DON'T GUESS YOUR WEIGHT.I guessed that my cargo trailer weight was 3200lbs. 1650# empty + 1200# rhino + 350# for extra fuel,genny & camp chairs, NOT. Cat scales says 3660# after blowing out tire and tearing the fender off & damage to outside panel. My truck tires bf goodrich a/t 265/75/16's rated at 3415# which was my 7th set in 18 years and which I had complete confidence in failed. Cruise set at 65mph. as always when pulling the trailer. Damage to the truck $3500 and is currently at the chevy dealer being repaired. Cat scales weight for the front axle 4010#,rear axle 7040# and trailer axle 3660# total 14710#. now I have d rated tires 2150#, 285/75/16's 3750# going on the truck when I get it back. Then I'm headed straight to the Cat scales again to weigh the truck empty and than again with the camper fully loaded without the trailer. $10 to weigh seems like a good investment to me now .:S:h:o

OK, I am confused.... My truck tires bf goodrich a/t 265/75/16's rated at 3415# which was my 7th set in 18 years and which I had complete confidence in failed. Cruise set at 65mph. as always when pulling the trailer. Damage to the truck $3500 and is currently at the chevy dealer being repaired. Cat scales weight for the front axle 4010#,rear axle 7040# and trailer axle 3660# total 14710#. now I have d rated tires 2150#, 285/75/16's 3750# going on the truck when I get it backbf goodrich a/t 265/75/16's rated at 3415#now I have d rated tires 2150#What was on your truck at the time of the "event"?

Rockrash wrote:Get e range tires. the truck tires 265/75/16's are e rated tires weight cap. 3415# and are great tires but were over loaded. In 18 years driving bf. a/t's I never had a problem. my new tires are also bf. a/t's but with a higher load rating.

meatwagon wrote:Rockrash wrote:Get e range tires. the truck tires 265/75/16's are e rated tires weight cap. 3415# and are great tires but were over loaded. In 18 years driving bf. a/t's I never had a problem. my new tires are also bf. a/t's but with a higher load rating.(((trailer tires)))) are now d rated at 2150#

Why are you going with a lower range tire? I would stick with the E When we switch tires on our 5th wheel I think we will be putting "G" range on it a friend of our is a hot shot driver and thats what he runs on his goose neck flat bed and says he has never had a blow out "15+years"? I also run bfs at kos on my 2500hd and I love them other than the fact that they dont wear as well as others but I have not been stuck with them either!

Cat scales ? lesson learned | Good Sam Community

25 Replies

meatwagon
Explorer
Nov 15, 2013
mkirsch wrote:
I just have a problem with the logic, "I was (a couple hundred pounds) overweight, that is why my tires popped."

Tires like anything else have a safety factor built in. You can rest assured that if a tire is rated for 3000lbs, it will not pop at 3001. They can't realistically expect every pickup truck owner to have constant access to a scale to ensure that they don't overload their tires.

The ratings are also STATIC, with the truck sitting on the scale. Acceleration, braking, and maneuvering put forces way in excess of the static weight on the tires, and they're not supposed to pop. A couple hundred pounds of extra static load on each tire should be nothing.

That said, it's one thing not knowing, but something entirely different if you know about the situation and don't correct it.

I never said that was the cause of the blow out. I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT CAUSED THE BLOW OUT. I do know that both tires (truck & trailer) were both over loaded, & both tires blew after 2hrs. of highway driving at 65mph, the truck on the way up to camp & the trailer on the way home home 1 week before. You can deduce from that what ever you like.
mkirsch
Nomad II
Nov 15, 2013
I just have a problem with the logic, "I was (a couple hundred pounds) overweight, that is why my tires popped."

Tires like anything else have a safety factor built in. You can rest assured that if a tire is rated for 3000lbs, it will not pop at 3001. They can't realistically expect every pickup truck owner to have constant access to a scale to ensure that they don't overload their tires.

The ratings are also STATIC, with the truck sitting on the scale. Acceleration, braking, and maneuvering put forces way in excess of the static weight on the tires, and they're not supposed to pop. A couple hundred pounds of extra static load on each tire should be nothing.

That said, it's one thing not knowing, but something entirely different if you know about the situation and don't correct it.
Bedlam
Moderator
Nov 15, 2013
bka0721 wrote:
The information on the weights, tires and Load Ranges, but what I feel resonates from the OP's post is, don't just estimate, or think you know what your Bank Balance is in your Check Book, Verify.

