Talbert Truck / Trailer Weight & Balance Calculator

[Dollytrolley]

 

Lots of folks seem to struggle a lot with Truck / Tractor / Trailer weight and Balance and at times I have tried to help some folks out with some of the calculations of various combos here on the forum with a mixed bag of results.

Most folks eyes glaze over when I start listing the information needed to obtain a reasonable Tractor / Trailer Weight and Balance solution.....

Like most things that involve math and physics........."The Devil is in THE Details"...........the less the details.......the less Detailed the answer .....and if you leave too many details out why bother.....sorta

I have been amazed how "un-detailed" the Truck & Trailer  INTERNET calculators are very poor in details and some are mostly useless .......

I have a home-grown spreadsheet that has a lot of detail and works very well for my uses however it might have too much detail for most users here in the forum.

One software program that will work is LoadXpert…... but at $1,500 it might be a bit of overkill.

Below is a link to a INTERNET calculator from a Talbert Trailer best known for Low--Boy and Drop-bed commercial trailers.

http://www.talbertmfg.com/custompage.asp?pg=widetemplate

I have played around with the Talbert Calculator and it seems to output a reasonable solution that would likely answer many of the needs for most of the forum RV calculations. My spreadsheet returns much more detailed information but that level of data is likely not need by most forum users'

Now one thing you will have to do to make the Talbert Calculator work for RV use, is to make sure you input ZERO into each blank in the “Jeep” section of the calculator.

You might try the Talbert Calculator and see if it makes sense for you.

 

Drive on……….(How's your Weight and…..Balance today)

 

 

[Wrknrvr]

 But I haul a jeep. So where does it go.

 

 I could not resist,.  

Thanks for the info,.   Vern

[Dollytrolley]

Well .....work, you know that does bring up a point..... and the point is..........my spreadsheet has a place for inputting the "your-Jeep" weight on the back of your tractor but the Talbert Calculator has no place for "your-Jeep" since the Talbert trailers are towed by a Tractor NOT a Truck so the Calculator has no place for a Truck cargo load since true Tractors only carry the load on the 5th wheel hitch NOT the bed.

 

So since the majority of the HDT users carry cargo AND 5th wheel hitch loads most rigs would need to have the Tractor / Truck weighed WITHOUT a cargo load and then Weighed again with all Cargo (Including "your-jeep) so that you could obtain the loading with and without "your-Jeep" loaded.

My spreadsheet is a lot more capable and it has the advantage of changing a lot of cargo (and Jeep or horses or motor skooter oe whatever....) with just a few keystrokes WITHOUT Re-weighing the Truck / Tractor.

The Talbert Calculator is not perfect for HDT RV use but it's the best ready-made free calculator that I found yet........

 

Drive on..........(Not all jeeps are ........JEEPS)

[Wrknrvr]

 I finally look at the program you provided. It does look interesting so I will put in the data in a week or so when I have time.

 

 Now for some more fun, my jeep is painted Volvo white and has a Volvo decal on the hood. What the ---- , when did Volvo make jeeps. 

 When I painted the jeep I rubbed the paint through at the front of the hood. Quick fix, just put a Volvo sticker on it where the paint was rubbed through. No one every said dummy, you rubbed the paint through to the primer.

 

 But there is a Chevy crate motor under the Volvo sticker.

 

 Time to hug my N-14.    I may replace the fuel line to head on the motor today. At least see if it can be done without removing the dog house to access the rear of the head

 

 Stay Safe,    Vern