Curt BetterWeigh?

[Bionic_Man]

Curious if anyone has tried this? Looks like it would be interesting, if it is accurate. Mixed reviews on Amazon.

Clicky

[Grit_dog]

mkirsch wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
(I also got pretty proficient at welding frames and spring perches and replacing axle shafts!)

Isn't this precisely why you would want to be "niggling" over weights?

You've overloaded. You've seen what happens. Yet, you take a cavalier "who cares? if it fits it ships!" attitude toward it.

There's also a huge difference between experienced people who do it for a living on short hauls across town, vs. clueless rookies traveling hundreds of miles grossly overloaded. At your landscape job you'd limp the broken truck 5 miles back to the shop and fix it yourself. No big deal. That's not an option out on the road. Very few people have their own shops within 5 miles at all times no matter where they are. Very few people are capable of fixing those kinds of issues themselves. So, why not avoid them? I guess it's no fun that way?

No, apologies as I wasn’t clear and you misinterpreted what I said (because I wasn’t clear).
These trucks were “nominally” overloaded (idk, say couple thousand lbs or whatever) very frequently. Daily in some cases.
The failures I referenced were from severe overloading. Like a 10klb skid steer in the dump box of a standard 1 ton dually 1980s truck, hooked to a bumper pull tag trailer that was 20k if it was a pound.
And severe overloading like that broke parts. Or in other words, I got to see the structural limitations of static and dynamic loading to the point of failure. And it was FAR more than exceeding the payload or hitch rating by 1000 or 2000 lbs.
Following that, building roads and bridges, many times out of under sized, overloaded trucks, allowed me to gain more perspective.
I understand many just are weekend warriors with their trucks and little real world “work” or understanding. And that’s cool. And the reason I’m providing perspective.
Mostly for the keyboard experts who are misleading the person asking the question by proclaiming ….well, proclaiming all the silly things we see here on the great rv.net, without the knowledge or experience to back it up.
Difference between me and them is I stay silent on things I do not have knowledge of and the folks I’m referring to can’t help but add their (sometimes false, conjured up) 2 cents.

[mkirsch]

Grit dog wrote:
(I also got pretty proficient at welding frames and spring perches and replacing axle shafts!)

Isn't this precisely why you would want to be "niggling" over weights?

You've overloaded. You've seen what happens. Yet, you take a cavalier "who cares? if it fits it ships!" attitude toward it.

There's also a huge difference between experienced people who do it for a living on short hauls across town, vs. clueless rookies traveling hundreds of miles grossly overloaded. At your landscape job you'd limp the broken truck 5 miles back to the shop and fix it yourself. No big deal. That's not an option out on the road. Very few people have their own shops within 5 miles at all times no matter where they are. Very few people are capable of fixing those kinds of issues themselves. So, why not avoid them? I guess it's no fun that way?

[bayslarry000]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

delwhjr wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

delwhjr wrote:
That's why you buy at Amazon. Thirty days to try and when it turns out to be a bust, a full refund is given. No cost to return except a little time.

Not everything is free to return.

The item being discussed does have free returns.

When buying you would decide if you want to buy something or not based on the return policy.

I agree. Being a Prime Member is part of the equation also.

You should always decide whether to buy any product either online or offline by looking at their return policies. Because there is no point in buying the product you don't like and especially if you are purchasing git online you may not be satisfied with the product as many online products are photoshopped.
so be careful while shopping online.

[larry_cad]

Boomerweps wrote:
NOTE: I have read that you can't run both the BetterWeigh and CURT Bluetooth brake controller at the same time on the same smartphone.

Well, leaves me out since I have the ECHO and love it.

[Grit_dog]

IdaD wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
So, assuming this is marketed at happy homeowners who tow a trailer, how often would you actually use it? Do you guys weigh your setup before every trip to see if the wife snuck in too many cans of beans and put you over payload?
Seems like 1 and done unless you’re overly ocd or change trailers.

