To weigh or not to weigh

[riven1950]

Ok, I have a 2004 f150, 4x4, 4.6l with tow pkg. Am towing an Aerolite 718d with a supposed dry weight of 3050 lbs. There are only 2 of us and we travel pretty light, so I am not really concerned about weight issues and it tows fine in the flats, will find out in next few weeks about the hills.

My questions are: 1: Folks are always talking about weighing their rigs. Since I live in a more rural non-industrial area I am trying to figure out were everyone goes to get their weights. Thought I would do it out of curiosity next time we get all loaded up. Closest CW or similar is like 35 miles. No big truck stops close by.

2: How do you get an accurate hitch weight?

3: Next trip will be to NC mountains. Anyone know of a place between Holden Beach NC and Asheville via 74 to Charlotte, then on to Hendersonville, Asheville were there is a convenient place to stop and get weighed?

Sorry if this is a duplicate...I know there is a million post out there on weighing / weights.

[Lowsuv]

In Oregon the ODOT weight scales are on every US Highway and Interstate Freeway .
When they are closed , they leave the scale operable .
We can weigh for free .
I have my choice of 5 different ODOT scales within a 40 mile radius of Bend in every direction .
Free , after hours .
None of my vehicles is close to the advertized empty weight .

[riven1950]

Update: We just finished our trip of 2 weeks in the NC mountains and I did stop at a Cat scale. We were on our way back so we had all our "stuff" where it normally is in the TV and TT. Did forget to fill the gas tank before weighing, it was only about 1/4-1/2 full. Also my GF was not on board she was watching from a shady spot trying to figure out why I was going thru the process. Anyway, here is what I got.
Steer axle 3200
Drive axle 3260
trailer axle 3320
Gross weight 9780

truck alone 6110

So am I correct to figure my TT weight is 3670, tongue weight is 350?

Sounds about right as Aerolite says empty weight is 3050 and advertise tongue weight at 245 which i'm sure is empty too.

thanks

[Longtrace]

riven1950 wrote:
Ps: On the Cat scale website it shows weighing the Tv / TT with TV front wheels on one scale, TV rear wheels on one scale, and TT wheels one 3rd scale. If this is possible with my rig will it give me the info I need to calculate hitch weight and other info I need or do I need to make a pass unhitched with just the TV? I am not using a WD system just a sway bar on one side of the hitch. Thanks, just a bit confused....

Most truckstop scales are triple-platform units. These give you a per-axle weight as well as total. Handy and quick. 😄

To get hitch weight, you would also need a truck-only weigh. Then compare the total of the tow-vehicle only with and without a trailer. The difference is the trailer tongue weight, so long as no weight distributing gear is hooked up.

[BarneyS]

Yes, you would need to unhook the trailer and weigh just the truck. Don't do that on the scale however. Pull off, park, and then weigh so you don't tie up the scales. Truckers don't like to get delayed - time is money. :W
Barney

[riven1950]

Ps: On the Cat scale website it shows weighing the Tv / TT with TV front wheels on one scale, TV rear wheels on one scale, and TT wheels one 3rd scale. If this is possible with my rig will it give me the info I need to calculate hitch weight and other info I need or do I need to make a pass unhitched with just the TV? I am not using a WD system just a sway bar on one side of the hitch. Thanks, just a bit confused....

[riven1950]

Longtrace, I am not so concerned about the weight / rig or I would do as you suggest and weigh somehow before leaving. We took the same set up to Florida Keys in April with no problems ( about 1800 miles total ). This will be a shorter trip. Only time we experienced any issues in April was with a stiff cross wind and 18 wheelers going by...we just slowed down a bit then and all was ok. Oddly enough the 18 wheelers that affected us most seemed to be the car haulers not the big boxes, wonder if anyone else has that experience. Anyway, this is our second longer trip and I want to weigh fully loaded to see where we actually are weight wise. See how close my guess is to actual.

Oaklevel..thanks for the cat website info. Interesting read. I searched and the closest one to my home is about 50 miles.

Will find one of these or use the ones NC Hauler gave me.

[Oaklevel]

http://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator also have a how to weigh instruction.......nice site lots of info

[Oaklevel]

Check CAT SCALE's web site for locations.......... Concrete plants, quarries etc have scale also

[NC_Hauler]

riven1950 wrote:
Thanks NC Hauler, we should be able to hit one of the places you posted on. We will be coming into Hendersonville area from Charlotte via 74 to our first stop which is Hickory Nut Falls near Chimney Rock. Then we will be going to Cherokee after a few days...so I think we will be passing both of the places you mentioned. BTW the truck weigh station .. is it a state weigh station? I was wondering if they will let me weigh on state weigh scales for a few $$?

