What trailer(s) can haul a 1911 45hp CASE steam engine? What trailer is best?

[thefrendlyghost]

Thanks, Beth.

As for an update: I'm now a Class A CDL holder; I'm currently employed by Schneider in their Van Truckload division. I may switch to Flatbed work at some point, but I'm leaning more towards doing Teams with a cousin.

As for the Chevy; I don't think it's likely to happen. I spoke with Dad, and he said he never did the title transfer on it, so it's still titled in the name of the previous owner in PA. (Said title was destroyed in our house fire in 2005.) I don't know if it's even possible to find the previous owner, or if he's still alive.

Schneider has a lot of Class A trucks for sale, so I might just buy one of them instead of trying to mess around with the Chevy.

If I can ever remember to do it all, I'll take pictures of the Chevy, and of the 45hp Case, then post the pictures here.

[uglyblue66]

I will be honest,I am glad to see a person take the time to ask questions about something they want to learn about so accidents are less prone to happen. It would be a shame to go out to try this without asking and risk damage.I refrain from essentially calling someone dumb for asking on something like this. better safe than sorry.

[thefrendlyghost]

Another update:

I'm now driving flatbed, so I'm getting used to strapping things down. Also, I finally remembered to take some pictures of both the Chevy truck and the steamer. It was after dark when I took pictures of the CASE, so please pardon the low quality.

[thefrendlyghost]

Photos attached

[thefrendlyghost]

More photos attached

[thefrendlyghost]

I think that's enough pictures for now. You can get a good idea of what I'm working with. The cylinder on the steamer is just about eye-level for me, as it's currently sitting. The '48 Chevy isn't actually a 5-ton, but an 8-ton? (16,000lbs is 8 tons; I assume that's gross weight, so 5.5 tons net load?

The Chevy *does* have hydraulic brakes. If those were repaired, that would be enough for the truck. I'd need independent brakes on the trailer.

The frame of the Chevy doesn't appear to be rotted; looks solid enough to repair/restore.

Decisions... to be decided when I have more in savings.

[FWurth]

Good to see your still thinking of fixing the engine. The old truck you have is the old Load Master series of Chevy farm truck, referred to as a 2 ton by them. The 16000 rating is referring to the max GVW rating that the vehicle is allowed by the builder. We had several here on the farm over the years for general hauling. Under no circumstances would I try to use one of those relics to make a long haul with a heavy load on todays highways! Every DOT official and State cop out there will nail your hide to their wall! Heck, they don't like new trucks on "their" road, I can only imagine how anal they would get on a 70 year old rig making a cross country move. That truck would be ok to play with at a local events etc., needs a lot of work though. You know that there are mobile mechanics that can do some of those steam repairs on site. The big question here is the over all condition of the boiler. If the boiler is poor, that will make a big change in how you go about the resurrection, big money to correct. From what your pictures show, I'm guessing that the boiler will need serious work.

[Tom Stockton]

If you do buy or borrow a used trailer, be sure the tires are rated to handle your gross load (engine + trailer), &
that the tires are newish, not elderly. These issues are behind some of the hauling troubles I've seen over the years.
I had a once had a problem of my tires throwing treads. After some research, I discovered that tires lose about 10%
capacity every year. I now buy new trailer tires on a schedule, rather than based on tread wear.
No more tread separation.
You can see when they were manufactured by looking for the date code.
(It's usually on the inboard side...in order to maximize the inconvenience)
Here's a guide....
https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/...-of-your-tires
More things which help tire capacity...
Slower speed
Proper inflation
Don't scrub sidewalls on curbs.

Btw, tread separation is exciting.
It rips apart fenders & anything else sticking out on the side of the trailer.
At night, I could see a shower of sparks from the steel belts.
During the day, I left a nasty trail of billowing smoke.
A friend had it happen to his motor home, & it ripped all that flimsy structure to shreds.
What fun, eh.

[David Hoover]

I’d suggest spending your money on the engine. If the hand hole covers have been in all that time and if it’s full of scale you may need a boiler. If you spent $10,000 on the chev you’ll have a $5000 truck that you still can’t haul the Case with. If you tried it and got caught the fines would be worth more than the engine and you might get your license cut up on the spot. Nice looking engine, hope you get it going someday.

[Jerry Christiansen]

Friendly Ghost,

I agree with you that pulling your steam engine behind the old Chevy would be a hoot and would be a great display. However, I also agree with all the points about not doing that.

I have seen some conversions where an old body is transplanted onto a current chassis. I am not talking about some of the rat rods I have seen. A couple conversions around here look authentic until you open the hood or look underneath. One is a 49 Chevy panel wagon mounted on a Dodge Dakota frame.

A big trick with doing that is finding a wheel base that fits under the old body with an engine that fits inside the old engine compartment. It is not a job for the faint of heart, and in some cases it requires a pretty good check book.

I hope you have good luck getting the steam engine running.

Later,
Jerry Christiansen