ramcneal wrote:
Look at http://www.catscale.com and search for San Diego. Here's one that I found.
HWY 905 & Piper Ranch Road
Otay Mesa, CA 92154
There are probably other scales around, but you definitely want a certified scale. The CAT scale that I use has several large pads which make it easy to place each axle on a different pad. All except for the trailer axles since they are so close together. Not having separate values for the two or three trailer axles doesn't seem to be an issue since you just take the trailer weight and divide it by two or three (# of axles) and you know how much weight the trailer axles are carrying.
snip....
What happens if you're over the GCWR. Good question. There are people on this forum and other forums that I read which will say you'll end up in purgatory if you go over any of the ratings. GVWR, GCWR, GAWR. At the same time there are folks at the opposite end who practically feel if your truck can move the weight you're fine. I'm in the middle, but lean towards the first group. The manufacturers have built these trucks with work loads in mind. To go over those numbers means you'll wear out parts of your truck at a faster rate than normal at a *minimum*. Going over the ratings could also be extremely unsafe for you and others around you. snip....
Does that help?
Well the idea that your axles are equally balanced does not seem to be supported by some of the very limited data posted here.
One example where the owner took the effort to get the individual axle loads found Fwd axle 4170lbs, Cnt axle 3890lbs, Rr axle 4330lbs.
31% to 35% of total on that three axle unit. Now add the potential 2 - 3% or more side to side variation and you are not very equal especially if you are bumping up against a max load on a tire
One other item I do not see mentioned in this thread, but plenty of complaints in other threads is tire failures. Usually tires are the "weakest link" so if your GVWR is exceeded there is all probability that one or more of your tires are overloaded.
If or when you have a tire failure I hope it is only your RV that is damaged and there is no personal injury or damage to other motorists.