I've literally never run anything over a scale except at the county dump where they charge by weight. Never had any issues. I think I learned this skill of not really giving a $hit from growing up on a farm where we just made things work.

I'm 100% with ya IdaD. I must be from the same up-bringing. I recall as a little kid, loading dad's truck full of firewood, stacked to the roof of the truck. Biggest thing I recall he did to prep for that was make sure the back tires had a full 80psi in them.
Then working as a mechanic at a local mom n pop landscape nursery, I learned what really loading a truck down could do. (I also got pretty proficient at welding frames and spring perches and replacing axle shafts!)

That's why I have to giggle, sorry, laugh heartily, when someone is niggling over whether the weight of the passenger or fuel is included in the gvw!

Funny, with all the towing and hauling I do, the only time I've been over a scale is also at the dump!

[IdaD]

Grit dog wrote:
So, assuming this is marketed at happy homeowners who tow a trailer, how often would you actually use it? Do you guys weigh your setup before every trip to see if the wife snuck in too many cans of beans and put you over payload?
Seems like 1 and done unless you’re overly ocd or change trailers.

I've literally never run anything over a scale except at the county dump where they charge by weight. Never had any issues. I think I learned this skill of not really giving a $hit from growing up on a farm where we just made things work.

[BenK]

There are way too many other variables to take into account

Like the stall point & clutch lockup of the TC, as it reads TC slippage...on that, the condition of the ATF might have an effect on slippage

Rolling resistance, Cx, incline, ambient, etc

But, nifty way to get a general or approximate ballpark

Wonder how long before the OEM's start to include that into their TV's...maybe already and we just don't know it...yet...

[Boomerweps]

ajriding wrote:
I dont think this particular unit does all of this, but I have played with the technology years ago with success.

The way I calibrated it years ago was to accelerate up to 25 mpg then coast down. I guess using neutral would be needed, not just coasting in D. The device figures out aerodynamic coefficient, ground/tire friction and other numbers from this. You then could, theoretically, do a coast-down again with the trailer and compare. You will need to use the settings for trailer when trailering, and settings for no trailer when you dont have the trailer...

Based on aerodynamic coefficient and slope of the hill you are on (device knows the angle) it can generate how much power you must be putting out to go any given speed.
Knowing the weight is new to me. I always had to put in the exact weight for the device to work, but I think this vehicle device is going off of the factory given weights, which will always be wrong due to cargo in the vehicle, weight of the person, amount of fuel in the tank etc...

Looking forward to hear feedback from those that actually use it rather than opinions of those who have not..

It's not set up (currently) to do wind drag or MPG comparisons.
Not sure of the vehicle model years in its library but 2008 Explorer had to be calibrated, but for my newer 2019 F150 I just had to enter the VIN for initial calibration. Sweet. Manual calibration required entering occupant weight, GVWR, load capacity, weight of any added cargo. For manual calibration for the truck load, you start it and then enter your weight and sit on the tailgate or hatch opening. MANY straight line, level runs at moderate and hard acceleration until it says each measurement complete anywhere from 15 to 30 mph were needed with the 2008.
WDH function is determined by three measurements. Unloaded hitch, loaded hitch no spring bars, loaded hitch with spring bars. All using the truck angle change.
You make a run like the calibration run for actual weight measurements, straight, level road accelerating as directed until it tells you complete. Unfortunately, it does not store the various measurements. So you have to do a unhooked weight run to get the truck current weight, then hook up the trailer and make another run. Then use basic manual math to subtract one from the other for trailer weight.
It does a lot of stuff for $100 or so, using a small OBD plug and a smart phone app and can be moved to different vehicles.
NOTE: I have read that you can't run both the BetterWeigh and CURT Bluetooth brake controller at the same time on the same smartphone.

