Weigh Stations

[frjeff]

Will interstate weigh stations weigh my tug and travel trailer combination?

[namusmc65]

There should be plenty of scales around without going to the Interstate weigh station. All the big truck stops have scales and they usually charge you also. If you will check in your area, you will probably find several scales in a less traveled area for getting your rig in and out. Some may not even charge you. I have several in my agricultural area that will do that for free. Any Farmer's market that brings in truck loads also have scales you can weigh on. The best thing is to visit them and make arrangements so you know what the routine is and you don't cause them any headaches if you do go in to weigh your rig.

[jtw]

Check your local municipal transfer station/landfill most have scales if your a regular customer and know the guys chances are they will weight you. If they weight you do truck and trailer, then pull truck off and just weight trailer, do the math to figure out pin weight/hitch weight, and trailer weight.

[norty1]

The ones operated by state police for commercial trucks on interstates do not want you in a fifth wheel pulling in unless you are a commercial carrier.

I like to see those because I can get in the inside lane and get ahead of all the semi's going in to get scaled.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by frjeff

Will interstate weigh stations weigh my tug and travel trailer combination?

No. Their primary purpose, weight wise, is to catch commercial trucks that are overweight.

My guess is that IF you were allowed to go over the scales, they'd either ignore you (the best case) or be annoyed (and they could have a variety of responses; none of which would help you) or detain you (if they were PO'd and had an officer available) to check any and all of your 'paperwork', inspect the TV and trailer for violations.

Delivering trailers for Jayco, I was driving commercially and I was required to cross those scales. The very few times I had any interaction with the personnel at the scales, they were not happy, helpful people.

[Seann45]

Find a cat scale, pay for 3 weighs, one truck and trailer, one just truck and one just trailer... the combined readings will give you a very accurate picture

[dalebra]

CAT Scale Locator | CAT Scale

[jtw]

Pull into any truck stop chances are they have one.

[hoppers4]

Washington and Oregon weigh stations can be used by private individuals if they're closed and unattended. If they're closed, truckers don't have to stop at them. They always leave their digital scales turned on so it's just a matter of pulling in and taking your readings. I've used them multiple times and always do a four corner weigh. Some other states may also provide this benefit.

[bankr63]

I stopped to ask one day at the local scale, and the MTO person (Ministry of Transportation Ontario) manning the scale booth said sure. They want everyone on the road to be safe; and after all it is my tax dollars paying for the scales. Now I just did a slow pull through, getting a reading for front, front + rear, total GVW, and TT axle. A bit of math gives the load on each axle, which is the most critical number, but you won't be able to measure the loads without knowing the unloaded readings.


I have since noted a couple of other locations on secondary highways nearby that leave the scale readout active when the site is unmanned, making a more thorough weighing possible if no one is around.