For most circumstances we are much heavier than we can even imagine. Follow the OP's advice and verify by stopping by a Scale, whether closed highway scale or a CAT Scale at a nearby Truck Stop.

Travel Safe, Travel informed.

b

Agreed.

I just reconfigured how I load my enclosed trailer and stopped by the local scales to not only see total weight but the balance front to rear and left to right. I moved heavier items from the nose of the trailer to the sides closer to the axles. The idea was to reduce the pendulum effect on poor roads by centralizing more weight closer to the axle pivot instead of the extreme ends of the load floor.

My TC and truck have limited storage, so I have less variance in the weight I carry. However I still check it when possible to see if weight is creeping up as nooks and crannies fill.
meatwagon
Explorer
Nov 15, 2013
bka0721 wrote:
The information on the weights, tires and Load Ranges, but what I feel resonates from the OP's post is, don't just estimate, or think you know what your Bank Balance is in your Check Book, Verify.

For most circumstances we are much heavier than we can even imagine. Follow the OP's advice and verify by stopping by a Scale, whether closed highway scale or a CAT Scale at a nearby Truck Stop.

Travel Safe, Travel informed.

b

We have a winner, that is exactly the point I was trying to make. I would have bet my pay check that I was well under the tires limits on both the truck and trailer.
bka0721
Explorer II
Nov 15, 2013
The information on the weights, tires and Load Ranges, but what I feel resonates from the OP's post is, don't just estimate, or think you know what your Bank Balance is in your Check Book, Verify.

For most circumstances we are much heavier than we can even imagine. Follow the OP's advice and verify by stopping by a Scale, whether closed highway scale or a CAT Scale at a nearby Truck Stop.

Travel Safe, Travel informed.

b
ticki2
Explorer
Nov 15, 2013
okan-star wrote:
Im not trying to start an argument , and its only my opinion, and we all make and these decisions for ourselves , but for me I like to stay inside ratings for tire and axle and have some cushion in those numbers
The way I look at it when your on the scales your sitting there still , just gravity
When your driving and you hit the brakes you unload the rear axle and load the front , the same with trailer tongue and rear axle
Also going uphill , downhill , accelerating, to a lesser extent
I dont know if these transfer of weight is totaly equal , Im not an engineer , just like to feel safe

That is one of the reasons GVWR is always less than the sum of the FAWR ant the RAWR . The loads are constantly shifting while driving down the road .
Bedlam
Moderator
Nov 15, 2013
We bumped the truck tires to LR H tires on 19.5" rims when I got final pack weight measures when everything was new. My 20' trailer is rated for 10,000 lbs and on this last 10-day trip was loaded over 7000 lbs. This puts much more weight on the truck even with a WDH...
okan-star
Explorer
Nov 14, 2013
Im not trying to start an argument , and its only my opinion, and we all make and these decisions for ourselves , but for me I like to stay inside ratings for tire and axle and have some cushion in those numbers
The way I look at it when your on the scales your sitting there still , just gravity
When your driving and you hit the brakes you unload the rear axle and load the front , the same with trailer tongue and rear axle
Also going uphill , downhill , accelerating, to a lesser extent
I dont know if these transfer of weight is totaly equal , Im not an engineer , just like to feel safe
okan-star
Explorer
Nov 14, 2013
mkirsch wrote:
okan-star wrote:
Alot of variables , add tongue wt of trailer to total , how was it loaded ?

Re-read the original post. He stated weights with the trailer attached.

The 7040lb rear axle weight was with the trailer.

Sorry , the scales I go to I`d have to disconect the trailer to weigh just the rear axle of the truck
I also dont think saying being a couple hundred pounds over the rating of a tire is not an issue for a tire failure , just my opinion
meatwagon
Explorer
Nov 14, 2013
tad94564 wrote:
Do not forget to check the rim load ratings also.

Most rims from the factory are not rated for anything higher than the tires they came with..

The first thing I did after getting to camp was to off load the camper & unhook the trailer and go to discount tire in Flagstaff where i bought a full set of wheels and tires. It took them quite awhile to find a set of wheels that would meet the new tires load rating of #3750 but they did and they look really nice as well. I guess I got lucky there. the spare tire was rated at just over #3000 so I had them replace it with my best 265/75/16 rated at #3415 so if I should ever need to put it on the rear I'll stand a better chance of getting back to a town.