Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Mark N.
I am not certain of my numbers when I visited the Cat scales recently. I want to make sure I am getting meaningful numbers that actually show my proper weights. Can someone please tell me the correct procedure for figuring how much weight is sitting on each of my axles?
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This was posted by a long time MOC member which I copied into a phone note for myself. I found it to be very helpful to better clarify the towing weight issue. Sorry, I didn't get his name.
"There are two things you can look up easily:
1) GVWR of your truck (drivers side door panel)
2) GVWR of your trailer (sticker on the trailer somewhere)
Steps to finding what else you need/want to know.
A) Load your truck with everything you will be likely to carry when heading out, also full of fuel and passengers, now weigh the truck alone. Weigh each axle individually so you will know later how much weight from the pin goes on the front/rear axles.(information only) The total of the axle weights = the total weight of truck.
B) Load your trailer with everything you will likely carry in it and haul it to the scale, while hooked up, weigh truck front axle, then weigh truck rear axle, finally weigh the trailer axle.
When you subtract the two truck axle weights obtained in (A) from the two truck axle weights obtained in (B) you will have your pin weight. You can compare the front/rear axle weights to know how much weight was added to each axle (information only).
Now if you add the now known pin weight to the axle weight of the trailer obtained in (B) you will have the total weight of the trailer.
Hooked up weights of truck front axle + truck rear axle + trailer axle = the total combined weight of the two vehicles.
Don't worry about front/rear GAWR of the truck as together they will exceed the GVWR of the truck anyway.
Now that you know how much your truck weighs including the pin weight you can compare that to it's GVWR.
Now that you know how much the trailer weighs pin+axle you can compare that to it's GVWR.
That is it, and all you really need to know. Are you over or under the listed capacities.
Knowing the "actual" weight (pin + axle) of the trailer is important, you can now calculate how much weight your tires are carrying and what tires will give you a safety margin and how much. All good stuff easily obtained by following the above steps first."