[olddieseldude]

Well, I needed crushed stone for the driveway so I hooked up to the trailer and headed for the local stone quarry today. The quarry had me drive across their scales to get a base weight (9740 lbs total, the trailer weighs in at 26xx lbs so that leaves 71xx lbs for the truck). Then they sent me back to the loading area. You'd a loved seeing this, a payloader the size of my house with a bucket that the truck could have parked in, proceeded to dig 3 tons out of a small mountain of crushed stone (you couldn't see 3 tons in the bucket as he drive up towering over my rig. Man, those drivers are good. First though, my trailer is a 20ft flatbed that came with stake pockets so my dad and I built some shorty side boards and end gates (2x10s) to be able to haul things like mulch and stone, etc. We made the end gates so that they could be moved more towards the center of the trailer bed to create a 10ft long area to isolate smaller loads or dense/heavy loads like crushed stone over the trailers axles. The payloader driver dumped his load of stone perfectly in the center of that area first try (3.22 tons). Keep in mind he could use only one end of his bucket to carry the load because his bucket was longer than my trailer. When I got back to the scales the total weight was 16,180 lbs.

The trailer towed very well (city streets, no highway) but after having a substantial load on it (the trailer is capable of carrying 7400 lbs but my plate is only good for 6400 lbs load), and after following this forum for a while, I believe that I still need to get a hitch with a couple of more inches of drop. The trailer tongue rides high. The Prodigy brake controller worked flawlessly and after I increased the brake boost by a couple of boost settings it was like the trailer wasn't back there.

Thanks to the forum contributors for all the great information. I feel like the homework that I was able to do here ahead of buying my trailer was well worth the time.

 

[JimTJr]

Great sight isnt it? Yea,, 16k + is a load! But these trucks can handle that weight easily!

 

[sdgreen]

I do the same thing when I take the truck to make a dump run.
The last time I went trough the scales with about 3 yards of yardwaste.

When we left and went back across the scales it was me and the wife and a full tank of fuel, I was shocked when the scale said 7600 pounds.

 

[LongRider]

[ QUOTE ]
A payloader the size of my house with a bucket that the truck could have parked in.

Man, those drivers are good.

[/ QUOTE ]

<font color="green">When I feel like punishing myself, I take on a dump-truck driving job, for maybe a season, or just a couple of weeks.

At the local quarry, there are three, or four, loader-men working all the time.

Hundreds of trucks, of all dimensions, with a broad range of weight limits, run across the scales, every day.

Those guys consistently load me within 300 pounds of the same weight, time after time, regardless of type of stone, which will vary considerable weight to volume, according to size.

This is on trucks hauling from twenty-four to thirty tons per load, plus the tare for the truck.

As to loading these little trucks, you guys haven't even begun to work your engine.

My F-350, full of fuel, with me in the seat, crosses the scales at a bit over 9,000.

One of my steel livestock trailers will weigh about 6,000.

Walk around 23,000 pounds of cattle in there for anywhere from a couple hundred miles to coast-to-coast.

These little engines will stand up there and testify, mile after mile, day after day. </font>

 

[olddieseldude]

[ QUOTE ]
...Those guys consistently load me within 300 pounds of the same weight, time after time...

[/ QUOTE ]

Does anyone here operate those kinds of quarry equipment, I wonder if a modern payloader might have sensors that would let the operator know how much is being lifted by the bucket?

 

[pwrstk97]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
...Those guys consistently load me within 300 pounds of the same weight, time after time...

[/ QUOTE ]

Does anyone here operate those kinds of quarry equipment, I wonder if a modern payloader might have sensors that would let the operator know how much is being lifted by the bucket?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yup, there are products out there to put on the loader to weigh what is in the bucket.

 

[LongRider]

[ QUOTE ]


Does anyone here operate those kinds of quarry equipment, I wonder if a modern payloader might have sensors that would let the operator know how much is being lifted by the bucket?

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green">

I am sure there is stuff out there that would do this; but, not these guys, nothing on those loaders but the bucket and their brain.

I know, because I have had to run them myself, from time to time.</font>

 

[ikidd49]

The place that I buy landscape materials (coloured stone etc...) has a front end loader with a built in scale....Kubota as I recall butthat's not for sure. I thought it was a great idea.
Ian

 

[AlH]

Last summer I hauled about 150 tons of crushed rock 5 tons at a time. I was grossing around 23,500 leaving the quarry then after 25 mile road trip had to haul it 2 miles up a steep gravel road in low range 4wd, really did a number on my Michelins /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif
The loaders were as described -- freaking huge! Most of the time they were within a few hundred lbs of the requested 5 tons. Had one load 1000 over...man that was struggle up the gravel road /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Dr.Evil]

You should have that same loader & operator load a ton of rock in the back of a yellow POS Chevy LUV pickup...like I did 30 yrs ago. He could load 5-axle semi's in 2-1/2 dumps... I used to get 8-9 ton loads in a single axle dump at this same quarry.... 7-8 loads a day every day for weeks at a time.
Moisture makes a big difference on material weight too. And normally the quarry only wants You to weigh the first empty of the day if Your getting more than one load and they know You.

 

[LongRider]

[ QUOTE ]
Normally the quarry only wants You to weigh the first empty of the day if Your getting more than one load and they know You.

[/ QUOTE ]

<font color="green">Our trucks are all numbered on the top left corner of the bed.

The quarry weighs them for tare the first time they enter the quarry and they never get weighed again, unless a major change takes place, such as changing a bed, adding an axle, etc.

With rock only costing from $3 to $5 per ton, it is no big deal if the daily weight varies a few hundred pounds.

It would be more aggravation to re-tare the truck than a few hundred pounds of difference would make in the cost of the load. </font>

 

[AlH]

Funny story- the quarry I was buying rock at last summer had one cranky weighmaster. I hauled several days with a different weighmaster..weighed once empty then only weighed going out for several days. Then the cranky guy took over...told me I had to weigh in EVERY trip unless I had numbers on my dump trailer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif
So being a habitual smartass I asked him if I stuck on mailbox numbers would that do...he said YES /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
So on the way back I stopped at a hardware store and stuck some mailbox numbers on my left front corner...he was happy and I only had to weigh in once each day /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smokin.gif

 

[dmags]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Yeh what a friggin great deal! I went last month and bought some 2" gravel for some sink holes.What I didn't realize is what didn't make it in the truck scraped the livin **** out of my tailgate,the top plastic cover and the rear bumper cover.So for anyone who cares ya might wanna throw something over the tailgate so you don't gaff up yor ride! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sick.gif