trailers/load distrib.

You move them back and forth to evenly distribute the weight of the trailer on the tandems and drives of the tractor and trailer. Legally you are allowed 80,000lbs including the weight of the tractor and trailer. However it must be no more than 34,000 on the tandems or drives whether the truck is underweight or not. If you have 37,000lbs on the drives of the tractor then you must slide the trailer tandems forward to take some of the weight off of the drives. The weight of the steer tires on the tractor is usually allowed to the specs of the individual tire manufacturers. If they say 23,000 then that is what you are allowed to carry on the steers. If your steers are overweight you can slide your fifth wheel.

Hope that helps.

 

Not trying to mess with you, but the steer tires can only hold whatever the vehicle manufacturer puts on the door plate, regardless of the type of tires used. 658.17 states the steer axle can legally weigh up to 20,000 lbs, or the manufacturer's limit, whichever is less.

 

Question for you drivers familiar with sliding tandems..

What's a general rule of thumb for how much weight you transfer per hole on sliding tandems - is there a general amount? The reason I ask is I have to scale a lot of our long-box loads and have never really done it before - only familiar with scaling spread axles and sets..

Thanks..

 

Depends on the brand of the trailer. I've experienced between 250-400 lbs. per hole.

 

Generally it is about 250 lbs per hole, but that will depend on how many holes are available, so it will vary. There is a bit more to it than that, but that is a basic rough number. I'm getting this info from my hubby as I type.

 

I suppose the variable in weight per hole depends on where the weight is in the trailer? I'm guessing you'll notice the most weight per hole if the weight is evenly spread throughout the trailer?

For whatever reason we overload the rear an awful lot..

 

Not really. The weight per hole is the same on your wagon no matter how the trailer is loaded.

 

Thank you everyone and I'll keep the 250-400 range in mind..

I'll have to play around with it a little when I get a chance.. Can be hard to scale a trailer with a yard truck anyway but we at least try to get a ballpark idea with anything over 35,000 total..

 

Just to add alittle here...the 250 per hole is a good starting point...but really depends how long your slider rails are and how far apart your holes are..I have seen great dane trls around 600 a hole before