[JIMNLIN]

Might be overly OCD.
The time I towed with a full water tank, I reweighed.
After I moved my trailer axle to below the springs, I reweighed.
I removed my spare tire from the rear rack and put it under the front bed, reweighed.
The Haulgauge weighs both overall weight, tongue weight AND weights levered by the WDH.
So once you get your baseline specs, I only reweigh for a significant change.

My local feed mill scales down the road sold out to a big mill operator...then closed our small local feed mill and the FREE scales.
I pull various flatbed trailers and a 36' triaxle stock trailer along with my rv trailer.
Looks like a good device for my need keeping under my trucks gawrs when loading the stock trailer out in the pasture/stock yards or moving wheeled equipment on my flatdecks. Gonna' check into owning one.

[Boomerweps]

Grit dog wrote:
So, assuming this is marketed at happy homeowners who tow a trailer, how often would you actually use it? Do you guys weigh your setup before every trip to see if the wife snuck in too many cans of beans and put you over payload?
Seems like 1 and done unless you’re overly ocd or change trailers.

Might be overly OCD.
The time I towed with a full water tank, I reweighed.
After I moved my trailer axle to below the springs, I reweighed.
I removed my spare tire from the rear rack and put it under the front bed, reweighed.
The Haulgauge weighs both overall weight, tongue weight AND weights levered by the WDH.
So once you get your baseline specs, I only reweigh for a significant change.
Of course, I’ve only camped ONCE in the past two years, between Covid BS and other significant health issues.
AFAICT, if I leave the unit installed, my remote start frequently doesn’t work. So I no longer leave it installed in the OBD jack.

[specta]

I'm sure its easy for the manufactures.
Front end loaders know how much weight is in the bucket.
No need to weigh the truck before and after loading.

[BenK]

Been saying for years that all too soon...OEMs will have the capability to know when their product has been overloaded, over rev'd, etc

Stored in memory and the first thing any service person will check before writing up the work order.

Warranty denied will be common for those who overload.

How often and how much over the specification will be determined by lawyers & marketing & quality/service groups

[ajriding]

This type of technology was used 15 years ago in sports. Amazing amount of data can be reversed into real numbers. 5% accuracy seems right inline with the tech.

With similar tech it is possible even to generate an aerodynamic resistance curve at any given speed, so you can figure out which speed yields highest mpg's. You can change your aero wing and see which location is best. You can see how much Hp is needed to start and stop. You can collect the data for every data point, graph it, and analyze it after a drive. You can compare winds and crosswinds.
I dont think this particular unit does all of this, but I have played with the technology years ago with success.

The way I calibrated it years ago was to accelerate up to 25 mpg then coast down. I guess using neutral would be needed, not just coasting in D. The device figures out aerodynamic coefficient, ground/tire friction and other numbers from this. You then could, theoretically, do a coast-down again with the trailer and compare. You will need to use the settings for trailer when trailering, and settings for no trailer when you dont have the trailer...

Based on aerodynamic coefficient and slope of the hill you are on (device knows the angle) it can generate how much power you must be putting out to go any given speed.
Knowing the weight is new to me. I always had to put in the exact weight for the device to work, but I think this vehicle device is going off of the factory given weights, which will always be wrong due to cargo in the vehicle, weight of the person, amount of fuel in the tank etc...

Looking forward to hear feedback from those that actually use it rather than opinions of those who have not..

[specta]

Boomerweps wrote:

specta wrote:


I don't think I would be interested is such a product.
I keep track of the weight using DOT weigh stations.
And they are free. 😉

In Utah, maybe.
Several states have free scales, but not mine (PA).
IF I had access to free Scales, I probably would not have considered getting the HaulGuage (now CURT BetterWeigh).
My closet CAT Scale is about 19 miles away (pun not intended).

I drive thru the same one every Monday morning on my way home from work when they are closed but the scale are still on.

I saw a car stop on the scale once during the day when they were open so I'm guessing as long as there aren't any trucks on t they're OK with t because no one came out screaming. LOL

I've paid plenty of times at Love's truck stops to weigh my rig too.