Where to weigh your Travel trailer

Poohper wrote:
We don't have very much where I live except we do have Trucker stops with scales not far away that I can probably get a close estimate of the weight from. The RV repair place we go to said that we were close to our truck towing weight so I am a little nervous to travel now. Even though we only have towels, pots and pans in it. We have a 2007 Ford F250 diesel truck.

What are you towing that you'd be close to the limit in an F250?

Our F250 has a payload capacity rating on the door pillar sticker of 2800 lbs. At a typical 13% tongue weight (normally about 12-13% of the weight of the TT), that'd mean we could tow up to 21K lbs which would one heck of a long & heavy TT. But. Any options you add to the truck and anything in the truck from passengers, pets & groceries to firewood and camping stuff in the bed comes off the payload capacity which can substantially reduce what you can tow. As well, receivers and WDHs have a max. weight rating and we are limited to 1200 lbs in our case and at 13% tongue wt., that'd translate to a 9K lb TT. Our 29' TT weighs 7K lbs.

Further to another thread you started, it sounds like perhaps you don't have the WDH correctly set up to transfer weight from the TT's tongue back onto the steer axle. If you don't, the truck can squat in the rear and look like it is overloaded. You can adjust a WDH at a scale, but be prepared to be there a while. Measuring front fender height is faster but not as accurate - suggest you do this first before going to the scale. For an optimal towing experience, there are some other factors to consider besides setting up a WDH such as sway control and having the correct psi in the truck & trailer tires. It's my understanding that older F250s can squat in the rear a little more than other trucks, and ours certainly does even with near 100% weight restored back onto the front axle.

It's always a good idea to go to a scale to know where you stand on your weights. With 3 separate passes, you can get the weight of the truck, the TT's weight, the tongue weight and the amount of weight transferred back onto the steer axle. Getting side to side weights is also a good idea because a TT can weigh more on one side and have an affect on the load capacity rating of tires. When you go to the scale, you want the truck loaded up as you would for camping plus a full tank of fuel and the TT should also be fully loaded for camping. Don't forget that if you plan to tow with a fully loaded holding tank(s) that adds 8.3 lbs per gal and depending on FW tank location, can affect the tongue wt and handling/sway.

FWIW, I love our F250 for towing. Took a while to do all the "right stuff" to optimize towing and eliminate sway and is now lotsa fun on the twistiest of roads or on the interstate.

pilot truckstop Castaic has a CAT scale. Right up 5 at Ridge Rt Lane, East to Castaic Rd, L to Pilot on Right. Follow the sign to the CAT scale and read the directions. Go inside after weighing and pay. Easy!

I've only used the CAT scale at the truck stop at the Lewistown exit on I-95 in near Richmond, VA. It's only about 3.5 miles from my house. However, it definitely does not have to weigh buttons, one high and one low. I have to carry my walking stick in order to push the high button.

jim1521 wrote:

Rover_Bill wrote:
If you go to a CAT scale, be sure to bring a broom handle (or long stick) to push the attendant call button. It's up high so trucks can reach it through an open window and too high to reach from the ground. It will save you an extra walk inside the station. It would be best for you to view their online video on how to weigh your rig. You can find it HERE

Every CAT scale I've ever been to has an upper and lower call button. Never had an issue. I just open the truck door, push the button, then sit back down in the truck.

jim1521 wrote:

Rover_Bill wrote:
If you go to a CAT scale, be sure to bring a broom handle (or long stick) to push the attendant call button. It's up high so trucks can reach it through an open window and too high to reach from the ground. It will save you an extra walk inside the station. It would be best for you to view their online video on how to weigh your rig. You can find it HERE

Every CAT scale I've ever been to has an upper and lower call button. Never had an issue. I just open the truck door, push the button, then sit back down in the truck.

Interesting, I've NEVER seen a lower call button in the dozen or so trips to CAT Scales I've gone to.

I just stand on the truck's running board at the driver's door and can reach.

For others, the other options are to go inside and ask for the phone # of the weigh desk. You can call from your cell phone when you're on the pad. OR there's a CAT Scale app that you can use.

Rover_Bill wrote:
If you go to a CAT scale, be sure to bring a broom handle (or long stick) to push the attendant call button. It's up high so trucks can reach it through an open window and too high to reach from the ground. It will save you an extra walk inside the station. It would be best for you to view their online video on how to weigh your rig. You can find it HERE

Every CAT scale I've ever been to has an upper and lower call button. Never had an issue. I just open the truck door, push the button, then sit back down in the truck.

I have a few articles that might help:

Where to get weighed

How to weight travel trailer

Actual scale weights calculator

X3 I carry a five foot step ladder. The first trip I had to stand on the bumper.

Live and learn. :)

My small town feed mill has platform scales and is open 24/7 at no cost for weighing.
Its easy to get the truck front axle and rear axle weights....then go home and hook up the trailer and reweigh each axle again plus the trailers gross axle weight. The wife writes down each scale reading for that axle when I give her a thumbs up.
I usually do this on a day the mill isn't open and no trucks are waiting to weigh out.

Rover_Bill wrote:
If you go to a CAT scale, be sure to bring a broom handle (or long stick) to push the attendant call button. It's up high so trucks can reach it through an open window and too high to reach from the ground. It will save you an extra walk inside the station. It would be best for you to view their online video on how to weigh your rig. You can find it HERE

x2 on this, the cat scales work fine,

If you go to a CAT scale, be sure to bring a broom handle (or long stick) to push the attendant call button. It's up high so trucks can reach it through an open window and too high to reach from the ground. It will save you an extra walk inside the station. It would be best for you to view their online video on how to weigh your rig. You can find it HERE