Axle Weight Question
Topic 9348 | Page 1
I hate getting a load that is within ounces of the maximum. But the shipper is entitled to their money's worth!
Where are your fuel tanks? They are not anywhere near the rear tandems , so your 34,000 will probably stay there, full or empty fuel tanks.
Use 8lbs per gallon to estimate fuel weight if you need to. Or get your tank (both tanks together) capacity, say 140 gallons. 140 x 8 = 1,120 pounds full. Each 1/4 tank on the fuel gauge represents 280 lbs.
Chances are you'll get through any scale, but to avoid an argument, I might move the tandems back one hole just to move off the 34,000 bubble.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Hey Gizmo, if I were you I would move my fifth wheel forward one hole. Take a look at your steer tires and find how much they're rated for. Usually your steers can handle 12,300lb though some states allow only a maximum of 12,000lb.
After you move the fifth wheel I would slide the tandems back 2 holes to add weight on the Drives. Here's how it'll look roughly.
12,280lb Steers
32,880lb Drives after moving fifth wheel (depends on position of fuel tanks)
34,000lb Tandems
Then slide the tandems back 2 holes and it'll look roughly like this.
12,280lb Steers
33,880lb Drives
33,000lb Tandems
Keep the fuel tank at or below 5/8 of a tank, don't ever top yourself off. The weight on your Drives will reduce as you burn fuel.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Hey Gizmo, if I were you I would move my fifth wheel forward one hole. Take a look at your steer tires and find how much they're rated for. Usually your steers can handle 12,300lb though some states allow only a maximum of 12,000lb.
After you move the fifth wheel I would slide the tandems back 2 holes to add weight on the Drives. Here's how it'll look roughly.
12,280lb Steers
32,880lb Drives after moving fifth wheel (depends on position of fuel tanks)
34,000lb Tandems
Then slide the tandems back 2 holes and it'll look roughly like this.
12,280lb Steers
33,880lb Drives
33,000lb Tandems
Keep the fuel tank at or below 5/8 of a tank, don't ever top yourself off. The weight on your Drives will reduce as you burn fuel.
if he hits a state that only allows 12k on the steers hes looking at a violation
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Hey Gizmo, if I were you I would move my fifth wheel forward one hole. Take a look at your steer tires and find how much they're rated for. Usually your steers can handle 12,300lb though some states allow only a maximum of 12,000lb.
After you move the fifth wheel I would slide the tandems back 2 holes to add weight on the Drives. Here's how it'll look roughly.
12,280lb Steers
32,880lb Drives after moving fifth wheel (depends on position of fuel tanks)
34,000lb Tandems
Then slide the tandems back 2 holes and it'll look roughly like this.
12,280lb Steers
33,880lb Drives
33,000lb Tandems
Keep the fuel tank at or below 5/8 of a tank, don't ever top yourself off. The weight on your Drives will reduce as you burn fuel.
if he hits a state that only allows 12k on the steers hes looking at a violation
Yes sir, I told him this. He didn't tell us what states he's driving through so it's something that he needs to look into.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
You guys are nuts and paranoid. He did say he was in va heading to NY.
You are about 60-70 gallons short of full so I would run with it and fill up at the fuel stop.
Forgot to answer the original question. Fuel weight will be split between the steers and drives. The further to the back the more goes on the drives.
You guys are nuts and paranoid. He did say he was in va heading to NY.
You are about 60-70 gallons short of full so I would run with it and fill up at the fuel stop.
Haha you're right I did miss it! But as far as nuts, I think you're the one that's nuts for hauling all those oversized loads!
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
You guys are nuts and paranoid. He did say he was in va heading to NY.
You are about 60-70 gallons short of full so I would run with it and fill up at the fuel stop.
Haha you're right I did miss it! But as far as nuts, I think you're the one that's nuts for hauling all those oversized loads!
Yeah, don't worry about axle weights, just worry about axles holding. 
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Ok, first of all let me say that we have an awesome section in the High Road Training Program called truck weight & balance and it covers this very topic and many more - how to calculate fuel burnoff, what percentage of your fuel weight goes on which axles, how to load cargo, how to figure out tandem placement, and a whole lot more. I feel this section and the Logbook Rules are critically important to complete before going out on the road.
On most trucks about 80%-90% of the weight of your fuel will go on your steer axle. Very little will go on your drives. Daniel B is right - your 5th wheel is one hole too far back. You should move it forward one hole but wait until you deliver this load, otherwise you could be overweight in some states on your steers. It would probably balance out correctly if you also slid your tandems back one hole at the same time you moved your 5th wheel forward one hole, but don't worry about that for now. You're legal so just leave everything alone until you get this load delivered.
Besides, you don't want to try to slide your 5th wheel when you're fully loaded. You'll have to crank down the landing gear to take most of the weight off the 5th wheel to get it to slide. It's a huge pain. Do it when you're empty.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
New Reply:
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Preview:
Why Join Trucking Truth?
- The High Road Training Program
- The High Road Article Series
- The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
- Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted
Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth
Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:
TT On Facebook
It is me again.
First off I have to thank everyone on this site that makes this place what it is. A group of individuals who all come together to help/share/vent experiences. I am lucky to have found this site and lucky to decide and join.
Now my question is in regard to scaling and axle weights. Unfortunately I cant post the picture of my scale ticket from my phone but here are my weights.
Steer- 11780 lbs Drive- 33380 lbs Trailer- 34000 lbs Total- 79160 lbs
I know everything is legal and the tandem weight is max. But I got this scaled at 3/4 tanks full in Virginia and my fuel stop to fill up is in upstate New York. So my question is this, I know adding and using up fuel will increase and decrease your weight some. But in regards to axle weight where does this fuel weight go to? Does it only affect the steer and drive axle weight if I increase or decrease fuel levels or does it affect all axles across the board sort of like a balance?
I am more curious then anything to know, like if it was taken to the extreme from full fuel tanks to empty tanks how the axles would be as described above. Thanks
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".