Overall weight

Hi Folks,

Van (Warwick duo) is now fully loaded , full tank of fuel etc ready for departure tomorrow, Calais ferry Saturday 0700.

Not done it before but out of curiosity we nipped to the local weigh bridge. FAW 1740, RAW 1600, total 3340 kg so well within our limit.

Any view on axle weight distribution or does it not really mater too much ?

Regards Geoff

Suf wrote:Hi Folks,

Van (Warwick duo) is now fully loaded , full tank of fuel etc ready for departure tomorrow, Calais ferry Saturday 0700.

Not done it before but out of curiosity we nipped to the local weigh bridge. FAW 1740, RAW 1600, total 3340 kg so well within our limit.

Any view on axle weight distribution or does it not really mater too much ?

Regards Geoff

Our Duo, loaded etc came in at F1820 R 1560, did you stay in the van, we had my wife, myself and 10kg dog on board.

So not much difference, was the bridge level? I have been told it matters as some are on a slope. I am just under 14st and wife is 10st so she tells me

Richard

The weigh bridge I use is on a slope, the operator has me turn the van around and drive back on to the scales to do the rear axel weight

Caraman wrote:All the weigh bridges I have seen are level and I am surprised that some are not.  The first weigh bridge I used was level but raised off the ground with ramps at each end which led to inaccurate axle readings.

To look at the one I use you would think it level, but he assured me that there is a slight slope enough to have an effect on the readings of axel weights, it’s on a grain storage facility but open to the public so most weights are done on full wagons or tractor and trailers

when you go on a weight bridge with a truck and the load is at the back of the trailer you get a correct load read out and the load is on one end of the weigh bridge .if the load worked out from and empty to loaded truck to be 20t on the paper work this would need to be correct to be NOTE BE legal .
so IF YOU READ what is being said by Caraman above the load needs in the middle of the weigh bridge is NOTE NOT CORRECT
WEIGH BRIDGES ARE TESTED TO BE LEGAL
so if I get pulled for a weight test in my truck and now it says I am over the vehicle max load but I say I tested and was ok but was not in the middle of the weigh bridge with the load when tested .will I get a fine and points still yes as I am over load limit

We were both in the van when it was weighed on the local council weigh bridge.
It looked flat to me, cost £12 for 3 measurements.
I went on the tyresafe Web site as suggested by caravan and discovered that the tyre pressures were too high (65 psi all round)
Now on 55 front, 50 rear with 255 cross agilis crossclimates, now a softer ride.
Thanks for all your comments.

Caraman wrote:I was repeating what the operator of my local weigh bridge told me. When tested for accuracy the load is central and not as is the case with the Nuevo with its front axle being less than 3 metres onto the weigh bridge and the rear axle being off it.  That said, it didn’t stop me getting the axle readings that I expected.  When I previously measured the masses on a weigh bridge with ramps, my front axle was about 100 kg less than I expected and my rear axle 100 kg more.  So there is some truth in that aspect of it.

Caraman
YOU CAN DO AS MUCH TALK AS YOU LIKE BUT TO ANY PERSON READING IT WHAT CARAMAN IS SAYING IS NOT CORRECT
if what caraman is saying was correct there would be lots of loads on trucks that people would not be getting the correct load as to what they have paid for and lots of fines
if people are going to put information on the forum it would help if it was correct as in what Caraman has said here will NOTE not help anybody
with the amount of times I have been on the weigh bridge to check my weight to make sure what the load is when over 44t as to the speed for the weight I am now with the load I was carrying. I cant position the truck central as has been said putting the load central as where is the central part of the load ? and I only just fit on as to the size of the truck and trailer at most weigh bridges
even if the local weigh bridge said what he did to Caraman unless you are 100% that it is true should not have been said here as is to no help to any person reading this on the forum

glyne lock wrote:
Caraman
YOU CAN DO AS MUCH TALK AS YOU LIKE BUT TO ANY PERSON READING IT WHAT CARAMAN IS SAYING IS NOT CORRECT
if what caraman is saying was correct there would be lots of loads on trucks that people would not be getting the correct load as to what they have paid for and lots of fines

It seems you are misunderstanding what Caraman wrote.

If I'm reading what he wrote correctly, he is not saying that you will get different readings depending on where you are on the weighing platform. What he is referring to is the situation where only one axle is on the platform and the other is not (so you get the weight on that axle). In that situation, it will make a difference if there is a ramp up onto the weighing platform - the axle that you are weighing will be higher than the one that is not on the platform, and the weighbridge will under-read.

It doesn't matter when you are only trying to weigh the total weight of an entire vehicle - in that situation the weighbridges are corrected so that it doesn't matter where on the platform the load is situated. But that's not the situation that Caraman is describing.

I agree that this should be a Friendly Forum where it's Ok for people to be wrong and, if they are, where it's pointed out to them nicely.

Caraman wrote:


I think this is a problem with weigh bridges.  They are designed to measure the weight of a vehicle that is parked centrally on the bridge 

Roopert
This clearly says parked centrally 
As you have said you can park at any position on the weigh bridge
There is normally a traffic light and on green you drive on up to the widow of the person operating and he then gives a ticket to you
As to a small vehicle or large that just fits on you park next to the operating persons window so a small vehicle may be at only one half but NOTE not in the middle as was clearly said

And yet surely you would have to agree that the context of what Caraman wrote was about measuring just the load on one axle, rather than both?

I'm not going to go any further with this, and I'm certainly not going to start a Caps Lock tirade. Perhaps enough has been said.