Canadian weights

As i've got a bit of time to kill, and someone commented that i was running over weight, i thought i might try to explain canadian weights.                                                                                                                       Gross vehicle weight for a tractor and tailer on 5 axles is 39,500 kgs (all provinces except atlantic and quebec is 41,500 kgs. ontario is 44,100 kgs. yukon 43,700 kgs)
Gvw for tractor and trailer on 6 axles is 46,500 kgs (all provinces except atlantic and quebec is 49,500 kgs ontario is 53,700 kgs. yukon 48,600 kgs)
Gvw for the B-trains on 8 axles (most popular) is 63,500 kgs ( yukon, british columbia, alberta and ontario)
all other provences 62,500 kgs.
The gross weights are determined by the individual weights on each axle group.
Steers 5500 kgs
tandem drives 17,000 kgs
tandem trailers 17,000 kgs
tridem trailers 23,000 kgs ( 12 ft spread axle 24,000 kgs)
eg. if your running 5 axles 5500 kgs + 17,000 kgs + 17,000 kgs = 39500 kgs
So for B-trains ( super B's) which run 3 axle power coupled to a 3 axle trailer and a tandem axle trailer
you have 5500 kgs + 17,000 kgs + 23,000 kgs + 17,000 kgs = 62,500 kgs.
There are lots of weird and wonderful axle configurations, you see lots of 7 and 8 axle trailers in ontario, with odd axle spreads. These are generaly used in certain applications eg steel, stone, logging and anything too heavy to fill trailer to capacity, they are not used very much by companies who operate interprovincal.
H & R are permitted to run at 46,500 kgs when using the 12 ft spread tridem axle trailers, so all the weight variations above this are not relavent to us.Where the GVW 's vary from provence to provence, can be seen by the different axle weights allowed. Ontario allows 9000 kgs on steers 18,000 kgs on tandems. Also you have to be legal for every provence you travel through. So you could load in Toronto for Calgary, and gross at 42,000 kgs on 5 axles You are legal to travel in Ontario ( assuming you're axle weights are legal) but you cant get to Calgary because you're over gross in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. If your're gross is ok for travel to final destination, but if you are over on an axle group then you need to start axles. If your'e drives are over, then you move your trailer axles forward(shorten the wheelbase) which will reduce weight on the drives and increase weight on the trailer tandems, and vice versa if your trailer tandems are over. You also need to allow for fuel, unless your tanks are full. If your steers are over, then you need to slide your 5th wheel back, but you will find that once you get your weight correct on the steers, they dont really alter much.Whilst moving your trailer axles about you also have to remember to keep your wheelbase legal. Wheelbase is measured from the trailer kingpin to the center of the trailer axle group. The maximum is 41 ft and the minimum is 37 ft, also you have to watch the REO ( rear effective overhang) which is 35% of the wheelbase, also measured from the center of the axle group. So if you have a tridem on, and the axle group is set to 41ft then your max overhang is 14.35 ft from the center of the axle group, to the very rearmost point on your trailer. This all probably sounds a bit confusing to those of you that haven't yet had the Canadian experiance, but once you've done a few loads, it will be second nature. From experiance, i have found if your picking up an m/t trailer, and loading a heavy load, and the axles look like they haven't been slid for a while, slide them backwards and forwards a few times. If you don't and need to move them when your loaded you'll find it almost impossible. Hope this helps anyone coming out, it helped me pass an afternoon.