hi,can somebody tell me how to find out how much wieght I can load on a ridgid,when i passed my class 2 I worked for a large company they told me how much a truck could carry and my manifest would have complete wieght on the bottom,now i work for a agency most the companys I work for just say you will be alright,
You should have an information plate somewhere in the cab which shows you all the relevant vehicle weights. Have a look around, ours are around the passenger side foot well area etc.
I don’t remember the name of it exactly. I think it’s roughly the size of an A5 piece of paper, maybe slightly smaller.
DJC:
Have a look around, ours are around the passenger side foot well area etc.
Most tend to be. It’s called the plating certificate or usually the ‘plate’ but it won’t give the max weight of the load just the vehicle’s overall max weights.
darter:
hi,can somebody tell me how to find out how much wieght I can load on a ridgid,when i passed my class 2 I worked for a large company they told me how much a truck could carry and my manifest would have complete wieght on the bottom,now i work for a agency most the companys I work for just say you will be alright,
Hi darter,
As already mentioned, you need to find the plate that tells you the allowable weights for your vehicle.
The pic is a little out of date, but the plate will look something like this:
To keep things easy (for now,) the weight of the load plus the empty weight of the vehicle cannot exceed the stated Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW.)
In order that you can calculate this, you need to know what the vehicle weighs when it’s not loaded.
This includes the weight of your fuel, tools, spare wheel (if carried) and yourself.
Once you know this, you subtract it from the stated GVW to discover the weight that you can legally carry.
This (allowable cargo) weight is known as “payload.”
It goes without saying that the individual axle weights as stated on the plate also cannot be exceeded.
Weighing the truck on a weighbridge when fully fuelled with you sitting in it is the only sure way of finding out what it weighs when empty
You can then deduct the empty weight from the GVW and that gives you the payload (what you can load it with)
So basically I have to rely on a transport manager to make sure I am not overloaded (apart from the weighbridge option), I would have thought the max payload would be on the plate, but maybe that would make the drivers life a bit easier. Thanks for all your help and speedy replies,
Will there be a weight of the goods on your paperwork? Then you can work out from the vehicle plate whether it will be overloaded or not. Remember your quite within your rights to take it to a weigh bridge.
darter:
So basically I have to rely on a transport manager to make sure I am not overloaded (apart from the weighbridge option), I would have thought the max payload would be on the plate, but maybe that would make the drivers life a bit easier. Thanks for all your help and speedy replies,
Another legal way to do it …
If you know the weight that has been loaded on it then go directly to your nearest public weighbridge
If it weighs 1 tonne under the GVW then you know that that the weight you already have on board plus 1 tonne = max payload
If it turns out to be overloaded then you can go directly back to where it was loaded legally to take off the excess weight
The company and not the driver is responsible for the cost of the weighbridge
ROG:
The company and not the driver is responsible for the cost of the weighbridge
'Blimey !
I did’nt realise they had to Buy The Weigh Bridge, just for a Public Weigh ! 
martinviking:
ROG:
The company and not the driver is responsible for the cost of the weighbridge'Blimey !
I did’nt realise they had to Buy The Weigh Bridge, just for a Public Weigh !
Fair cop
darter:
So basically I have to rely on a transport manager to make sure I am not overloaded (apart from the weighbridge option), I would have thought the max payload would be on the plate, but maybe that would make the drivers life a bit easier. Thanks for all your help and speedy replies,
Hi darter,
As already mentioned, it all starts off by you knowing the weight of the vehicle when it’s not carrying a load.
At the time that the plate is produced, it isn’t necessarily known what type of bodywork the vehicle will eventually have, so the empty weight can’t be written on the plate.
For example, a two-axle rigid is usually plated at 18t.
The plate is usually fixed to the vehicle before the bodywork, so it’s going to be a bit different if there’s eventually a flat-deck body put on it, as opposed to a fridge body. The GVW will still be 18t in both cases, but the allowable payload will be significantly different.
darter:
So basically I have to rely on a transport manager to make sure I am not overloaded (apart from the weighbridge option), I would have thought the max payload would be on the plate, but maybe that would make the drivers life a bit easier. Thanks for all your help and speedy replies,
In the real world, I’m afraid yes. If you start popping to a weighbridge frequently (which frankly might be miles away and further than your actual tip-but such are the rules that you’re alright overloaded as long as you’re to or from the weighbridge) you will unfortunately discover your life won’t be enjoyable as your TM’s least favourite driver and if it’s agency you’ll most likely not be invited back. This may not be fair but it is reality unfortunately.
