Load Balance Before You Move the Tandems

Have you figured out yet why the trailer tandems and the fifth wheel get moved on American trucks?

What's unclear about it? So that drivers stay within the weight limits.

For sensible drivers, that's not enough. We want every truck to come home from a trip undamaged and with a decent reward for saving resources and reducing the risk of crashes so that the driver ends up at home, not in jail or in the cemetery. Life, freedom, and a decent reward for a quality balance.

Yes, of course, we're all for it, and I know that for winter it's worth moderately increasing the weight balance on the drive axles. But our trailer has no equipment at all, only the PSI gauges on the truck.

That's not enough. On the trailer, you can measure the suspension pressure with a digital tire gauge and determine the weight with an app. Have you heard of Mouse Scale, which determines axle weights from gauge readings and calculates the optimal tandem position?

You mean an even distribution?

That's fairly good for heavy axles, but not always. Experienced drivers recommend increasing the weight balance on the drive axles by six to six and a half percent for winter. But nobody has given us official recommendations yet. Research needs to be done.

And what should I do?

Learn, son. Understand that you can earn good money on professional load control. The unwritten rule of this industry says whoever determines the weight deserves the carrier's reward.

For example, in the warm season, if the weather is good and the driver is experienced, he can reduce the rolling resistance of the wheels by moderately shifting the balance to the trailer tandems.

By how much should I shift it, and how do I do it?

Moderately, by fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds, but no more than three thousand.

But remember, these numbers come from the practical experience of experienced drivers. It is not an official norm and not a rule. For now, these are practical guidelines that need scientific verification. When official science-based recommendations on safe load balance appear, we will strive to follow exactly those.

I think you understand yourself that too much imbalance is dangerous. You shouldn't make the truck's drive axles too light, especially in bad weather. Saving is good, of course, but safety comes first.

All this is interesting, of course, but our company has no equipment at all on the trailers. I don't even know what to do.

It's simple, my friend. Sign the petition to the DOT on the need for digitization and for introducing fair pay for drivers for optimal balance and saving resources.

We all do the same job. We lift America's economy, and that's why we deserve a decent reward. It's time to reduce the risk of winter crashes.

Enough working for free because it is simply dangerous.

People's lives are more important than the fear of a small overweight. Truck drivers need to take load control into their own hands and get a decent reward for it. Professionals should not work for free.

And how does it work? How do I set the tandems to the optimal position?

It's all very simple. If the distance to move the tandems isn't very large, the app will estimate the axle weights and tell you how many holes and which way to move the tandems for the optimal balance.

Is it complicated?

Simpler than you think because the app does all the calculations.

Is it expensive?

Not at all because people's lives are priceless. You shouldn't get rich on the fear of death.

Want me to show you a video on how to balance the load?

Go ahead.

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters, truck drivers. We are working hard to fulfill our startup's motto: Mouse Scale is better. However, our greatest advantage is time. Our app predicts changes in axle weights before the trailer tandems or fifth wheel are moved or before the truck is refueled.

Today, we will introduce the Light version, which predicts the optimal trailer tandem position based on road and weather conditions.

You can verify the accuracy of our calculations directly in the app. Enter a maximum pressure of sixty-one point one PSI for the drive axle suspension and eighty-eight point six PSI for the trailer suspension. These values were established through the high-quality calibration described in episode four.

At the time of these weighings, the trailer cargo weighed approximately forty-three thousand pounds. The surface in front of the scale was not perfectly level, but it was reasonably good. High-quality calibration and compliance with load control rules produced good results when predicting the optimal tandem positions, both from suspension pressure readings and from scale weighings. In most cases, the two methods agree within a small margin of error, approximately one adjacent hole.

During the initial pressure measurement, the drive axle suspension pressure was fifty-six PSI, while the trailer tandem suspension pressure was eighty-five point six PSI. According to the app's calculations, the approximate axle group weights were thirty-one thousand five hundred ten and thirty-two thousand nine hundred fifty-five pounds respectively.

We then weighed the truck on a reliable scale

The results were eleven thousand eight hundred forty, thirty-one thousand eight hundred twenty, and thirty-three thousand sixty pounds. Therefore, under less than ideal conditions, the pneumatic method deviated by three hundred and ten pounds for the drive axles and one hundred and five pounds for the trailer tandems.

To predict the effect of moving the tandems, we recommend using a new mathematical formula that considers both the axle weights and the distance the tandems are moved.

The old estimates of two hundred and fifty or three hundred and eighty pounds are accurate only when the axle loads are very heavy. They are much less accurate with lighter loads.

For winter roads, experienced drivers recommend increasing the drive axle load by six to six and a half percent. Accordingly, our app recommended moving the tandems seven four-inch holes toward the rear.

After moving the tandems, we weighed the truck again. The axle group weights were thirty-three thousand five hundred twenty and thirty-one thousand three hundred sixty pounds. This means that the drive axles became two thousand one hundred sixty pounds heavier than the trailer tandems, creating a six-point-nine percent balance toward the drive axles. Calculate the balance for the adjacent holes. It will be approximately five point two five percent or eight point five five percent.

Let us summarize. The mathematical model exists, and it accurately calculates the effect of moving the tandems over the required relatively short distances, provided there is no major weight imbalance between the axle groups. This can help you achieve a safer load balance, reduce tire rolling resistance, and save fuel.

It is also important that Mouse Scale provides its results before the driver begins moving the axles. After moving them, you can measure and verify the resulting suspension pressure values and compare them with the app's prediction for additional reliability.

We must raise the level of professional values and standards. Human life is priceless, so it is worth learning Mouse Scale's new mathematical model.

During the experiment, we also predicted an even load distribution and a fuel-saving mode for experienced drivers. The fuel-saving mode moderately increases the load on the trailer tandems to reduce tire rolling resistance.

Here are the results.

For even load distribution, we obtained a drive axle weight of thirty-two thousand five hundred eighty pounds and a trailer tandem weight of thirty-two thousand three hundred pounds.

For the fuel-saving mode, the weights were thirty-one thousand two hundred eighty pounds on the drive axles and thirty-three thousand five hundred eighty pounds on the trailer tandems.

To conclude this episode, I would like to offer one piece of advice free of charge. Please do not overlook this important project to digitize the load control industry.

Everything is just beginning. See you next time.