How do I properly weigh a bus?

[belfert]

What is the best way to get the axle weights of all three axles?

Don't most public scales just weigh the front and rear axles as seperate groups?  I suppose I could put just the tags on the scale by themselves, but I doubt most truck stops are going to be that accomodating.  Would a scale even weigh just the tags accurately since the air bags might not like the tags on the scale and the drive on solid ground.

I really should have stopped at a scale on my trip as the gear and people probably added close to an extra ton of weight.

[Busted Knuckle]

Brian,
Next trip out when loaded stop at any Flying J, or any "truck stop" that has a "CAT SCALE". Pull up to the scale and stop. Then stand at (or have someone) or near the first line on the scale! This line is section "1". (most are divided into 3, 4, or 5 sections) Then as you or someone else drives the bus on the scale stop it where this line is between the drive and tag axle! Then press the button at the speaker and tell them your a private motorcoach and need a 3 axle weight ticket. It's that simple.

Or if you know of a business like a Grainary or such you can weigh it there too! Most of them are a single platform type scale. So you just park and go inside and tell them you need axle weights. They'll know what ya mean! And then they will tell you to pull on watching a light, or listening to a bell ring. Everytime the light blinks, or bell rings you pull forward. Then they will take the readings and do the math for you and give you your actual weights!

  BK 

(the math is easy too. first # will be the steer axle, second # will be the steer & drive axle, and the third # will be total. Then you subtract the steer from the 2nd # and it will tell you the weight of the drive axle. Then you subtract the 2nd # from the 3rd # and you have the tag weight!  see clear as mud!)

[kyle4501]

I picked a time when they weren't busy & went in & explained what I wanted. They gave me good instructions to follow.

If you can, find one that you can also weigh one side only, then you'll know the side to side bias & if necessary, reposition stuff to get a better balance. . .

[mikelutestanski]

hello   each section on a cat scale is an independent weight measurement so if you put each axle on a separate section you will weigh each axle. Each scale section is approximately 8 feet long.
  what it does not provide is a side to side weight. for that you need independant scales for each side. If you really desired that you could run your bus thru the scales one side on if it would work.  Some scales are on ramps and that is not possible
    Regards and happy bussin  mike 

[luvrbus]

Belfert,is there is a ABC Bus Co in your area if so they have wheel scales most accurate weighing you can get for axle and side to side.Prevost and MCI service centers have them also. only type I found that would weigh the boggie on a Eagle  good luck

[NJT 5573]

Don't pull in the truck scales when they are open, go in when they are closed. Most all have the scale on and the weights are generally posted in front of you, if not sometimes you have to look inside the windows.

[belfert]

Other than a local moving company, most of the public scales in the area are 20 miles or more away including the nearest truck weigh station.  I'll have to find out what hours the moving company is open. 

Other companies have public scales, but they only weigh the whole vehicle as they only care how much product is being sold.

There is an ABC Bus locally, but that is probably 100 miles round trip and certainly not worth it to me.  I just want to set the tire pressures properly.

[jjrbus]

In FL the state has weigh scales on highways. I stopped and told the man what I wanted to do. He said sure no problem.   Later I found out that if I would have been over weight, I would have had a problem!!! Use the public scales. Jim

[makemineatwostroke]

Belfert; I don't know much about the square tube torsilastics on a Dina but on an Eagle it is weighed on each wheel to do it proprely, fwiw I watch Texas Coach do this several times with each bus during a conversion     


have a great day

[belfert]

Belfert; I don't know much about the square tube torsilastics on a Dina but on an Eagle it is weighed on each wheel to do it proprely, fwiw I watch Texas Coach do this several times with each bus during a conversion     

I was planning to weigh only to set tire pressures better. 

Do I need to worry about adjusting torsilastics if the weight is not even across all tires?  I do have air bags on the tags instead of torsion there.  The guys over at C&J Bus Repair have reported that my torsilastics are in good shape with plenty of adjustment left.

[kyle4501]

You adjust torsilastics, springs, air bag pressure, etc to get the proper ride height.

You adjust the 'stuff' you're carrying to get the tire loading within acceptable range.

You need to measure each side of each axle in order to know what weight is being carried by the tire.




Have a friend that kept blowing out the pass side rear tires on his s&s MH - mostly inner. His axle weight was just below gross allowed. But when he finally weighed each side, he found the pass side was carrying a lot more than the driver's side. His fuel tank & fresh water are on the pass side as are the inside cabinets & that's where mama had put all the canned goods. 

Their solution was to travel with less fresh water & store the heavy stuff on the drive side & the light fluffy stuff on the pass side. 
No blowouts since they changed a couple of years ago. 

[Dallas]

Brian,

I haven't seen many towns in Minnesota that don't have a grain scale, all ya gotta do is look for the elevator.. you'll find the scale. Some of the newer towns around Mpls/St.P may not have them, but I would bet that you can find one within 20 miles of your location. If you list the actual city that you are in, I can find a scale for you within 20 miles.

The way to weigh a vehicle on a whole vehicle scale is to scale one axle at a time... as in..

