legal loads

Assuming that you have the standard 5 axle setup, the max numbers for an 80,000 pound unit are 34 for the trailer, 34 for the tractor tandems, and 12 for the steering axle. If you are running in some states, there are length limitations that will restrict you to certain weights on state roadways. But for general interstate work, and the majority of states, the 34,34,12 rule fits.

You have the positioning of the load, the adjustment of the trailer axle, and the position of the 5th wheel in your hands as tools to adjus the weights to the legal limits. And, don't forget to calculate in the effect of any fuel you put on if you haven't fueled before loading.

 

You adjust the weight by sliding the trailer tandem forward or back u pull a lever and a pin is released then you waddle bac to the truck and move the trailer in either direction then you waddle back to the trailer realeas the lever waddle bac to the truck and move the trailer again locking the pins in the holes.un less you slid it perfect and they were already lined up with the holes.
depending on the spacing of the holes i always consider each hole 250 pnds
some trucks are equiped also with sliding 5th wheels
youl notice carriers that haul heavier loads more often, have a fixed 5th wheel.
The weight limits vary from state to state depending on the truck and axle setup, tires etc...
the gen weight rule is as above stated by above poster.

 

Moving the 5th wheel forward places weight onto the steering axle and removes weight from the drive axles, though the overall amount of weight the tractor is carrying remains the same. You rarely need to do this if your truck is set up properly to begin with.

Moving the trailer axles forward or back adjusts the amount of weight carried on the trailer axles and the tractor tndems. Move the axles back and you tend to pick up more weight on the tandems, move it forward and you tend to pick up more on the trailer.

It sounds more complicated than it really is. Once you have done it a time or two and seen how it affects the weight placement, it all becomes clear in your mind.

 

Pull a spread and you won't have to worry about it!

 

If you don't have to cross a scale, all loads are legal.....

 

Thats what I was thinking!

 

Of course, sometimes that doesn't quite work. On Thursday nite, I was coming home after loading a trailer. I had loaded kind of heavy, grossed 80,640, and was too tired to go back to the railroad car and pump the excess back into the car. So, knowing that there was a good safe route that would take me around both the Indiana and Michigan scales, I set off for home. In the middle of my detour, I come across a bunch of "Road Closed" signs, and it turns out they are reworking one of the bridges on the route. So now, I have to detour off my detour, further into the wilds to get around the missing bridge. I detoured through downtown Michigan City In, over to 12, and went home that way. Sometimes fancy detours can bit you in the fanny. Bottom line, run legal as much as you can.

 

Well; with all your detouring, you should have burn't enough fuel to cross the scale!