But sometimes weighpads are ideal!

Having spent a fair bit of time explaining how weighpads are not always the best system to use for weighing axles, there are circumstances where they are absolutely the very best option.

We have many customers who use them very successfully but it’s after all the other options have been thoroughly explored, the customer is operating right vehicles for use with weighpads and full and thorough training has been done.

We had one such enquiry only last week. The customer is running 3.5t and 7.5t vehicles delivering specialist products to all parts of the country. With two locations on the same industrial estate it would seem that the obvious choice would be the Axtec OnBoard Load Indicator.

Fitted to the vehicle, it goes everywhere the vehicle does and instantly shows the driver his front and rear axle weights and gross weight and alerts him to any overloads.

However, at peak times, when vehicles are likely to be at their heaviest, the company hires in vans for short periods.

Those vehicles need protecting from overloading as well but as they only have them for a short period, fitting an OnBoard Load Indicator is not an option.

A fixed Static Axle Weighbridge, a variant of the systems we supply to VOSA but designed specifically for 2-axle rigids, is a possible solution. But which of the company’s two sites should it be installed at? And could the drivers be relied upon to drive from one site to another, weigh their vehicle and drive back to get any overload corrected?

They ought to obviously but human nature being what it is, they may take the line of least resistance and just take the chance they won’t get caught. It’s odds on that it’ll be that one heavy vehicle which gets stopped in a weight check and, as their industrial estate is only three miles away from a VOSA check site, the risks are quite high.

Portable Weighpads - sometimes the ideal solution!

The solution for this customer is a pair of portable weighpads. Lightweight, not that they need to be as these guys lift and shift some quite heavy equipment, and portable they are ideal for moving between the two locations. So management can take them to the vehicle rather than rely on the drivers.

The hired in vehicles can be weighed as well without any modifications to the vehicles and after full training to ensure they are used correctly the pads will provide an effective protection against overloading for their fleet. And with a fleet comprising of only 2-axle rigids they are the ideal user for portable weighpads.

More than anything this enquiry demonstrates the benefit of getting good advice and taking the time to thoroughly think through what your operation needs and what the best long term solution is.

And the end result is another satisfied customer.