Weigh the steering axle..
Then,
Weigh the next axle and the steering axle ...
Then,
Weigh the last axle by itself, or, weigh it with the axle closest to it....

From there it's easy... For the first axle, it's self explanatory, for the second axle, subtract the weight of the first axle from the weight total weight so far. That is the weight of your second axle.

For the third axle, do the same thing, subtract the total weight of the axles that were weighed previously from the total weight, that will give you total weight of the axle in question.

Not many years ago, there weren't many truck scales, public or government owned that could do separate axle weights, and  that is the way that everyone got weighed.

I really seriously doubt that unless you are extremely overweight by a bunch, that it will make much difference... You aren't running on 16" tires or even 19.5" RV tires that aren't rated for commercial service. You should be riding on 12R or 315R tires that don't mind being under or overloaded. With at most extreme difference of say 1000 lbs per side, changing the air in the tires isn't going to make much difference.

If your fresh water tank is full and carries 100 gallons, are you going to adjust the pressure in the tires to make the ride nicer? I really doubt it.. but if you are boondocking and use that water and dump waste, are you going to adjust your tire pressure to ride nice? Again, I seriously doubt it.

Axle weigh your unit and go with that.. a few pounds of air pressure are not going to make that much difference in ride or in the longevity of the tires.

By the way.. isn't it time you thought about trading off your tires for a new set? 

Just Kiddin'.

Dallas

PS:
A gallon (231 cubic inches) of water at its maximum density, chilled to 3.98 degrees centigrade, weighs 8.3389 avoirdupois pounds.

One liter of water weighs 1 kg., and 1 gallon of water is equal to 3.7854118 liters; therefore, 1 gallon weighs 3.7854118 kg, which is 8.345404487293294 pounds. But at what temperature? Temperature matters.
The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics specifies the weight of 1 US gallon of water in air at 68 degrees F to be 8.32487 pounds or 3776.103 grams.

To say the temperature of the water affects the weight is somewhat misleading. If you take 1 gallon of room temperature water and place it in a sealed container, the weight will not change regardless of the temperature, although it will not remain exactly one gallon. Weight is the measure of the pull of gravity on the mass of an object. The mass of water will not change based on temperature, therefore the weight will not change. To be more accurate, the temperature of the water will affect its density. Ice takes up more space than liquid water. Therefore a gallon of ice will contain less mass than a gallon of room temperature water. However, it's useful enough to know that one gallon of water weighs about 8-1/3 lb.

and a whole bunch more weights and measures..........

Courtesy of Wikianswers.com..
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_one_gallon_of_water_weigh

By the way.. If you are burning fuel, are you going to stop every 15 minutes or so and adjust tire pressure?
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_one_gallon_of_diesel_fuel_weigh
I'm not sure if that is a weight for the old style diesel sold around the world, still, or newer diesel with 500 ppm or even newer diesel at 5 ppm

In your coach, everything is fluid.. even you and your passengers.. side to side.. front to rear, crosswise, horizontal and vertical.
Every one of those variables would make a difference.

Bottom line is: Axle weigh the beast and adjust for what you think is the best ride and mileage.

Dallas

[belfert]

I don't want to get too extreme.  I just don't want to be caught with tires underinflated by weighing without all the people, cargo, and water/waste that normally go on trips.

I guess I'll just have to guess how much weight will get added by that stuff.

[Busted Knuckle]

I don't want to get too extreme.  I just don't want to be caught with tires underinflated by weighing without all the people, cargo, and water/waste that normally go on trips.

I guess I'll just have to guess how much weight will get added by that stuff.

Ah DUH!

Brian,
Next trip out when loaded stop at any Flying J, or any "truck stop" that has a "CAT SCALE". Pull up to the scale and stop. Then stand at (or have someone) or near the first line on the scale! This line is section "1". (most are divided into 3, 4, or 5 sections) Then as you or someone else drives the bus on the scale stop it where this line is between the drive and tag axle! Then press the button at the speaker and tell them your a private motorcoach and need a 3 axle weight ticket. It's that simple.

Or if you know of a business like a Grainary or such you can weigh it there too! Most of them are a single platform type scale. So you just park and go inside and tell them you need axle weights. They'll know what ya mean! And then they will tell you to pull on watching a light, or listening to a bell ring. Everytime the light blinks, or bell rings you pull forward. Then they will take the readings and do the math for you and give you your actual weights!

  BK 

(the math is easy too. first # will be the steer axle, second # will be the steer & drive axle, and the third # will be total. Then you subtract the steer from the 2nd # and it will tell you the weight of the drive axle. Then you subtract the 2nd # from the 3rd # and you have the tag weight!  see clear as mud!)

And I actually had thought I'd basically explained how to get single axle weights on a single platform scale too!
  BK 

[luvrbus]

Belfert, sorry I missed read your post BK and Dallas are right for axle weight,but most Eagle owners don't have the luxury of torsilastics and air tags so we weigh each wheel for balance and load, on our buses the weight on the boggies is very important if the bus ever get to low it cost $500 each side to have the boggies re indexed back to the proper weight plus the realignment and I have been there so I am a little gun shy about the truck scales. for your purpose it will work good