79,840 and only an 1/8 of a tank!

so many laws from state to state. SHEESH.

i beleive our standard 5 axles would only allow us 86,000. flat with spread axles.

and on another note. someone mention about taking a car off. that car would have to be in the front as that would be where he needs the available allowance for weight of fuel. that would a be a lot of work unloading the whole trailer. LLOL.

 

That's why when guys say "max weight is 80k" I have to laugh because almost all states have exemptions for something. Here is an older list. It's funny how many states have weight exemptions for milk.

Why would you say that?

 

Hmm, from permits for divisible loads, to not being able to go over 34k or 80k gross on 5 axles.
Funny and scary at the same time.
Close them doors and hold that wheel I guess....

Martin

 

Check your atlas, map you route and every scale, then determine the best place to fuel.

Example: 200 gallons is about 1600 lbs (1gal - 8lbs) - depending on your unit about 20/80% split between you steers/drives (short hood).

Every 100 miles (at about 5 mpg) you will burn about 20 gallons or 160 lbs.

If your route has a long stretch between scales, fill up just after the last one.

It's all about trip planning (your numbers may vary).

 

Incorrect! It used to weigh in at 7.3 before the new fuel and without the additives and sulfur the "official" weight is now 7.1.
Yeah 8 was a nice number to figure but when pounds really count then be accurate and was the "CB weight" or an easy way to remember a number!

I preach that when you get a new truck to spend a few dollars and learn where the weights are and what it weighs MT and full of fuel. It will also shows you where all that fuel goes on each axle!

My process is to let the truck get as MT as possible and I have even let it run out before hitting a pump.

I want to know where MT is on the gauge is exactly! I've had a few trucks where MT was at 1/4 tank or sat on E for 100 miles and looking in it the thing was full!

I'll pull onto the scale if I know the truck is almost MT by looking into the tank at the pickup tubes. I've even siphoned the last bit out and then scaled the truck with the 5th in about the #3 hole back and then hit the pumps but with a liquid metal marking pen or a pin marked the gauge where the needle is sitting as my exact visual point then fill the thing up until I can't put another drop in and that means jumping on the running board and getting all the air out!

Yeah it sounds like a lot of work but bear with me!

When it's full hit that scale again and you'll have several weights you'll need.
1- Exactly how many gallons that tank will take because that 95% of whatever it says it can hold might be off! Yes it can happen.
2- You'll be able to tell when that tank is getting to that real life MT point
3- How much weight is distributed between your axles which can be a nice thing to know when fueling when loaded.
4- How many pounds that fuel weighs when you rescale after fueling which IS an exact science even if you drove 100 yards!
5- When you get to your next fueling point and you refuel by getting all that air out and filling to the same point you'll confirm what the ECM is telling you about fuel mileage as there is NO better way to figure out fuel mileage than to fill to the exact point you did the first time and doing 3rd grade math! Those ECMs are not known to be truthful about that MPG!
6- You'll also know after fueling exactly how much that MT unit weighs with fuel and your belongings and your silly butt in the thing! That really helps when you know that the truck weighs in at 32,500 and you're told to pick up that 48,000 pound load!
7- Once you have that MPG and running close to gross or a fuel stop the company only wants you to fuel at, knowing the MPG and the MT point of the tank can be the difference of making it to the pumps or running out of fuel. OK I hear some of you going WHY? Well if you can ONLY fuel at XYZ and it's 1600 miles from your last point or you need to fuel so you can get MT, reloaded and then to the next fuel stop that the company says you can go to those numbers are a life saver or money saver!

It sounds like a lot of work but when you look at it, accuracy does help and figuring at 8 pounds and you get paid by the weight then you are losing a little for each load you haul which adds up in the long run!

Also when I can actually fuel close to that 1/2 tank & mark that point so I know what the spot is and exactly how many gallons it really is.

I've been told that's pretty dumb BUT knowing MY truck and what it does and where weight goes is paramount to me doing my job the best I can. Weight is the make or break of trucking and I'd rather make than break!

It's also how I did MY trucks when I was an owner and as a company driver as it's MY paycheck that's effected by knowing everything that that truck can do.

 

I had a load of onions on a flat that scaled out right at 80000 and with the fuel light on on a pete,, had to put 100 dollars worth of fuel every so often from NM to NY hahaha that was fun .. I have a pic will post later..

 

if there's one thing i've noticed. is that no two scales read the same. even dot.

i just took a load from hatch nm to rochester ny.

you'd actually be all right on the first tank filling up. the first scale is oklahoma city. and they work bankers hours. joplin would be the next scale. but you go around that if you avoid the toll road. so the first scale that i end up hitting is the st. clair scale. right before st. louis.

1175 miles before hitting a scale.

 

ahhhh duh just get a permit for 85000 maybe

 

ahhh duh...didn't you read the thread? Most times you cannot get a permit for a reducible load.

 

wouldn't 84 be the max anyways. other then colorado i think it is that can go 86.

but now that i think about it. if the spread can go 40, that would make it 86.