Weight,Weight Limits and Sliding 5th Wheel

Depends on your wheelbase.

 

12000 on the steers. The DM is not driving the truck. Some states will allow over, but I would keep them as close to 12k as possible, but not over.

5th wheel is about 100-150 lbs per notch. Be aware of that the closer you get the front of the trailer to the cab the likelyhood you will bend the wings when trying to back in.

Moving the 5th wheel will affect the weight on the steers.

Tandoms usually are 200-250 per notch.

For a new driver I would suggest you move the 5th wheel back far enough to put about 11.5k on the steers and leave it alone. Each time you move it, it will affect how you pivot in trying to back in.

 

Depends on the 5th wheel how much it moves, a Holland fine tooth will move about 150 to 250 per tooth, now you take my Fontaine Long slide where it has actual slots and locking lugs spread about 4inchs apart and the weight change is around 450 per. Better check which one your unit has. I agree with cc19 there on settings, don't max out all the time, set up so when your drives are close to 34 your steer is 11,500 to 11,600. I just put $12,000 into my suspension last year front and rear, did the work myself replaced everything and saw what maxing out all the time does to stuff. Sure it had around 1.1mil on it and it was time but my motto is, run as light as possible , get as much money as possible and run as few of miles as possible, let all the mega companies do that heavy junk for nothin.

 

Most states allow 20,000 pounds on the steer axle IF the tires, suspension, and axle are all rated for that kind of weight. Usually, the tire rating is going to be what the officer uses to judge if you're over on your steers...which on a low profile 22.5 tire with a load range G (typical fleet tire), that is 12,350#.

And the weight-per-notch is going to vary...notch spacing differs from one manufacturer to the next.

 

Look at the steer tires and you will see a tire rating for each tire at a certain inflation. That figure X 2 is what you can legally run on your steers. As an example, if the tire is rated 6375# at 105psi, then your max allowed steer weight would be 12750#.
Depends on which brand of fifth wheel you have, i always figured 500# per notch, and would be close. I have my fifth wheel pivot centered one notch forward of dead center between the drives and for most loads, that works just fine. I may move it once a year for a load.
If you plan to make this a career, play with your tractor settings. See what different settings do for weight distribution. If you are at a shipper that has an onsite scale, us theirs to see what different settings gets you.
Then later when you are loading far from a scale you will have a better idea how your weights are going to work out.

 

As others have said your tire ratings are a limiting factor, but if in your door panel it says your axle is only rated for 12K, then that will be all a fussy DOT inspector will allow.

 

Yes. You must check your Atlas. Watch the weight capacity of your tires. 6175 pounds each gives you 12350 MAX. Even if the state allows overage. Don't listen to phone jockeys. "Brainless"

 

12500 anywhere and youll be fine.

 

with an APU, most will allow 12,500. First thing you need to do when you get in a new truck and under a heavy load and full of fuel, is shift the trailer tandem to where you have 34,000 on the tractor drives, then, if the previous driver didn't screw it up, you should be VERY NEAR 12,000 on the steer. If so, NEVER consider moving your 5th wheel again. Once you have 34k on the drives, full of fuel, and 12k on the steer, you never need to worry or concern yourself with the 5th wheel position again. All weight shifting MUST THEN be accomplished by sliding the trailer tandem, only. Sliding the 5th wheel is a one-time-set-it-and-forget-it task but has to be done when full of fuel and heavily loaded to achieve a 12k/34k split.

We know our gross is limited to 80k and we know our tandems (non spread) are limited to 34k ... you can do the math from there as far as what you can be allowed on the steer axle.