[johndeerstsreg]

Hey guys I've been pulling pikes for years and recently switched over to super bees! I'm having trouble getting my weights right! I'm running a brand new set of load king super bees with a 2010 peterbilt 389

I've loaded diffrent all the time and still can't find a happy medium! Were loading 44 ton all the time! If anyone wants me to post how I loaded/weights I can post also

 

[offroadnt]

What's a pike and where are you?

 

[johndeerstsreg]

Turnpikes 2 53 foot trailers and I'm in sasaktchewan hauling in alberta And manitoba

 

[Highmarker]

We load the front hopper to 60 psi on the truck then move to the second hopper load the bridge pressure to 40 psi the. Move to the third hopper load it to 60 psi move to the back hopper and load it to 70 psi on the rear gauge. This ends up with the truck, bridge and rear gauges at about 70 psi. Which is a 43 tone load. Our empty weight is 18,500 t. Aluminum Doepker super bs.

 

[johndeerstsreg]

Thanks high maker I'm 19300 empty and those numbers sounds about right
I've been close but always seem to be a little heavy on the drives! And with this long nose pete even with my 5th wheel ahead can only get around 5100 on my steers!

 

[joesixpack]

Once you get your air bag pressures the weights come in really close. Our steel load king superb is 68psi on the tridem and 78psi on the tandem.

We load front hopper then second then move right to the back hopper then finish up in the third and this gives you the best chance at the perfect balance as its the easiest to overload the tridem.

 

[johndeerstsreg]

I've heard from numerous guys about loading the 4th hopper then finishing with the third also! But have actually never tried it! Maybe I'll try it this week and see what happen! I'll will post some # later when I have my papers avaliable and see what you guys think !

Can't trust guys giving them tons in each hopper'! I'd rather trust my own guages

 

[bussard]

We have new load kings, we load front to 72, or basically a nice pile between tarps second rib back, then load number two to 42, then do number three to 62, and final hopper to 77

We usually come in very close to 64 ton gross with a payload of 44.5... Empty weights of 18 ton

 

[offroadnt]

I like doing the third hopper last also, way more flexibility when you get up near the limits. Your tridem gauges should always be lower because it doesn't carry as much weight per axle. Make sure your brakes are off when loading so your axles can adjust to the change in load without resistance. Do axle weights a few times, gauges vary according to ride height, make and model of suspension and gauge.

What's the weight limits on turnpikes? 63,500kg?

 

[Haystack]

Thanks high maker I'm 19300 empty and those numbers sounds about right
I've been close but always seem to be a little heavy on the drives! And with this long nose pete even with my 5th wheel ahead can only get around 5100 on my steers!

Putting a little less in the second hopper and more in the third hopper will lighten up the drives a bit because the fifth wheel on the tridem is generally behind the centre of that axel group.

 

[Andrew_D]

It should be noted that following any axle work, your weights will likely change somewhat. Axle replacement, alignment, etc. Anything that changes the alignment bushing.

I always loaded hopper 1, 2, 4, 3. When loading #3, you could move the trailers forward or back depending where you need the weight to get the trailer to balance out.

Also, when loading the front trailer, I never look at the trailer gauge. Load #1 til the truck reads 60-65. Then load #2 til the truck reads 72-73. Then go to #4 and start loading the back trailer.

Andrew

 

[bud]

Check what air dryer you have. If it is a bendix with the small airtank hooked to the dryer it will be very hard to load it by pressure guage in the truck.

 

[johndeerstsreg]

Loaded 43 ton today
58-5100
42-17300
62-24300
72-16800

All on the gates so it's getting closer

 

[offroadnt]

Check what air dryer you have. If it is a bendix with the small airtank hooked to the dryer it will be very hard to load it by pressure guage in the truck.

Why is that? The suspension is tied into the secondary tanks.

 

[bud]

Why is that? The suspension is tied into the secondary tanks.

I have a 2007 Kenworth T800 and always had guage trouble. Guage would say 70 on tractor and then few minutes later would read 80 psi.

Air dryer failed last year and when I replaced it I understood why guages changed. This is the air dryer with the 1 gallon tank hooked directly onto the air dryer. It uses 4 or 5 pressure protection valves all set to different cut in pressures.

First valve to open about 90 psi is either primary or secondary air on tractor. Second opens about 4-5 psi higher and is other airbrake system on truck. Next pressure protection to open is another 3-4 psi higher and is the trailer air. Last to open is about 105 psi and is the truck suspension and cab air (seat, air ride cab, etc.).

So if air supply in truck drops below 105, the tractor suspension may not get enough air for the leveling valve to level completly. Once compressor kicks in and gets above 105 the suspension will get to finish leveling and the truck air bag reading may change.

One way to tell if you have this crappy air dryer system is to watch your truck pressure tank reading on pump up. If tanks are both low you will see one tank pump up to 90 psi before the other tank starts to fill. Most trucks fill both tanks evenly if they are empty.

Hope my description is not too confusing.

 

[Haystack]

I have seen this before and never understood why. Very nice description.

 

[offroadnt]

I have a 2007 Kenworth T800 and always had guage trouble. Guage would say 70 on tractor and then few minutes later would read 80 psi.
Air dryer failed last year and when I replaced it I understood why guages changed. This is the air dryer with the 1 gallon tank hooked directly onto the air dryer. It uses 4 or 5 pressure protection valves all set to different cut in pressures.

First valve to open about 90 psi is either primary or secondary air on tractor. Second opens about 4-5 psi higher and is other airbrake system on truck. Next pressure protection to open is another 3-4 psi higher and is the trailer air. Last to open is about 105 psi and is the truck suspension and cab air (seat, air ride cab, etc.).

So if air supply in truck drops below 105, the tractor suspension may not get enough air for the leveling valve to level completly. Once compressor kicks in and gets above 105 the suspension will get to finish leveling and the truck air bag reading may change.

One way to tell if you have this crappy air dryer system is to watch your truck pressure tank reading on pump up. If tanks are both low you will see one tank pump up to 90 psi before the other tank starts to fill. Most trucks fill both tanks evenly if they are empty.

Hope my description is not too confusing.

Good description Bud
Interesting, when I was rigging up trucks for the oil patch I came across these air driers, they were allot of trouble, Kenworth changed a bunch out under warranty, I do remember them building one system before the other though, I used to wonder what was going on, one system would build from zero to ninety before the other side would finally start building. Didn't think it was quite as elaborate as your describing though. I hope they've been discontinued, they were junk.

 

[Snipe]

Check what air dryer you have. If it is a bendix with the small airtank hooked to the dryer it will be very hard to load it by pressure guage in the truck.

Bud thanks for pointing that out, I almost bought a real low mile T800 until I saw that little air tank sandwiched between two driers.

 

[Northern Farmer]

JD, does your fifth wheel slider have more room to go ahead ... although you will need enough bunk room for turning and clearance at the back of the truck to the trailer flaps/dollies. We just run a tridem trailer but had upgraded to a new Lode King and it has far more room at the dollies to slide the fifth wheel ahead. That's one thing I notice about a typical Super B, not enough distance between the king pin and the dollies to allow a set forward steering axle type truck to get that plate shoved far forward. We run an older 379 with the short hood and 244 wheel base and I have the fifth wheel pivot pin sitting about 13" ahead of the axle center line and with full fuel gets me just over 5600 on the front with 17000 on the drives.

Also what is your front axle weight when not loaded with the same fuel load, another words curious as to how much or little load weight your able to get transferred to the front axle with the way your set up now ?