I am confused on my CAT Scale weight

Release all brakes on a cat scale ... also your fifth wheel is set a hair too far back of the drive axle centreline .. I wouldn’t worry about it all because it allows you to fuel up when heavy

 

There is a tipping point. Adding the weight of the empty trailer is pushing down on the entire length of the tractor frame with most of the weight being on and behind the drive tires, but some of it being distributed forward to the steers. If the skid plate is all the way back, or far enough behind the drives, adding weight will eventually equalize and start to lift the front of the tractor.

 

5th wheel forward of midpoint between drive axles, weight should transfer to the steer axle.

5th wheel behind midpoint between drive axles, weight should transfer off the steer axle.

 

As for the heavier steer weight with an empty trailer, what was his fuel level between bobtail and empty? Most trucks will put the fuel on the steer axle.

 

This maybe true, but I have never experienced that, but I have never looked for it either.

 

I think I get. I've only driven duallys & my single screw so bear with me..

With my hitch directly above, or even only an inch or two ahead of the drive, my steer always seems to gain between 60-300lbs. Depending on trailers pin weight. With my dodge pulling a tag along I've seen the steer lose 340lbs once. I do understand the teeter-totter effect.

So on a twin screw, if the 5th wheel is between axle 2 & 3 but closer to axle 3.. Does axle 2 become the fulcrum point.? The weight behind axle 2 now begins stealing the steer weight..?

 

By Jove, I think he's got it!

 

There's a van running around the desert that has a tag added behind the drive, I think it was a custom built by Gene Winfield, they claim it was for a water bed, back in the day, back door says a waterbed inside for victories at sea...

 

It depends on wheelbase, position of fuel tanks, etc. On my W9 at 310 wheelbase with an extra tank under the passenger door, the steer is overweight bobtail when I am full of fuel. For a while there volvo trucks were over weight full of fuel, at least one year anybody that took them back to make legal wound up with something like 80 gallon tanks. lol

 

I probably slide my fifth wheel on average two to three times a year and that's it and nine times out of ten it's on some lousy broker load at some lousy Warehouse where they don't know how to load to save their life and hardly speak any English..
so after playing around with the tandems and not wanting to run the tandem's all the way to the back a lot of times I'll have to punch the fifth wheel up..
other than that exactly love the Ron Pompeii reference to set it and forget it somebody watches too many infomercials...