CAT Scale Price Increase

[Mike]

The next time you weigh your truck on a CAT Scale, you will likely notice a price increase if you are the one actually paying for it.

As of this week, the new prices for weighing your truck are as follows:

First Weigh: $12.50 (up from $12.00)
Reweigh: $3.00 (up from $2.00)

This is the first increase since 2019, but as prices creep up, might not be a bad idea to consider an onboard weighing system, at least for those loads where you are unsure of the loading and what the weights may be across your axles.

 

[Johndeere4020]

The next time you weigh your truck on a CAT Scale, you will likely notice a price increase if you are the one actually paying for it.

As of this week, the new prices for weighing your truck are as follows:

First Weigh: $12.50 (up from $12.00)
Reweigh: $3.00 (up from $2.00)

This is the first increase since 2019, but as prices creep up, might not be a bad idea to consider an onboard weighing system, at least for those loads where you are unsure of the loading and what the weights may be across your axles.

I have right weigh on my trailer and digital air gauges on my truck. They’re pretty accurate

 

[mndriver]

I just have my air gauges, truck and trailer. First “modification” I did the day I brought the trailer home.

Not often I’ll bother weighing.

 

[Electric Chicken]

How do these onboard systems work? Do you need to install something on the trailer too?

IOW is it feasible for power only?

 

[Mike]

How do these onboard systems work? Do you need to install something on the trailer too?

IOW is it feasible for power only?

no. I mean, you could have one on the tractor which is all I have, but that only allows me to load up the drive axle and hope I’m not over gross.

Even that helps a lot, though.

 

[Electric Chicken]

no. I mean, you could have one on the tractor which is all I have, but that only allows me to load up the drive axle and hope I’m not over gross.

Even that helps a lot, though.

That's what I was thinking. It would show your steers and drives. They could be fine but if there's 38 on the trailer axles you wouldn't know it.

I was kinda hoping for a way to know I'm good all the time without ever visiting a scale again.

 

[mndriver]

Simple pneumatics.

For the air bag to carry the load, it has to have so much pressure to work at a specific height.

Since the bags are a constant size in area, the pressure changes due to increased load. My truck suspension has a constant value of 593. The trailer is 514 with both axles down and 207 with one axle down.

You multiply the air pressure by that number and you get the weight on the axle group. I don’t have that number calculated for the steer axle since it pretty much remains at 12600# loaded or empty.

This load my truck is 51 psi and my trailer is 62.

51X593=30,243 on my drives.

62X514= 31868 on the trailer

The 593 and 514/207 numbers are based off weighing on a cat scale and also at state POE when you can write down the weights and then recording the pressures at the same time. Over time you get an average and use it.

In the old days, you measure the height of the rail to the ground and you could do the same thing on spring ride. Old timer that taught me that trick was full of stuff like that. Spring rates didn’t change so the load will compress the suspension at a constant and 34,000 would be to a specific height.

ETA:...

This becomes more critical to me since I’ve learned that Volvo adjusts engine power based on drive load by looking at the air pressure in the drive suspension. Since most like to load spread axle flatbeds heavy on the trailer to 40,000#, this can leave you under 28,000# on the drives. The ecm can think you are 56-60k gross when reality is you’re 80,000# and now you’re power is cut back until it learns otherwise.

Since learning this, I’ve started forcing loaders to put my weight forward and the truck climbs and performs much better.