There’s a lot of stickler for the rules type advice on here and although it’s sometimes legally/technically correct and everyone is interested in keeping safe and legal where possible you have to be realistic and pick your battles. I would refuse to take a clearly grossly overladen vehicle out where the vehicle was obviously listing/sunk down on one axle/steering or braking poorly etc. but if I thought a company was now and again putting 500kg too much on say an 18 tonner I wouldn’t get my knickers in a twist about it.
I do agree that it should probably be law for the unladen (tare) weight of a vehicle to be given on a vehicle. It is worth looking round the chassis with a torch as often some, particularly hired or leased, vehicles do have it marked. As a rough rule of thumb an 18t two axle rigid curtainsider will generally take somewhere around the 10 ton mark in payload, which may be more or less subject to actual vehicle make, tail-lift etc. but wouldn’t say be 15 ton.
If you quote the any vehicle GVW and body type on here I’m sure someone will be able to give you a rough idea of typical payload.
Another quick point is where it’s something like pallet network multidrop the load weights on the manifest are often based on information provided by customer’s shipping the goods and can be complete nonsense anyway - and either way both more or less, some places just slap 500kg on as the pallet weight as default.
Very surprised someone let loose with a Category C license doesn’t know where or how to check the maximum weight of his vehicle. Didn’t they teach you that are training?
And they say we don’t need dcpc 
Sam Millar:
Very surprised someone let loose with a Category C license doesn’t know where or how to check the maximum weight of his vehicle. Didn’t they teach you that are training?
Sam,read his opening post again,he’s asking how much he can put on it-not what the max is.
Sam Millar:
Didn’t they teach you that are training?
To be fair it wasn’t when I did mine and I don’t know any else who trained back then (10+ years ago) who were told either. Is it taught nowadays as a matter of routine?
Skippy70:
Sam Millar:
Very surprised someone let loose with a Category C license doesn’t know where or how to check the maximum weight of his vehicle. Didn’t they teach you that are training?Sam,read his opening post again,he’s asking how much he can put on it-not what the max is.
But you work that out by looking at the vehicle plate? To be fair it was part of my recent training back in 2011 and part of the initial CPC as well but surely you’d at least have a look around the truck and try and work it out?
Sam Millar:
Skippy70:
Sam Millar:
Very surprised someone let loose with a Category C license doesn’t know where or how to check the maximum weight of his vehicle. Didn’t they teach you that are training?Sam,read his opening post again,he’s asking how much he can put on it-not what the max is.
But you work that out by looking at the vehicle plate? To be fair it was part of my recent training back in 2011 and part of the initial CPC as well but surely you’d at least have a look around the truck and try and work it out?
You can’t work payload out because you need the unladen (tare) weight of the vehicle. A knowledge of roughly what body combinations have what payload and a feeling for what is and isn’t overloaded only really comes from experience.
I’m not saying there aren’t places out there that dangerously overload but there are much fewer truly rogue operators about and the vast majority of firms value their operator’s licence and will not dangerously overload vehicles. They would be in trouble as well if you were pulled.
I know I might be sounding simple 
But- 
I’ve always wondered, (for information) On a rigid, why they don’t put the Tare/Unladen weight on the plate , allowing for a full tank of fuel,oil,water, average weight of the Driver (say 100kg/Fat Bastad) & possible passenger.
Obviously it’s a different kettle of fish on an artic, then it comes down to experience & taking a note of the different trailers weights when you get the chance, I have written the different weights down in my diary so i can refer to them if I’ve got a funny load going on.
Sam, I know how to find the max weight of the vehicle, that was not my question, my question was how to find the maximum payload, may be I should have worded it differently, I have my dcpc and have just passed my C+E and the max payload was never mentioned.