Forum Discussion

WoodturnerII's avatar
WoodturnerII
Explorer
Jun 30, 2020

Problem with Cat scale weights

I recently purchased a 2015 Bay Hill 295RLS. The dry weight in the brochure is 10,646 lbs and the pin weight 2019. I am towing this with a 2010 F-350 pickup with a diesel engine. We loaded everything we are going to travel with in the trailer and went to the Cat scales. Here are the numbers.

Steering axle - 5020
Drive Axle - 8780
Trailer Axle - 7760
Gross - 21560

Unhooked the trailer and weighed the truck.

Steering axle - 5040
Drive Axle - 3640

When I enter these numbers into the worksheet I get 5140 lbs as pin weight which is 40 percent of the total weight of the trailer. There is nothing in the forward compartment except the battery and propane. The tanks are empty except for the water tank which is located behind the rear axles. How can a 12,900 lb trailer have this much pin weight and how do I fix it?

Thanks for any suggestions.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Jul 01, 2020
    JRscooby wrote:
    Old school trucker here. If you can't move weight in the trailer back you could put a longer tongue on the trailer, and move the 5th wheel forward. The forward hitch would mean part of the load would be carried on front axle. The longer tongue would transfer weight to the trailer axles.


    Mmkay, not many interested in fabricating custom pin boxes for campers....
    How about the OP figure out his actual weight, cause it ain’t 5klbs on that trailer.
  • mkirsch's avatar
    mkirsch
    Nomad II
    Jul 01, 2020
    If there really, truly is 5000+lbs on the pin, there is not much you can do about it except get a different trailer.

    5000+lbs even on an F-350 DRW is going to push the rear end of the truck down HARD. That's the first thing you should have noticed.
  • JRscooby's avatar
    JRscooby
    Explorer II
    Jul 01, 2020
    azdryheat wrote:
    Did you leave the trailer on the scales when you unhooked it? If so, were the front jacks on the same weighing platform as the trailer axles or on the same platform as the drive axles?


    Reading the OP

    Unhooked the trailer and weighed the truck.

    Steering axle - 5040
    Drive Axle - 3640


    What indication do you have the trailer is on the scale?
    Know that most don't care, but unhooking a trailer on the scale is rude, and can tell you nothing that the average 3rd grader could not figure out by numbers with trailer unhooked out of the way while you weigh the TV.
  • azdryheat's avatar
    azdryheat
    Explorer
    Jul 01, 2020
    Did you leave the trailer on the scales when you unhooked it? If so, were the front jacks on the same weighing platform as the trailer axles or on the same platform as the drive axles?
  • WoodturnerII's avatar
    WoodturnerII
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2020
    I will re-weigh everything and hopefully that will solve the problem. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.
  • Mickeyfan0805's avatar
    Mickeyfan0805
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2020
    I'm with others - go re-weigh and be extra careful on your axle placement. Something seems awry here. You don't want to start fixing a problem until you actually confirm that there is one. This, for me, falls into the 'measure twice, cut once' category.
  • JRscooby's avatar
    JRscooby
    Explorer II
    Jun 30, 2020
    Old school trucker here. If you can't move weight in the trailer back you could put a longer tongue on the trailer, and move the 5th wheel forward. The forward hitch would mean part of the load would be carried on front axle. The longer tongue would transfer weight to the trailer axles.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Jun 30, 2020
    Tell the wife to get out of the truck bed and re-weigh??
    JK

    So does it have 5k of pin weight or not? Can you even tell the difference?
    2000-2500lbs should about "level" your F350. 5,000lbs of pin weight will set it on the bump stops or d@mn close. Which was it?
  • Super_Dave's avatar
    Super_Dave
    Explorer
    Jun 30, 2020
    rhagfo wrote:
    Sounds like you had the front trailer axle in contact with the second scale plate.


    A trailer of that size and weight certainly doesn't have just one axle so I was suspect of the scale weight of the trailer axle as well.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    Jun 30, 2020
    Sounds like you had the front trailer axle in contact with the second scale plate.

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