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Old 07-18-2016, 09:45 AM   #1
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5.0TA Scale Weights B.C.

On a recent Saturday, we were driving by the highway weigh scale- the office was closed but the scale was on. Didn't know that, till now.
Our load included 2 adults, all the food & drinks for 8 days, 2 kayaks, bicycles, 6 gallons of drinking water, Mr. Mac the dog, etc.
Our truck is a full size full length extend cab 2500 Silverado.

Truck and 5.0 together scale notes:
Truck front 1670 kg (3682 pounds)
Rear axle 1670 kg (3682 pounds)
5.0 TA 1650 kg (3638 pounds)

Later we scaled the truck without the 5.0 TA:
Truck front 1630 kg (3594)
Truck rear 1240 kg (2734)

So Truck weight with the 5.0 is 3340 kg
Truck without the 5.0 2870 (2 adults, bikes and kayaks included)
"Pin' weight 470 (1036 pounds)

One day I'll need to replace the Silverado, and these numbers will help me choose which truck to go with.
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Old 07-18-2016, 10:28 AM   #2
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That is a lot of pin weight, what is your 5th wheel hitch model? Seems the total for the 5.0 TA is 4674#
On edit, seems the pin weight number includes 2 adults and bikes/kayaks? Confused here??
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Old 07-18-2016, 11:32 AM   #3
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The kayaks and bikes ride on/in the truck. They were part of the weighing, both with and without the trailer. So they were part of the load on the truck, at each weighing. While this add's to the truck weight, it ensures that the subtraction is correct.- to calculate pin weight.
The hitch is an older 'DSP'- which I'm estimating weigh's 120 pounds. The hitch was in the truck for the scaling, alone.

We had the hitch, and it was used for our previous stickie.
IOW, we didn't purchase a new hitch, as we knew that this is rated for a 12,000 pound load (pulling)
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Old 07-18-2016, 01:13 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by sleepy View Post
On a recent Saturday, we were driving by the highway weigh scale- the office was closed but the scale was on. Didn't know that, till now.
Although there are exceptions, that's the normal practice in B.C. and Alberta. There's even one on Highway 15 just south of 8th Avenue intended for truckers to check for legality before the Pacific Highway border crossing, which is never attended (there isn't even a building) but is always on.
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Old 07-18-2016, 01:23 PM   #5
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I agree with sleepy - the pin weight is simply the difference between what is on the truck axles with the trailer and without the trailer; that's 470 kg. And yes, that's high compared to what other 5.0TA owners say they're running, so I assume that the stuff in the trailer tends to be loaded toward the front of the trailer... although it could also indicate that the pin height is higher than needed and the trailer is being lifted up off the leading axle to some extent.

It would be nice to have the two trailer axles separately, so see if the trailer is sitting on them evenly (meaning a level trailer); the trailer axle capacity is certainly not a concern, as their average load isn't much more than half of their capacity (of 3500 pounds or 1590 kg each). It's good to see actual weights even without this detail.

Since the truck is a Silverado 2500 I assume it is well within its GVWR and GAWR limits. The load distribution between front and rear axles is certainly nice and even.
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Old 07-18-2016, 01:38 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
Although there are exceptions, that's the normal practice in B.C. and Alberta. There's even one on Highway 15 just south of 8th Avenue intended for truckers to check for legality before the Pacific Highway border crossing, which is never attended (there isn't even a building) but is always on.
Sort of like "self service"? So what happens if the vehicle is overloaded, do you issue yourself a summons?....
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Old 07-18-2016, 02:35 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Sort of like "self service"? So what happens if the vehicle is overloaded, do you issue yourself a summons?....
You give yourself 40 lashes with wet noodle.

For the truckers, it's a chance to shift load - or even off-load something - to correct overload conditions. I suppose it also gives them actual weights so they can correctly declare their weight at the border, one mile away.