To Longtrace, we did have a farm supply place about 15-20 miles from here that had a scale but I think they are now closed. I think most of the farmers here are out of business or have gotten bigger and haul their goods to the next county over. Our county is mostly beaches and golf courses now, not much need for truck scales.

It's a regular truck weight station...almost alway's open....don't know the cost, but again, should be open. Doesn't cost much.

[Longtrace]

riven1950 wrote:
I was wondering if they will let me weigh on state weigh scales for a few $$?

Usually not for money. In some states, when the scalemaster is not there, you can still drive over the sales and view the weight through the window. Other states block off the scales so you can't.

I have never talked to a state scalesmaster about getting a private weigh when the scales are open...

Our county is mostly beaches and golf courses now, not much need for truck scales.

Ah. What about a landfill? Or waste transfer station? Or scrap metal place, or rock quarry?

Until I have a rig sorted out, I like scaling before the trip, where I have the option to change things. After I'm 100 miles down the road it's too late to change what I've loaded. The most I can do is change the hitch setup or shift the load around.

[riven1950]

Thanks NC Hauler, we should be able to hit one of the places you posted on. We will be coming into Hendersonville area from Charlotte via 74 to our first stop which is Hickory Nut Falls near Chimney Rock. Then we will be going to Cherokee after a few days...so I think we will be passing both of the places you mentioned. BTW the truck weigh station .. is it a state weigh station? I was wondering if they will let me weigh on state weigh scales for a few $$?

To Longtrace, we did have a farm supply place about 15-20 miles from here that had a scale but I think they are now closed. I think most of the farmers here are out of business or have gotten bigger and haul their goods to the next county over. Our county is mostly beaches and golf courses now, not much need for truck scales.

[NC_Hauler]

Ron Gratz wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:
If you want to use a weight distribution system, remember to include the weight of any gear you might load behind the rear axle of the tow vehicle. You should add the weight of this gear to your tongue weight to select a weight distribution system of the proper size.---

The normal procedure for adjusting a WDH is:
1) measure the load on the front axle (or height of the front end) with the TV loaded for camping and unhitched from the TT,
2) attach the TT to the TV, and
3) adjust the WDH to return some of all of the load removed from the front axle (or eliminate some or all of the front end rise) due to addition of tongue weight.

If this procedure is used, the WDH does not have to redistribute the load which is removed from the TV's front axle due to adding weight behind the rear axle. And, the WD bars do not need to be sized to include the weight of gear in the TV behind the rear axle.

Ron

Actually, I was trying to "google" some information for the OP with pictures, but the pictures didn't show and though I felt like I could have explained it better, I opted for the instructions in my second post....

also was telling the OP of two different places in very close proximity to where they were going to be traveling that I knew had scales to where they could do the weights...including the one at the truck stop off I40 where you could take your time and do the weights...

[Ron_Gratz]

NC Hauler wrote:
If you want to use a weight distribution system, remember to include the weight of any gear you might load behind the rear axle of the tow vehicle. You should add the weight of this gear to your tongue weight to select a weight distribution system of the proper size.---

The normal procedure for adjusting a WDH is:
1) measure the load on the front axle (or height of the front end) with the TV loaded for camping and unhitched from the TT,
2) attach the TT to the TV, and
3) adjust the WDH to return some of all of the load removed from the front axle (or eliminate some or all of the front end rise) due to addition of tongue weight.

If this procedure is used, the WDH does not have to redistribute the load which is removed from the TV's front axle due to adding weight behind the rear axle. And, the WD bars do not need to be sized to include the weight of gear in the TV behind the rear axle.

Ron

[Longtrace]

Dennis M M wrote:
Almost every truck stop has a CAT scale that will give you three weights: front axle, rear axle, and trailer axle(s) on one pass.

CAT is a brand name, and there are a lot of truck stops that don't have CAT brand scales. Many have truck scales - but I wouldn't even call it "most". And when a truck needs to weigh, all the truckstops nearby are the ones without scales. Murphy.

CAT scales are generally the most expensive because they guarantee the weigh is accurate. They will fight an overweight ticket should a driver get one from the state after getting a legal weight on one of their scales. This is mighty comforting to a commercial driver - but of little value to an RV. So personally I look for other scales. My local farmers association charges about $1.00 for each weigh.

Generally rural areas have a lot more options for places to weigh, and the proprietors are usually more accommodating.