kgs gvw.3-axle carbon dioxide tank trailer 13,500kgs empty +
2-axle tractor unit (day cab) 6,500kgs = 20,000kgs empty
Load: 20,000kgs carbon dioxide = just under 40,000kgs gvw.
You will remember those red F10 from Trafford Park.
Hydrogen Supplies with the torpedos in a frame. The empty weight of those were almost 35000kg. When they were loaded they weighed the same 
Mainly used in the edible and food industry the drivers earnt fortunes and all they did was drop a trailer in position
Wheel Nut:
dieseldave:
A couple of examples of gas tankers:2-axle propane tank trailer 12,000kgs empty +
3-axle tractor unit (rest cab) 7,000kgs = 19,000kgs empty
Load: 19,000 kgs propane = just under 38,000kgs gvw.3-axle carbon dioxide tank trailer 13,500kgs empty +
2-axle tractor unit (day cab) 6,500kgs = 20,000kgs empty
Load: 20,000kgs carbon dioxide = just under 40,000kgs gvw.You will remember those red F10 from Trafford Park.
Hydrogen Supplies with the torpedos in a frame. The empty weight of those were almost 35000kg. When they were loaded they weighed the same
Mainly used in the edible and food industry the drivers earnt fortunes and all they did was drop a trailer in position
As hydrogen is lighter than air shouldn’t the trailer be lighter loaded??
(okay before anyone says I know it is compressed and heavier…)
TC
40 ft Skeletals are usually between 4 and 5 tonnes, dependant on whether they’re sliders or not.
An empty 20 ft container on that is just under 3 tonnes…a 40ft is around 3.5 (dependent on whether hi-cube or standard, palletwide, reefer etc etc)…a 45ft box is around 4 tonnes(again varies as above).
For Wheel Nut and The_Catman
That’s a very interesting point you’ve raised there gents.
Here’s some info from an ADR tanker course relating to tube trailers:
2-axle tractor unit (rest cab) 6,500kgs +
3-axle tube trailer 31,000kgs = 37,500kgs empty 
Load: 321kgs Hydrogen = 37,821kgs gvw
You need a vehicle of those dimensions to shift 321kgs of hydrogen
The hydrogen is at almost 3,000psi, so that’s why the tube walls are so thickly constructed and heavy 
This is a tube trailer:
The tubes are not designed to be removed from the trailer, so the whole thing counts as a tanker
On the ADR thought I saw some radioatives on the move last week down the A1. All artics with flats on with special tanks on the trailers not very big either. Mind you the convoy of trucks must of been at least a dozen from same firm. They all stopped at Markham Moor truck stop for dinner. Guess lunch cooked quick!
Imp:
On the ADR thought I saw some radioatives on the move last week down the A1. All artics with flats on with special tanks on the trailers not very big either. Mind you the convoy of trucks must of been at least a dozen from same firm. They all stopped at Markham Moor truck stop for dinner. Guess lunch cooked quick!
It wouldn’t take long to ‘nuke them up’, with all that radioactive stuff there, would it 
I’ll get my coat.
Imp:
On the ADR thought I saw some radioatives on the move last week down the A1. All artics with flats on with special tanks on the trailers not very big either. Mind you the convoy of trucks must of been at least a dozen from same firm. They all stopped at Markham Moor truck stop for dinner. Guess lunch cooked quick!
I think it is Barkers who pull the class 7.
I see them in France fairly often
I found the unladen weight of a Royal mail Double Decker. See pics, so you can guide from there. Normally the norm is a empty artic (unit+trailer) lorry weights no more then 20t. Witch leaves you with a 20t available payload. With 4t as a safe buffer. for a legal total of 44t.
Our tri-axle box trailers (insulated, but not refrigerated) with roller-shutter back doors have an unladen weight of 7480kg according to the markings applied by the manufacturers. I’m not sure if I believe that figure to be 100% accurate though as they claim exactly the same ULW for an identical trailer fitted with a tail-lift (which must itself weigh a few hundred kg).
Roymondo:
Our tri-axle box trailers (insulated, but not refrigerated) with roller-shutter back doors have an unladen weight of 7480kg according to the markings applied by the manufacturers. I’m not sure if I believe that figure to be 100% accurate though as they claim exactly the same ULW for an identical trailer fitted with a tail-lift (which must itself weigh a few hundred kg).
When we used to do a backhaul of flour out of Hovis Southampton it was always 26plts on a non tail lift curtain and only 24 on a tail lift curtain.