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axle weights

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axle weights

Postby kevburner » Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:12 pm

hi all,

got my van weighed at vosa last year as i got a new 350 rwd transit company van fitted with a red forge axle load indicator! after transfering all my tools into new van rear axle buzzer was on all the time transport manager said i was overweight but i had been pulled by vosa in old 350 transit with same tools and was not overweight! he said i would face a disiplinery if i used transit overweight, anyway i went to vosa in new van with axle buzzer buzzing and got it weighed

front axle was 1760 - 1850 on plate
rear axle was 2050 - 2250 on plate

each axle weighed seperately

nice vosa man said i am not over weight and that axle indicator had probably been set on the safe side , transport manager was happy with this and the ticket i got from vosa

so i am under weight right, well van is due to have axle indicator calibrated tomorrow and my co workers that have had theres done say you drive over 2 pads so it weighs front axle then the rear one then adds them together to get there total if so i am overweight !

that means my vans total weight is 3810 putting it over weight surly the vosa man wasnt wrong- but when i had it weighed on weigh bridge it was under 3500

can anyone shed some light on this please surly if my axle weights are under and when my van is weighed on weigh bridge it is under 3500kg regardless of what weight i get when adding axle weights together i am not overweight?

please someone in the know help me!

thxs kev
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Re: axle weights

Postby Guy88 » Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:32 pm

you will always get some weight transfered between both axles, so some of the rear weight is also on the front axle
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Re: axle weights

Postby Punto443 » Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:39 pm

Axel weights are are the maximum weight measured across an individual axel, if you imagine if you put a heavy load right at the back of the van, 99% of that weight would be on the rear axel, but if you put the same load tight behind the seats the load would be shared evenly between the front and back axels, in that sense you are reducing the weight on the rear axel but not the weight of the van. So you can easily be over weight on one axel, but not over total weight limit.

Try moving heavier tools etc, to the front and middle of the motor, this should reduce the rear axel weight.
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Re: axle weights

Postby kevburner » Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:25 pm

thats what i thought about axle weight transfer between the 2

so if my front is axle is 1760 and mr rear is 2050 they are both under the plated axle weights i am under weight yes?
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Re: axle weights

Postby Punto443 » Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:07 pm

To be legal you would have to be under plated axel weights and not over plated total weight. But I would imagine if both axels are under weight then you would be okay!

If you are concerned just go along to the nearest weigh bridge.
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Re: axle weights

Postby (ROG) » Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:25 am

Both axle weights will always add up to more than the GVW - this is to allow for load weight flexibility

The GVW must not be exceeded nor any individual axle weight

Both your axles add up to about 4000 but your GVW is 3500

When VOSA weigh you they will weigh both axles and see if any of those is over their individual limit and then they will add both axle weights together and see if that figure is ove the GVW - if over on any of those three weights .... expect a fine or a warning if just over
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Re: axle weights

Postby Highlander250469 » Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:57 am

(ROG) wrote:When VOSA weigh you they will weigh both axles and see if any of those is over their individual limit and then they will add both axle weights together and see if that figure is ove the GVW - if over on any of those three weights .... expect a fine or a warning if just over


kevburner wrote: front axle was 1760 - 1850 on plate
rear axle was 2050 - 2250 on plate


Surely adding individual axle weights together to find GVW is wrong?

Shouldn't the GVW be taken as the weight of the whole vehicle rather than as two individual axles?

Some of the weight on either axle would be getting counted twice in that case.

Going by Kev's individual axle weights then they are both within the limit but adding them takes him over his 3500Kg GVW and make it 3810Kg
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Re: axle weights

Postby Highlander250469 » Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:02 pm

Punto443 wrote:But I would imagine if both axels are under weight then you would be okay!


No, he could be under the weight on both axles however still have a GVW of 4000Kg
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Re: axle weights

Postby Punto443 » Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:57 pm

Highlander250469 wrote:
Punto443 wrote:But I would imagine if both axels are under weight then you would be okay!


No, he could be under the weight on both axles however still have a GVW of 4000Kg


Eh, no he couldn't be carring 4000kg because some of the weight will be transferred between both axles!

There is mega complicated calculation for determining gvw from axle weights, you can't just add them together!

The easiest solution to your problem is to go to a local weigh bridge, bung the guy a tenner to let you use it for 5 minutes and put your front wheel on, then your rear wheels on and finally put all wheels on together. If you are under all three limits, then happy days. If you are under gvw but over on one axle, then you have to redistribute your load. And if you are over gvw then take something out.

That will take the guess work out. Even get a print out of the figures and carry it in the van.
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Re: axle weights

Postby (ROG) » Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:48 pm

To determine whether the GVW has been exceeded on a portable VOSA axle weighing device the two individual weights taken for the two axles get added together

Using this portable weighing device VOSA it get the 3 necessary weights for checking - front axle, rear axle and GVW - none over then free to go
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Re: axle weights

Postby Red Forge » Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:34 am

Hi there,

Most likely the Red Forge system that you have fitted is a Limitlite system (one of the older versions) and it does not specifically cover GVW like the newer versions with Gross calculations built in. You can confirm this easily - if it has 4 LED's (2 red and 2 green) rather than a digital display you know it is the older version.

At customer request we used to dial down the rear axle overload point in order to cover the gross, as the gross normally goes over before the rear does. When you saw the red light there, and looking from the figures you gave, I would say you were over on your GVW!

The law is that neither an axle, nor the GVW can be exceeded - it is perfectly reasonable to be within both axle plated weights, but over on GVW, as the axles almost always have more tolerance when combined.

As suggested, when measuring, it is true that the rear axle imparts a load onto the front, but that also works the other way round... so if you add front and rear together, that is your gross.

I would say that you are lucky to have got away with that.... at 3810 that would put you over 8% overloaded, and that would normally mean at least a £60 fixed penalty.

If you have any further questions or interest, please feel free to give us a call on 01527 526112 or check out this on our website which gives a bit of a guide (downloadable):
http://www.redforge.co.uk/guide/

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