Hi all,
I’m looking for info on the best way to distribute weight when loading. I know enough to stay legal but wanted a better idea of exactly how much weight can be put on the axles. Info for 18 , 26 and 44 ton would be helpful.
Cheers
44 tonner (3+3) will be fine 95% of the time with 26 pallets on side by side. I say 95% as the pallets need to be no more than a tonne a piece and 95% of the time they are for general distribution. A 40 tonner (2+3) is harder to say because it will depend on exactly how heavy the pallets are and the positioning of the 5th wheel and whether it’s a short/long pin on the trailer. As a general rule if the pallets are around a tonne a piece you’ll need to lose 3 of them, possibly 4. Loading wise to keep the drive axle within weight you’ll need your first 3 rows to only have 1 pallet instead of 2 and then you can double them the rest of the way. Put your single pallets in the middle then shore them up either side with spare pallets stood on their end, then put a strap round the whole lot if it’s a trailer without solid sides.
The only heavy stuff I did on a 40 tonne setup was bananas which were about 800-900kg per pallet depending on what sort of bananas they were. I could just keep her under 40t with 24 pallets and 1 in the middle for the first 2 rows, but it was tight. If I had a full tank of juice (which was a big jobbie) then it’d be over by about 250kg.
Rigid distributions I ain’t got a clue as it’s been too long since I drove any. Depends on what you’re carrying really. There’s enough guys on here working in different sectors to fill you in on how you want to load it if you say what it is you’re carrying.
Rob K:
Rigid distributions I ain’t got a clue as it’s been too long since I drove any. Depends on what you’re carrying really. There’s enough guys on here working in different sectors to fill you in on how you want to load it if you say what it is you’re carrying.
Rigid Vehicles
Unladen Weight including driver = 3400kg
- You need to know the weight of the load.
- You need to measure the wheelbase.
- You need to measure from the centre of the front axle to the centre of the load bed.
- = Permitted weight on rear axle.
To find out the weight allowed on the rear axle. divide figure 2 by figure 3 and times it by figure 1.
Then subtract that figure which becomes 4 from the payload to give you the permitted front axle load.
Example
Load Weight = 4100kg
Wheelbase = 3.6 metres
Centreline = 2.9 metres
2.9 ÷ 3.6 x 4100 = (4) 3302.7
4100 - 3302.7kg = 797.3
Rear Axle 3302.7kg
Front Axle 797.3kg
Total Payload = 4100kg
Gross Weight = 7500kg
Or you can just use a bit of common sense and kick the tyres while you are loading. 
I checked up on this recently after a request to help out an overloaded customer at a VOSA weighbridge which I declined due to having a number of heavy pallets on the headboard of a 26t and couldn’t find out if I was going to get done. I was not willingly putting my head into the lion’s mouth although it would have been interesting to see the axle-load figures. Turns out it would have been OK but no point risking it.
What I am leading up to is the advice from the FTA Yearbook of Transport Law which brings the Centre of Gravity of the load into account, i.e. you need to account for the position of the load relative to the axles:- this is slightly different from Wheel Nut’s info, e.g. you probably wouldn’t want to put an uncovered 3 ton lump of steel on the headboard of a flatbed 7.5t unless you wanted to attract the attention of VOSA looking for an easy pull. Which finally comes down to Wheel Nut’s advice which I believe (without reference to the aforementioned guide) to be substantially correct but for #3 which should be
“You need to measure the distance from the centre of the front axle to the centre of gravity of the load”,
to avoid overloading the front axle.
How you determine the centre of gravity of the load often seems like guesswork to me.
Snudger:
I checked up on this recently after a request to help out an overloaded customer at a VOSA weighbridge which I declined due to having a number of heavy pallets on the headboard of a 26t and couldn’t find out if I was going to get done. I was not willingly putting my head into the lion’s mouth although it would have been interesting to see the axle-load figures. Turns out it would have been OK but no point risking it.What I am leading up to is the advice from the FTA Yearbook of Transport Law which brings the Centre of Gravity of the load into account, i.e. you need to account for the position of the load relative to the axles:- this is slightly different from Wheel Nut’s info, e.g. you probably wouldn’t want to put an uncovered 3 ton lump of steel on the headboard of a flatbed 7.5t unless you wanted to attract the attention of VOSA looking for an easy pull. Which finally comes down to Wheel Nut’s advice which I believe (without reference to the aforementioned guide) to be substantially correct but for #3 which should be
“You need to measure the distance from the centre of the front axle to the centre of gravity of the load”,
to avoid overloading the front axle.How you determine the centre of gravity of the load often seems like guesswork to me.
I take that as fair criticism and in my defence I would point out that my formula is one that would equally be used by a body builder to work out the wheelbase and position of headboard.
As for your 3 tonne lump of steel I would probably put the front edge of the steel at the centre of the wheelbase position and take my chances.
--------------------^--------------…---------------^--------------…---------------------^
…Load…3000kg…^…Cab
--------------------^--------------------------------^—Dunnage / false headboard-^-------------
Forgive the childish diagram
Thanks for the advice and figures there Wheel Nut, when I get the chance i’ll have a look into it.
The “false headboard”, i.e. a pallet standing up and well strapped-down a few pallet-lengths back from the headboard, seems to work for me with the heavy load thing (tons of flour which we collect regularly in an 18t). I have the aforementioned book (version 2007 page 475) in front of me now as I was a bit concerned to have erroneously stuck my oar in, Wheel Nut, as it states “calculate the front loadbase” which is close to your statement which states “loadbed” so your statement was correct in that loadbase is defined therein as the “centre line of front axle to centre of gravity of load”.
Anyone know the industry-standard method for securing such loads correctly?
Snudger:
The “false headboard”, i.e. a pallet standing up and well strapped-down a few pallet-lengths back from the headboard, seems to work for me with the heavy load thing (tons of flour which we collect regularly in an 18t). I have the aforementioned book (version 2007 page 475) in front of me now as I was a bit concerned to have erroneously stuck my oar in, Wheel Nut, as it states “calculate the front loadbase” which is close to your statement which states “loadbed” so your statement was correct in that loadbase is defined therein as the “centre line of front axle to centre of gravity of load”.Anyone know the industry-standard method for securing such loads correctly?
Apparently the DFT and BAG do
plating certificate spring to mine for axel weight and gross 
pigpen:
plating certificate spring to mine for axel weight and gross
But that doesn’t tell you where to place the load in relation to the axles