Scale Question

Sorry Wild Bill; no way it’s 700lbs per hole on a std. 6” center spacing. 400 is more realistic.

Unless you have some wide spacing, like 9” on center spacing.

That’s what I get for taking someone’s word for it and not verifying for myself. I had to move one hole today to balance out a load at nearly max weight. The answer is 440 pounds per hole.

So, my new question is- does that change with different load weights. Would a 32,000 lb load be different per hole than a 44,000 lb load?

By the way, I was pretty pleased with myself that I was only off one hole by guessing with the psi reading in the cab. I remember balancing my first load took like 5 laps around the scale to get right.

So, my new question is- does that change with different load weights. Would a 32,000 lb load be different per hole than a 44,000 lb load?

Yes it will change somewhat from load to load. Most often, load placement will have a bigger impact than anything else. If most of the load/weight is to the front of the trailer, the hole spacings will shift less weight per hole.

Most often though, you can count on that 400-440 shift to be fairly accurate with 6" spacing.

Good info, that’s why I asked.

Mr C - I hadn’t thought about the fuel burn. That would have made a difference

Turtle- we were told 500 per hole in class, but, my OTR trainer had told me 700 per hole so that’s what I’ve always gone with. I pull refer, so I assumed the difference was because of the weight of the refer unit. But I never checked. I’m usually pretty close using the PSI reading in the cab, so I don’t think I’ve ever had to move the weight around. I’ll check it next time I scale.

Pack-Rat- here’s a map of the APU exemptions by state it separates out states by statute and by enforcement. I hope it’s not some proprietary info I’m going to get in trouble for posting...

Take note - the graphic shows the exemption to GVW, not axle. The letter I keep in my cab says NOTHING about axle weights, and to get over 80K, with a 5 axle outfit, something is going to be over 34000. Trailer tandems 34,00 plus drives 34,000 = 68,000. That leaves 12k on your steers, and my axles, by manufacturer are only rated to 12k. I know for a fact that every swinging ... in the scale houses and driving the inspection units for DOT knows what your MFR specs on steer axles are, and they're printed on the mylar in your door frame too, I think. Last I checked, you cannot legally exceed MFR specs. I'd be careful thinking "I can go up to 80,400 with impunity... " You're getting into the discretion area, and I know one Iowa trooper with a big blue ring and no personality that would be HAPPY to stuff 390 pounds into your craw..

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Tandems:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Tandem:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.