Load distribution

I would say scale empty. Full tanks

Then measure from the center of your truck axles, to the centre of your trailer axles. Divide that number in two. Measure back from your 5th wheel that divided distance. Make a mark with a marker.

That is the center of your axle groups, so if you ask them to belly load you off that mark you should be ok.

If you were loading 5 coils the I would place the heaviest one at your mark, and spread 2 in front and 2 behind.

 

Do u have a sliding fifth wheel?when pulling a spread,first thing i was told to do is to slide my fifth wheel all the way back

 

Why? Then you won't have any weight on the steers.

 

When u slide the fifth wheel all the way back you give urself some room to transfer weight from trailer to drives by sliding it forward,that combined with 40k on the trailer makes it very easy to manage the weight of the load.

 

I just try to load all my loads so the weight is balanced 24 foot from the front of the trailer. That's on a 53 ft spread axle, with a load up to 48 ft. Doing that, I never have to worry too much about axle weights. They'll be ok. Just gross weight is a concern. Also, if you can't balance it pretty darn close there, put it a tad heavier to the rear. Although you can go 40,000 on the spread, you don't really want to. I want the drives and the trailer closer to the same weight when possible. Seems to ride better. And with a Cascadia, you may have to move the 5th wheel. To get the steers a little lighter. This truck has a bolt down 5th with no slider. As far forward as it was I was always heavy on steer. Moved it to where the 5th wheel pivot point was directly above the center of the drives. No more problems. Steers Are always around 11,700 +- a tad.

 

Sliding the 5th wheel doesn't change the weight on the trailer axles...only the balance between the steers and drives. Ideal 5th wheel position would have your steers at or near 12K when your drives are at 34K. Once you find that spot, forget about sliding your 5th wheel unless you hook to a step or haul a long load overhanging the front and need it back for swing clearance.

Personally, even with a spread, I'd rather be 12/34/34 if I'm @ 80K. If I'm under (but still pretty heavy), I like my drives to be heavier...as close to 34K as I can get them. Rides better, turns better, and less likely to get stuck. If you load the trailer to 40K and only have 25K on the drives, it makes navagating tight spots a real chore, and if you have to leave the pavement, you won't get very far.

I like to find the half-way point between the front trailer axle and the rear drive axle and center the weight there. If I'm going to be close to 80K, I might load a foot or two behind that point just because you DO have some wiggle room on the trailer axles if you're a bit over 34K. The better you can balance the load, the better it'll pull.

 

My comment about moving my 5th wheel was in response to the OP saying his steers where 13,000 on his Cascadia. I too, had that problem on this Cascadia.

 

My 5th wheel is all the way back. I'm usually high 10s or low 11 when I scale. The only time I have to move my 5th wheel is when I pulled a heavy double drop trailer with fix tandems. I believe it's only 45 ft long. But I'm usually over on my drives and have to move my 5th wheel all the way forward to be legal.

 

The farthest the king pin is from the center of the trailer axles the less weight is gonna be on the drives and the steers,sliding the fifth all the wayback lets the driver take advantage of the 40k lbs on the spread,in the occasion he's over 40 he got the option to slide his fifth wheel forward and transfer some weight to the drives and steers.having the fifth wheel all the way forward doesnt allow any adjustments other than shifting the load itself