Date:         Thu, 11 Nov 1999 18:02:01 -0500
Reply-To:     LAWS HOME <backintime@TRITON.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         LAWS HOME <backintime@TRITON.NET>
Subject:      Re: Good 'ol I-40
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Did I hear someone dissin' big trucks? *The highway is so abused by heavy
trucking that the slabs are now bowed in the
middle, exagerating the contact point at every expansion*
While it is true the interstates  are in bad shape I must admit we have much
heavier trucks up here in Mi. Not that our roads are any better, ( probably
not) , However it's not always the trucks that cause the trouble with the
roads. In fact if you take the gross vehicle weight of a Michigan train
160,000 and divide it by the square inches in rubber that contacts the
ground on a truck designed to carry this weight (11 axles, 10 wich have 4
tires each and the front 2 which have a pair of oversize 14" wide tires )
Given these figures and just assuming that only one inch of the tires hits
the ground for the entire width ,( this is not true MORE than an ich of the
tires hit the ground, this is just to show my point) then you will have a
tractor pulling two trailers and only putting 341.88 psi. on the road
surface! Now , don't get me wrong I'm not trying to start trouble , but we
really don't have much to say about the 'damage done" by the rigs because we
are not the reason the interstates were built. WE as motorists should feel
fortunate that we are even allowed to use them. The fact of the matter is
they (interstates) were built for interstate commerce and military movement,
period. They were never supposed to be there for the general public, it's
just a priveledge! BTW trust me, those expansion joints will jolt you just
as bad in a rig! Tom:~)