How to read a CAT scale ticket (and what to do about each number)
A full-length truck scale weighs your rig on three platforms at once, so the ticket gives you four numbers. Here's what each one means and what "good" looks like on a standard 5-axle combination.
The four numbers
| Ticket line | What it is | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| Steer axle | Your front axle | 20,000 lb (tires often cap ~12–13k) |
| Drive axles | The tractor's tandem | 34,000 lb |
| Trailer axles | The trailer's tandem | 34,000 lb |
| Gross weight | Everything | 80,000 lb |
What the ticket does not check: the bridge formula, which depends on your axle spacing. You can be under on all four lines and still fail it — run the numbers through the free calculator, which checks all five.
Reading the story in the numbers
- Heavy drives, light trailer tandems: the load's weight is sitting forward — or your tandems are slid too far back.
- Heavy trailer tandems, light drives: weight is rearward — or tandems too far forward. Usually one tandem slide away from legal.
- Heavy steer: fifth wheel too far forward, or a nose-heavy load. Slide the fifth wheel (if adjustable) or rework the load.
- Gross over: no slide fixes that — you're shedding freight.
Reweighs are cheap; guessing isn't
After an adjustment, a reweigh costs a few dollars. The expensive version of this process is finding out at a DOT scale instead — see what an overweight ticket really costs. The cheapest version is knowing your axle weights before loading: that's calculable from load placement, and it's what the LoadLegit platform automates.
Our axle weight calculator runs the exact Federal Bridge Formula in your browser. The full platform predicts axle loads before you load, computes the slide-to-legal fix, and tracks state limits.
Try the free calculator