Hello Mike - that's a great question!
Unfortunately the answer is involved. If you really want to learn about this I reccomend applying yourself to our free High Road CDL Training Program.
Click that link and then find the section on weights and balance. It's a wonderful tutorial on the very things you are asking about. You'll even learn how to calculate how much weight you are losing off your tractor's axles as you roll down the road burning off fuel.
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
I highly recommend reading the high road that old school linked to you. A good starting point is 250 pounds for 4 inch spacing between holes, and 400 pounds per hole if you have 6 inch spacing between holes. It isn't exact as the way its loaded will affect it. It's a good starting point though. If it's a load of similiar product I always put my tandems to where they stopped loading (assuming I'm compliant with bridge laws etc.) Until i hit a cat scale. Its usually pretty close assuming its similiar products/pallet heights. 5th wheel is about 500 pounds moved per hole, usually I'm able to keep mine in the middle and not touch it.
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".
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".
A network of over 1,500 certified truck scales across the U.S. and Canada found primarily at truck stops. CAT scales are by far the most trustworthy scales out there.
In fact, CAT Scale offers an unconditional Guarantee:
“If you get an overweight fine from the state after our scale showed your legal, we will immediately check our scale. If our scale is wrong, we will reimburse you for the fine. If our scale is correct, a representative of CAT Scale Company will appear in court with the driver as a witness”
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Hey everyone,
Can someone tell me how much weight moving the 5th wheel and tandems will adjust loads?
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".