Will I Have An Issue with Steer Weight?

No. My FLD was 280” and my W900 was 280”. I had no issue getting weight up front. Just get a 36” or 48” slide if you’re concerned about it. Slide your 5th wheel ahead to get weight up front instead of trying to look cool with it slid back.

 

As long as you can slide your 5th wheel and run it forward of center it will transfer weight to your steer axle. A lot of guys will run it dead center either for looks or a claimed better ride and you won’t get weight up front doing that.

 

Are they using the incorrect steer weight? 12,000 lbs, contrary to school teachings and truck stop counter rumor, is not correct.
The real max weight for steers is the lesser of the three.
1. Tire weight rating.
2. Axle weight rating.
3. Road weight rating set by the state. Typically 20k per axle but varies by state. Check atlas for specifics.

 

Assuming you're running standard steers and not wide steers.
And you can adjust the weight.
Adjust your loaded weight to 12,500 and leave it. It's what most of us do.

My current setup is 13,200 loaded.

 

If you put your 5th wheel where you’re a little over 12k loaded then it gives you some leeway on your other axles if you’re trying to scale a load that’s right at 80k gross. I run 12.4k on my current 579, haven’t slid my 5th wheel in 3 years since I got it set where I wanted it.

The point is you can get weight up front no matter the wheelbase of the truck, it just depends on how far under your trailer you can get. And since you will be running a standard 5 axle set up you can get under your trailer as far as you need to get because you don’t have to be concerned with your inner bridge.

 

Max weight on the steers..

Some trucks are speced for 13k these days. But some states won't allow that much weight.