High Road Training Program

I am on the Weight and Balance section of the High Road Training Program. Just had a quick question about the Fuel weights. I am curious if there is or if anyone has an info. Sheet made up regarding the fuel weight formula?? Or should I just create my own with the formulas Brett has given in the Training Programm? Thanks, I appreciate it. Mark

Create your own with his formulas.

I usually weigh a gallon of fuel at 10lbs. So If I can handle only 500 more pounds of weight I would only fuel 50 gallons at the most. Even then I would fuel even less just to leave some room so im not completely maxed out. It's better to be 11920 then 11980. always leave some room. You always want to round up not down. So if the actual weight of one gallon is 7 pounds you would round it up to 10.

I'm pretty sure Brett covered what I just said somewhere in the course.

I am on the Weight and Balance section of the High Road Training Program. Just had a quick question about the Fuel weights. I am curious if there is or if anyone has an info. Sheet made up regarding the fuel weight formula?? Or should I just create my own with the formulas Brett has given in the Training Programm? Thanks, I appreciate it. Mark

Brett gives you the formula to use in that module. Follow it, memorize, write it down if you want to, but seriously, he gives you the formula to figure weight (between 7.2 and 7.5 lbs/ gal - round up to 8). He tells you how to figure what percentage of that weight goes to which axle, and he even tells you the formula to figure how much weight you will burn off before crossing a state line that might have different weight ratios.

So, no need to make it harder, just follow the formula he gives you. No brainer

Hey Mark. I never made any type of sheets for that. I had considered making a mobile app for that so you could plug in a couple numbers quick and figure out how far to slide your tandems or how much fuel you can put in - things like that.

But I would just write down the formulas. I should go through that section and create a printable study sheet for it, eh?

Brett maybe I am missing something here but what's wrong with grabbing a calculator or pen and paper and doing a fast 15 second equation?

Subtract 80000 lbs from current weight and you have how much weight you have to work with. Depending on the axle position subtract the max weight from you current weight to see how much fuel in gallons you need without going over gross for that tire position.

Its really easy and takes less than 15 seconds to figure it out. Now I understand that people being new are freaking out about remembering another thing but really its not that hard if you understand simple math. Its something they will learn the first or second day with their trainer.

Brett maybe I am missing something here but what's wrong with grabbing a calculator or pen and paper and doing a fast 15 second equation?

Well the scenarios I was thinking about regarding a mobile app were:

1) Calculating the amount of fuel you can take on based upon your current axle weights

2) Figuring out how many holes to slide the tandems based upon your current axle weights and the hole spacing on the trailer

The second one is obviously much simpler to figure out with a calculator. But the fuel you can take on can be more tricky depending on the percentage of fuel weight that gets distributed to your steer tires, which is dependent upon the placement of your tanks and the wheelbase of the tractor.

One nice thing the app could do would be to help you determine what the fuel weight distribution is. You could weigh your truck, take on some fuel, and then re-weigh it. Punch in your axle weights before fueling, your axle weights after fueling, and the amount of fuel you took on. That would tell you what percentage of the fuel weight went to your steer axle versus your drives and then it would be easy to calculate how much fuel you can take on in the future. The app would already know your percentages.

Some people are completely freaked out by math. So basically the mobile app would be a calculator that already knows the formulas to calculate. You just need to put in the numbers it's looking for.

Thanks again for all the tips Guys, I appreciate it. Brett you lay out the formula in a way to learn it quite easily so Thanks for that. An app like you're talking would definitely be helpful, I will start with creating my own little cheats/tips on some index cards. Thanks again guys. Mark

Great idea, as I am terrible at math. basic math yes I can do but once it comes to algebraic questions I immediately am lost, this divided by that times the other = I am lost!

Brett, I love the idea of a app.

Don't get me wrong, I am not afraid math. Matter of fact, I am not too bad with it. But as it says many time on TT. Save any time you can. If a driver had an app and all it would take is entering a couple of numbers and you are done. Lots easier and faster than trying to do that in your head.

Especially if you are already tired and wanting to hit the sack for the night. I am sure you know as well as others. When you are tried, it is very easy to make a paperwork mistake.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S