Calculating Commercial

Vehicle Weight Distribution

& Payload Made Easy
September 6, 2011 • by Richard Toner •

Having the correct wheelbase on the chassis and placing the bodies and
loads in the proper place will assure that the axles are located correctly.

Photo courtesy of NTEA

Performing a weight distribution analysis can prevent building trucks that are
overloaded in normal use, causing problems for users and the equipment
installer. Overloads can shorten the live of a vehicle and its components.
Overloads can also prevent compliance with weight laws and federal safety
standards.

What & Why of Truck Weight Distribution

Weight distribution is the amount of the total vehicle weight imposed on the
ground at an axle, group of axles, or an individual wheel. The weight on a truck
must be distributed on the axles to comply with the chassis manufacturer's axle
ratings and weight laws.
A glossary of truck chassis dimensions.

Photo courtesy of NTEA

Having the correct wheelbase on the chassis and placing bodies and loads in
the proper place will ensure that axles are loaded correctly. Performing a weight
distribution analysis identifies the proper axle loadings before building a truck.

Axle capacities are limited either by the axle capacity or legal weight limits,
whichever is lower. Both trucks in Image A have a front axle rated at 12,000
lbs., limiting the weight on those axles. The rear axle on the single-drive truck
is limited by the axle capacity or legal weight restrictions to 20,000 lbs. The two
rear axles on the tandem-drive truck are limited either by axle capacities or legal
weight restrictions to 17,000 lbs. for each axle, or a total of 34,000 lbs. for the
pair of axles.
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Impact of a Truck's Center of Gravity

The center of gravity of an object does not have to be in the material of the
object (Image C). When considering a solid ball, such as a billiard ball, it is
obvious the center of gravity is the center of the ball and in the material that
makes up the object. In the case of a hollow ball, the center of gravity is also at
the center, but it is not in the material. If the center of gravity of a truck body is
in the material of the body, it is coincidence. Most of the time, the center of
gravity of a truck body is in the air, similar to the hollow ball example.

The centers-of-gravity of the truck chassis is shown at the top of the frame
rail at the cab and body and cargo centers-of-gravity are shown with a
single symbol at the center of the body about a third of the body height
above the floor.

Photo courtesy of NTEA

Each truck component, including passengers and cargo, have a center of
gravity. For example, the center of gravity of the truck chassis is shown at the
top of the frame rail at the back of the cab and the body and cargo centers of
gravity are shown with a single symbol at the center of the body about a third of
the body height above the floor.

For the process of calculating weight distribution on the axles, the horizontal
centers of gravity are used. If individual wheel loadings are calculated, the
lateral centers of gravity are also used. Unless a lateral center of gravity is given
for the chassis or a component, it is assumed to be on the centerline of the
chassis.

The horizontal and vertical centers of gravity for the entire sample truck
is shown with the center of gravity (CG) symbol.

Photo courtesy of NTEA

Lateral centers of gravity (CGs) are measured from the vehicle centerline
toward the right or passenger side as positive, left as negative. These are used
to calculate individual wheel loadings and incompliance calculations.

"Moments" are a force or weight times a distance. One pound of force times
one foot is 1 ft.-lb. One pound of force times 12 inches is 12 in.-lbs. They are
both the same moment. Moments can be used to calculate CGs, weight
distribution, frame loads, hoist capacities, and effective wheelbase.
Moments provide a way to combine a number of components or items to
calculate a CG for them as a group (Image F). When the CG distance is known
for all items combined, it is possible to calculate the weight on each axle.
Moments in one direction must match the moments in the other. The down
moment of the chassis plus the down moment of the body must equal the up
moment on the rear axle.

Lateral CGs measured from the vehicle centerline with toward the right or
passenger side as positive. Toward the left is negative. They are used to
calculate individual wheel loadings and inccompliance calculations.

Photo courtesy of NTEA

The Weight Distribution Analysis Process

Calculate the weight distribution of a vehicle using the following steps:

1. Determine the weight and center of gravity location for all of the
components and items to be considered
2. Multiply the center of gravity distance times the weight to get the moment
for each component and item.
3. Add all of the moments and divide by the wheelbase to get the weight on
the rear axle.
4. Subtract the rear axle weight from the total weight to get the front axle
weight.

When you know the CG distance for all of the items combined, you can
calculate the weight on each axle.

Photo courtesy of NTEA

Glossary of Terms
AB - Center of front axle to back of cab
AF - (After Frame). The distance from the center of the back axle to the rear
end of the chassis frame.
BA - Bumper to axle
BL - (Body Length). Overall length of the body.
CA - (Cab to Axle). Distance from back of the cab to center of the rear axle.
CB - (Cab to Body). Distance between back of cab to front of body.
WB - (Wheelbase). Distance from center of the front axle to center of rear axle.

How to find weight load on each car tyre during cornering? Automotive Thread
starterSprotz Start dateAug 3, 2018 Aug 3, 2018 #1 Sprotz 7 0 So far I have not
found a satisfactory answer anywhere on the internet for this one. I have read
the "race car suspension class" section but could not find the bit I am interested
in. I am trying to simulate vehicle spin out / oversteer by reducing traction on
the rear wheels when cornering. My physics engine does not automatically
calculate wheel load when cornering so I have to do it myself. I know two
separate equations that calculate load on the wheels. One for longitudnal
deceleration when braking, and one for lateral deceleration when cornering. For
a stationary vehicle, the wheel load on each axle is calculated as: Wf=(c/L)*W
for the front axle Wr=(b/L)*W for the rear axle where c is the distance between
the center of gravity and the rear axle, b is the distance between the center of
gravity and the front axle, L is the wheelbase and W is the weight of the vehicle.
So during deceleration, the weight transfer on each axle is given by Wf=(c/L)*W
- (h/L)*M*a for the front axle Wr=(b/L)*W + (h/L)*M*a for the rear axle where h
is the height of the center of gravity, M is the mass of the vehicle and a is
acceleration/deceleration. So the weight on each tyre for a stationary car would
be Wf/2 for each front tyre and Wr/2 for each rear tyre, since the weight is
distributed equally to these tyres if the center of gravity is at the half way point
of the track width. And the separate equation for weight transfer to the wheels
during cornering, this is the equation for weight transfer for lateral deceleration
is given by: Weight transfer=(Lateral deceleration/g)*W*h/Track width Now how
do I combine the two equations to give an equation that gives the weight
transfer on each of the four wheels during both braking and cornering? So that
I get the weight on each wheel instead of just on each axle? Say, the car is both
cornering and decelerating, and I simply got the longitudnal weight transfer
divided by 2 on the front left tyre (FL) and added it to the lateral weight transfer
divided by 2, would it be correct? Or if I shifted the weight along the velocity
vector by distance depending on deceleration and got the load distribution on
each tyre as inversely proportional to the area of rectangle encompassing the
wheel as shown below, where load on the front right tyre is inversely
proportional to area A1. Same for the other tyres. The above assumes that there
is no suspension for simplicity. So is any of the above solutions correct or is
there another way of determining the load on each wheel? I need the simplest
possible solution that is just enough to simulate spin out and I don't need a too
realistic model, and please I prefer you answer if you know the solution, or a link
to it as in my previous posts some people gave comments without really
answering, or gave answers like "it's complicated" or "how can you calculate this
without calculating that". Or if you know Unity's vehicle physics engine, explain
how to add spin out.

Source https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/how-to-find-weight-load-on-
each-car-tyre-during-cornering.952637/