I got all the numbers but cant figure it all out to get legal, i dont care what its capable of just need to be legal going across scales, this is not a rv but is a gooseneck type 5th wheel flatbed weighs 5600lbs on cat scales truck was 7260 half tank tool box me hooked together 12900 total steer was 4020 drive was 4320 trailer axel was 4560. Trailer is a tri axel with 6000 axels. This is a 2005 f250 crew cab 4x2 6.0 auto single wheel drv with 3150lb tires. Ford shows a 9600lb door sticker gvwr-4850 front/6100 rear and a 23000lb gcwr and a 17000lb max 5th wheel weight, Im trying to figure how much cargo i can legaly put on the trailer that will not over the pin and how much the scales should show when loaded legal, ill be crossing dot scales every state, prob pulled over alot to get scaled. Iknow everybody has there way of figuring but im looking for actual legal dot/fmcsa limits, please keep it simple in laymens terms, i just need to know what i can put on trailer and pin area. thank you

I think you've got all the numbers you need, except for the pin weight.You know you can't go over 17k on the trailer, or 23k combined. Can't be over 6,100 on rear axle, etc. In your case, GCVWR will be around 15,700, because 23,000 - 7,260 = 15,740. Seems your trailer can handle that okay. But your truck cannot.You've got 2,340 of remaining GVWR capacity. You've got only 1,780 of remaining rear axle weight capacity. Because 15% of 15,740 is 2,360. Too much for your rear axle if you must follow the ratings.Since it is a flatbed, your pin weight can vary widely based upon how you load the trailer. It could even be zero, or a negative number on the pin if you loaded badly behind the axles. Don't do that, it won't tow well. Shoot for 15% of total load on the pin as a minimum for safe handling. Plan to cross a scale before you get out of town, and be prepared to shift the load if the numbers don't work.I think you're looking at a max trailer weight of about 12k if you can load so that 15% is on the pin (1,800). 12k minus your trailer tare weight of 5,600 is a net cargo weight of 6,400. Might be asking a lot to load that perfectly, so reality might be a bit lower than that.

LOL...your going to get all kinds of answers from a RV website that few if any has never made a living pulling GN trailers and crossing DOT scales multi state. NOTE " Unless your F250 truck and trailer is registered commercially dot doesn't want you on the scales or even taking up space in the entrance line." If your registered commercially your trucks 9600 GVWR and the trailers 17000 GVWR = 26660 lbs for your declared GCW operating max. Now if your state allows you to register your F250 at 10950 (sum of the axle ratings) then you can declare a 27950 GCW as your max operating range You can't exceed the trucks drive or steer axle/tire rating or the trailers axle/tire ratings. DOT can take the lessor of a axle or tire rating. I've had them crawl under my trailers to find the axle tag. Be sure and have your med card filed and up to date along your IFTA sticker. If your a commercial operator then you will know all the rest of your requirements. If your a new entrant in the commercial hauling world then there are several websites dedicated just for those folks looking for info. Those type forum members can separate internet myth vs how its actually done. Let google be your friend.

Yea ive got class a cdl, med card, registerd/tagged for 26000/own authority/ect ect, i need to put at min a 10000 payload on the trailer to make any money untill i can find a drw setup, do you see any way of doing 10000 with this setup, the trailer is very light with 65% axel to rear, what about a slider type 5th wheel to thro more weight on the steer, would this help? the tri axels cant move so id have to load heavy on the rear trailer and might help there??

just looking at numbers door sticker says 4850 front 6100 rear why cant i move 5th wheel foward 2" to add about 500 on the steer and take off the drives so that when i load my pin weight is less? Am i missing something here?

With a tri axle trailer its possible for a 10k load all depending on how the tri axle is loaded. Moving the pin weight forward a couple of inches doesn't transfer as much weight as you might think. I've found the longer wb crew cab trucks don't transfer weight forward at the same ratio as a short wb truck (140" vs 160" or 170" wb). A sagging truck with a dot number pulling a big GN trailer will attract attention quick. Many haulers use air bags with the in cab controls to keep the truck level. When I hauled commercially usually they waved me through and just checked my paperwork as many jurisdictions don't bother trucks with less than 10k axles. There was always the exception on occasion though. I haul stock 2-3 times a month with a 16k triaxle with my 2500 Dodge quad cab short bed and a older 3500 DRW crew cab 454 gazz guzzlin' 4x4 chevy. I can partition off the big stuff over the trailers three 6k axles to keep under the 2500 trucks drivers. Best of luck on your hauling venture.

help with weight | Good Sam Community

JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Sep 05, 2014
LOL...your going to get all kinds of answers from a RV website that few if any has never made a living pulling GN trailers and crossing DOT scales multi state.

NOTE
" Unless your F250 truck and trailer is registered commercially dot doesn't want you on the scales or even taking up space in the entrance line."

If your registered commercially your trucks 9600 GVWR and the trailers 17000 GVWR = 26660 lbs for your declared GCW operating max. Now if your state allows you to register your F250 at 10950 (sum of the axle ratings) then you can declare a 27950 GCW as your max operating range You can't exceed the trucks drive or steer axle/tire rating or the trailers axle/tire ratings.

DOT can take the lessor of a axle or tire rating. I've had them crawl under my trailers to find the axle tag.
Be sure and have your med card filed and up to date along your IFTA sticker. If your a commercial operator then you will know all the rest of your requirements.

If your a new entrant in the commercial hauling world then there are several websites dedicated just for those folks looking for info. Those type forum members can separate internet myth vs how its actually done.
Let google be your friend.
bpounds
Nomad
Sep 05, 2014
I think you've got all the numbers you need, except for the pin weight.

You know you can't go over 17k on the trailer, or 23k combined. Can't be over 6,100 on rear axle, etc. In your case, GCVWR will be around 15,700, because 23,000 - 7,260 = 15,740. Seems your trailer can handle that okay. But your truck cannot.

You've got 2,340 of remaining GVWR capacity. You've got only 1,780 of remaining rear axle weight capacity. Because 15% of 15,740 is 2,360. Too much for your rear axle if you must follow the ratings.

Since it is a flatbed, your pin weight can vary widely based upon how you load the trailer. It could even be zero, or a negative number on the pin if you loaded badly behind the axles. Don't do that, it won't tow well. Shoot for 15% of total load on the pin as a minimum for safe handling. Plan to cross a scale before you get out of town, and be prepared to shift the load if the numbers don't work.

I think you're looking at a max trailer weight of about 12k if you can load so that 15% is on the pin (1,800). 12k minus your trailer tare weight of 5,600 is a net cargo weight of 6,400. Might be asking a lot to load that perfectly, so reality might be a bit lower than that.

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