Post by topdog5184 on May 1, 2013 23:44:25 GMT -5
Ever notice when your doing highway speed, and you go to turn, your trailer "kicks out"? That "slop" or "slipperyness" comes from the trailer weight. So let's counter act that shall we? Follow along, and read this slowly. This tutorial is rated "B" for Beginner. But read it fully. so you know not only WHAT we're doing, but also the EFFECTS of what we're doing. Special thanks to lonewolf for sparking this tutorial.
A few years ago I started messing with the trailers. And found they were severely underweight. A fully loaded 53' Wabash shouldn't skid across I-10 when doin 60mph, in a gentle curve. So I set out to correct this. And so we begin:
Ok you'll need 3 things. Notepad, 5 minutes of free time, and a cup of coffee.
Open the trailer you'd like to edit's folder. Open the base folder. Now open the !desc.def file with notepad. (this is assuming you've unzipped the base.scs and have everything in the my docs folder)
Should see something like this:
extdefs "/makes/acc_base.def"
def accessory:/accessory_base {
type:"base"
model:"livestock.psm"
material0:"alpha: livestock_a.mat"
material1:"cows: cow.mat"
material2:"livestock: livestock.mat"
material3:"brace_on: livestock.mat"
material4:"brace_off: livestock.mat"
weight:5000
}
That "Weight:5000" line is all we want,
5000lbs? that's awfully light. hmm
Ok now here's where the calculator comes into play. trucks (not trailers) vary in weight. the avg is 20,000lbs. By Federal Law (in the US) all trucks should weigh a MAX of 80,000. (not counting oversized, permit loads, etc)
So, going by a 20,000lb truck, our trailer weight should be 60,000 like so:
weight:60000 (no comma!)
For your smaller trailers (less than 53 feet) use something smaller. Me personally I ue this rule of thumb, I add 1000lbs PER FOOT of trailer. a 28ft trailer, 28000. a 36ft, 36000. get the idea?
Now here's a word of CAUTION! Adding weight will do a few things:
1. your truck may act very sluggish now. so you may need to update your engines, and transmissions. test first, before redoing your engines, and transmissions
2. Your brakes, if using stock, will NOT be suitable. you'll find you need 10 miles to stop LOL
3. The trailer will be MUCH harder to "jack-knife" (that's what we want )
That's all for today class Now go out there, fully loaded, and give them DOT boys hell! ohh and please remember
A few years ago I started messing with the trailers. And found they were severely underweight. A fully loaded 53' Wabash shouldn't skid across I-10 when doin 60mph, in a gentle curve. So I set out to correct this. And so we begin:
Ok you'll need 3 things. Notepad, 5 minutes of free time, and a cup of coffee.
Open the trailer you'd like to edit's folder. Open the base folder. Now open the !desc.def file with notepad. (this is assuming you've unzipped the base.scs and have everything in the my docs folder)
Should see something like this:
extdefs "/makes/acc_base.def"
def accessory:/accessory_base {
type:"base"
model:"livestock.psm"
material0:"alpha: livestock_a.mat"
material1:"cows: cow.mat"
material2:"livestock: livestock.mat"
material3:"brace_on: livestock.mat"
material4:"brace_off: livestock.mat"
weight:5000
}
That "Weight:5000" line is all we want,
5000lbs? that's awfully light. hmm
Ok now here's where the calculator comes into play. trucks (not trailers) vary in weight. the avg is 20,000lbs. By Federal Law (in the US) all trucks should weigh a MAX of 80,000. (not counting oversized, permit loads, etc)
So, going by a 20,000lb truck, our trailer weight should be 60,000 like so:
weight:60000 (no comma!)
For your smaller trailers (less than 53 feet) use something smaller. Me personally I ue this rule of thumb, I add 1000lbs PER FOOT of trailer. a 28ft trailer, 28000. a 36ft, 36000. get the idea?
Now here's a word of CAUTION! Adding weight will do a few things:
1. your truck may act very sluggish now. so you may need to update your engines, and transmissions. test first, before redoing your engines, and transmissions
2. Your brakes, if using stock, will NOT be suitable. you'll find you need 10 miles to stop LOL
3. The trailer will be MUCH harder to "jack-knife" (that's what we want )
That's all for today class Now go out there, fully loaded, and give them DOT boys hell! ohh and please remember