Over on steer axle

Start by checking the rating on your tires and steeraxle.

 

It can be. Volvo I'm in right now is 13,200 for the front axle. The rating is on the door jamb.
12,000 is simply a rule of thumb so if trailer and drives are both fully loaded at 34,000 each you can only have 12,000 on the steers before your over the 80,000 lbs limit. Things never work that way in real life. There are a few things to look at for the axle weight.
1. Tire ratings - on the tire
2. Axle ratings - driver door jamb
3. State ratings - front of your atlas

It's the lesser of the three.

 

Generally, having the 5th wheel in between the drives is where most people keep then5th wheel. Sliding it back should get some weight off of the steers.

Numerous states allow the weight rating on the tires for the steer axle. For instance, I run 16 ply which are rated at 13,200. Hope this helps

 

A few holes back you will be legal.

 

repeating.

Both the manufacturer's front axle rating and the tires BOTH should meet the specs for the weight.
As quoted, if one or the other is rated lower, the lower rating is the steers weight limit.

 

We ran bus tires on our heavy tour on a standard 12k front axle