I went one time and damn I got it done but it was clownshoes bigtime. The attendant was cool but still kinda acting put out because I wasn't a real big rig and didn't have the routine down seamlessly. I didn't hold anybody up though it wasn't busy. First the mic and speaker are way up in the air. The all the did was holler "TRUCK NUMBER?!? TRUCK NUMBER?!?"

Then I didn't understand if I was supposed to go back and do it a second time....

So yeah I admit I'm pretty clueless.....I did get my yeller slip showing how much my formerly owned Ram 3500 weighed.

I'm determined to keep going back and have the system down without pissing anybody off. Seriously I felt like Chevy chase......

 

first time is strange... different.. odd...

first time for me.. went well... Lady was friendly and helpful... 2 years ago.
scales were empty. just store was busy.

 

I went to the local landscape yard to get my trailer weighed (for registration). That was a bit stressful, but it was just a single area scale. As long as the trailer was on the scale (somewhere) I was good. I have no idea if I need to line up the truck/trailer tires on the Cat scale.

 

Haul a load to the city dump. They usually weigh coming and going.

 

Before you hit the scale, go in and see if they're busy, if not, chat them up to see how they want you to do it. They're just people.

 

Has this been confirmed by an independent testing facility? /jk

 

CAT scale I used last had a high and low mic and the person in charge asked if I was doing more than one weighing. Sounded like he had been down the road with RVers before.

 

With my luck I'll walk in to find an extremely overweight elderly woman in a wife beater t-shirt smoking a stogie and drinking Ancient Age (neat, not on the rocks). The bad attitude would be a given.

 

Just pull up on the scale if it's open, they'll come on and ask you if it's a "reweigh" or not. If it's your first time across (with that rig/load), than just holler "first weigh" plus make up some kind of truck number (only used so they don't give the wrong weight ticket to the wrong driver at the counter).

They'll say "ok" or something similar that they have your truck weight, pull off the scale and go inside. Tell the folks at the weight counter the truck number you gave them over the speaker. They'll hand you the weight ticket when you pay for the weigh.

When you come back for your "reweigh", have your original weight ticket with you, they'll ask you for that ticket's number. This gives you a discounted price on the reweigh (I think IIRC, you have 24 hrs to reweigh). This makes it cheaper to weigh your rig for both loaded and unloaded weights. But, if you don't have your original weight ticket, you can still get weighed again, you'll just have to pay full price for the weigh again.

 

 

I used the CAT scales for the first time yesterday.
Go online to the CAT scales website and watch the how-to videos and read the how-to section. They have pictures on how to position the truck and trailer with all the different combinations. They include pictures on RVs also.
Then download the app onto your iPhone. You can create an account, add a payment method, and when you go to the scale, you just start the app, pull onto the scale, enter the scale number and the app walks you through the steps. It was pretty easy. I didn't even talk to anyone on the intercom. When the app said it was done, the weights show up on your app and you pull off the scale. I walked in and asked for the weight ticket and she handed it to me, since the payment was already done through the app.
I just bought a 1951 Ford F-6 COE with a fuel delivery tank on the back, which I will be restoring. BTW, the empty truck weighs 10,960 lbs.

 

The app would be super cool.

When I work at a fixed scale, it is a straight forward setup. If you need a truck weighed, I have the driver park, come in and i'll explain the procedure. Our setup is a small platform for axle scale. So, I weigh each axle or group of axles. We use a traffic light to tell the driver when to stop and when to proceed.

If you want a print out, ask and it will be provided.

Cat Scales are nice, weigh everything all at once, then give an axle or axle group layout. Sometimes it is cheap insurance against the fee that might be otherwise charged to you.

IMO, a cat scale can be far less scary than a roadside.

 

learned something here. Didn't know that there is now an app for catscales. very nice!

 

In my area the grain elevators leave the scales on 24/7. If the display is inside the office they turn it around so you can see it after hours. Its free

 

I presume it is a platform scale. Handy for telling your gross weight.

If all you have is a platform scale and want to know your axle weights it takes a bit of math and some paper.

First, roll the steer axle on to the scale. Wait for it to settle out and write down the weight. Next, roll the drive axle or tandems if you're a trucker on to scale. Write down that number. Subtract the new sum from the first axle weight to see what your drive axle weighs.

Then, roll your trailer on the scale. That should give you your overall gross weight. Then you can subtract from the second weight to figure out how much is on the trailer axles.