This is a slick scale for RVs in a way, because there are no structures around the scale platform so you can run one side of the rig at a time over the scale to check side-to-side weight distribution.
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Old 07-18-2016, 04:22 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
I agree with sleepy - the pin weight is simply the difference between what is on the truck axles with the trailer and without the trailer; that's 470 kg. And yes, that's high compared to what other 5.0TA owners say they're running, so I assume that the stuff in the trailer tends to be loaded toward the front of the trailer... although it could also indicate that the pin height is higher than needed and the trailer is being lifted up off the leading axle to some extent.

It would be nice to have the two trailer axles separately, so see if the trailer is sitting on them evenly (meaning a level trailer); the trailer axle capacity is certainly not a concern, as their average load isn't much more than half of their capacity (of 3500 pounds or 1590 kg each). It's good to see actual weights even without this detail.

Since the truck is a Silverado 2500 I assume it is well within its GVWR and GAWR limits. The load distribution between front and rear axles is certainly nice and even.
The truck is 4WD, and only 21 years old (owned it since new and it has 170K on it). It runs fine, and people now comment to me, "gee nice old truck, ya got there...")

The trailer appears to sit level when the pin is hooked to the hitch.
I'll take up your idea and weigh the axles separately, next time. Maybe I could shift beer and wine to the rear seat lockers, to slightly reduce the downward pin weight.

Thanks
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Old 07-18-2016, 04:49 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by sleepy View Post
The trailer appears to sit level when the pin is hooked to the hitch.
I'll take up your idea and weigh the axles separately, next time. Maybe I could shift beer and wine to the rear seat lockers, to slightly reduce the downward pin weight.
Good to know it's level; I'm interested to hear how the axle loads come out, but there's certainly no rush and since the trailer is level there's nothing that needs to be fixed.

Given the load capacity of the truck, I don't see any reason to shift the load and reduce the pin weight. The current pin weight would be too much for lighter-duty trucks, but in this case it just balances the load on the truck axles and provides better drive traction (especially in 2WD, which is almost all the time with a part-time 4WD system) than a lighter pin weight. The pin box is rated for a much heavier trailer, so as long as the trailer frame is happy and the truck isn't sagging I can't think of any issue with the (high) pin weight.
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Old 07-18-2016, 07:01 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepy View Post
The truck is 4WD, and only 21 years old (owned it since new and it has 170K on it). It runs fine, and people now comment to me, "gee nice old truck, ya got there...")

The trailer appears to sit level when the pin is hooked to the hitch.
I'll take up your idea and weigh the axles separately, next time. Maybe I could shift beer and wine to the rear seat lockers, to slightly reduce the downward pin weight.

Thanks
Hi: sleepy... You could switch to lite beer and wine and try the "Slim Fast" diet!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
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Old 07-18-2016, 07:10 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by escape artist View Post
.. You could switch to lite beer and wine...
Hmm... alcohol is less dense than water, so to reduce weight I think you should go stronger, not "lite"
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Old 07-18-2016, 07:30 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
Hmm... alcohol is less dense than water, so to reduce weight I think you should go stronger, not "lite"
From a logistics POV, it'd make sense to just buy as we go, this also reduces the accumulation of obvious empties (returning them as the daily stock is replenished)

BUT, we camp off grid, and we need to take in our supplies. So we'll have to jettison something else.

And lite wine? does that even exist?

I'm not concerned with my load but found the scaling, to be helpful.
----------------------------------------------
Afterthought

The rails that are permanently mounted in my box floor, look to weigh about 20+ pounds apiece.

It all adds up.
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Old 07-20-2016, 09:25 AM   #13
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An Afterthought

I've been reviewing the load in the trailer, and I think there was about 200 pounds of stuff, that was unusual. Things that wouldn't normally be in the trailer.

We have adult children on the way to our camping place- and we had some of their things in the trailer.

Cause I'm a delivery service, don't ya know...
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