Portable axle scales at a rally?

[richinny]

i know they have them but i don't know just how portable they really are. i wonder if it would be possible to have this setup at a rally or if it has already been done.

i'd think that it would be a great asset to the group to fine tune their rigs to provide a safer ride.

[markdoane]

My son-in-law has a set that fts in the back of a Yukon. They're for "official police use" only, and cost $10K each.

[Melody Ranch]

When I need to do a weight and balance for my old airplanes I call the Dept of Public Safety....Highway patrol to some.... they have those portable scales available....carried in the rear of some cars. I had read somewhere that those scales were made available to the public....we own them, after all,.... sure enough, every time I requested the use I had a DPS vehicle show up and used the scales for a while...usually about 30 minutes. Even had the officer help out. Lets all hope all other States do the same. Thats public service.

[DPeakMD]

They had a service at the International in Springfield, MO made available by the RV Safety & Education Foundation. There was a substantial fee to have it performed, but I can't recall exactly how much. They measure each wheel on your combination. Their website has a list of locations you can have it done.

[richinny]

Originally Posted by DPeakMD

They had a service at the International in Springfield, MO made available by the RV Safety & Education Foundation. There was a substantial fee to have it performed, but I can't recall exactly how much. They measure each wheel on your combination. Their website has a list of locations you can have it done.

thank you! it looks like a great resource.

RV Safety, Merritt Island, Florida

[Mikethefixit]

I belong to a Racing Association we (as a club) own a set of portables that each member could weight his race car. We also use them at races as a competition check device to check the winners for infractions of the rules.
I cant remember the exact cost but I think it was around 2 0r 3 thousand dollars. They were made up of 4 pads and a control head. They really were not very heavy when broken down.
It would be a nice idea if someone had that kind of money to put down and wanted to haul em around to Rallys. One could pay for them I suppose with a small fee for each setting. A nice tool.

[funkill]

Originally Posted by Melody Ranch

When I need to do a weight and balance for my old airplanes I call the Dept of Public Safety....Highway patrol to some.... they have those portable scales available....carried in the rear of some cars. I had read somewhere that those scales were made available to the public....we own them, after all,.... sure enough, every time I requested the use I had a DPS vehicle show up and used the scales for a while...usually about 30 minutes. Even had the officer help out. Lets all hope all other States do the same. Thats public service.

Sorry for my ignorance but - would using these be the same as going to a weigh station/CAT? I have avoided getting my *rig* weighed because the stations in my local are in an area that I'm not quite ready to undertake. I'm just not confident enough to drive the crazy highway or find myself in a downtown area and not being able to negotiate the roadways well. So, the thought of asing the Highway Patrol to give me a hand with portable scales sounds like a dream!
Laura

[DPeakMD]

Originally Posted by funkill

Sorry for my ignorance but - would using these be the same as going to a weigh station/CAT? I have avoided getting my *rig* weighed because the stations in my local are in an area that I'm not quite ready to undertake. I'm just not confident enough to drive the crazy highway or find myself in a downtown area and not being able to negotiate the roadways well. So, the thought of asing the Highway Patrol to give me a hand with portable scales sounds like a dream!
Laura

A CAT or similar truck scale gives you a per axle weight. Which is still very helpful, but there can be situations where you're over-loaded on one side and those tires/wheels may be over their individual rating, not to mention just being off balance as a whole. The scales are set up for semi trucks and use large steel plates. Their spacing may not be ideal for your particular TV/trailer combo (you want to be near the middle of the plate to get the most accurate reading).

As far as finding a CAT Scale, they have a website with locations. I find they're usually located near interstates at truck stops. So there should be plenty of room to maneuver your rig.

When I talked to the RV safety folks in MO they said their biggest challenge is finding a big enough parking lot that is also very level. I can see their point, most are not.

[funkill]

Originally Posted by DPeakMD

A CAT or similar truck scale gives you a per axle weight. Which is still very helpful, but there can be situations where you're over-loaded on one side and those tires/wheels may be over their individual rating, not to mention just being off balance as a whole. The scales are set up for semi trucks and use large steel plates. Their spacing may not be ideal for your particular TV/trailer combo (you want to be near the middle of the plate to get the most accurate reading).

As far as finding a CAT Scale, they have a website with locations. I find they're usually located near interstates at truck stops. So there should be plenty of room to maneuver your rig.

When I talked to the RV safety folks in MO they said their biggest challenge is finding a big enough parking lot that is also very level. I can see their point, most are not.

So, it sounds like the portable ones - that can measure weight on each tire - is more useful than the CAT scales. I'm really wanting the weights for adjusting my WD hitch. There are two CAT scales just at an hour drive from my place - one off busy I-4. No way am I taking the a/s on that at this point! The other is probably do-able now, since I got a respectable TV to get on I-95/the Interstate. Maybe I'll just take a little jaunt up the coast to Daytona and see what the scales show! Thanks for your help.

[DPeakMD]

Yes, I'd recommend getting the axle weights. That's all I've ever done and it can provide you with a good bit of insight into your weight distributing hitch setup. You'll need the TV front and rear axle on separate pads. The trailer axles will probably fall as they may, but often end up sharing a pad.

Run through once with the trailer and TV loaded the way you usually travel. Don't go with an empty gas tank, water tank, propane, etc. It's good to do this at the start of a trip! Once you've got your combo weighed, then disconnect the trailer from the TV and go inside and ask for "Re-Weigh" which they will usually provide you for less than the cost you paid the first time. Then run the TV across alone. You'll end up with your trailer weight and you'll see how much weight you're distributing to the front and rear axles of the TV. Then make sure you're not overloading any axles or tires.

[InsideOut]

A couple of years ago at the Region 11 Rally in Casa Grande AZ, they had a set of the individual tire scales and they were offering to weigh each trailer as it arrived for "free". It was pretty cool...I found out that Maxwell was only within 10 pounds side-to-side when fully loaded for the rally. I don't recall who provided the service (I think a trucking company), but I believe the "rally fund" paid them to be there for 1/2 a day or so as people arrived. Great service and if you can find someone locally to do it. Divide the dollar amount up (if it's not like TX where the hwy patrol do it for free), for a larger rally, it wasn't that expensive.

Also, at our DenCO Unit May Maintenance Rally each year we bring out the tongue scale and weigh them, no charge ~

Shari