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Old 03-31-2016, 08:27 AM   #1
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Where can we weigh?

My family and I took our first long distance trip this past week to Tennessee and wanted to weigh our truck/camper. The weigh stations were closed, so we had to wait for the way back. We stopped at the first open station and were promptly told to "Get off the scale, please", and were told NC does not do courtesy weighs. How else can we see the GVW?
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Old 03-31-2016, 08:32 AM   #2
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Cat scales at truck stops is the easiest. Or maybe a quarry or grain handling facility might let you weigh for a small fee. Where I live, I can drive across the scales at the local grain handling site, preferable after their working hours, as they leave the scale on 24/7.
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Old 03-31-2016, 08:39 AM   #3
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CAT Scales are my favorite as they are certified accurate. Here is their website. A clickable map of scale locations is Here.
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Old 03-31-2016, 08:39 AM   #4
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https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/

There are guides online that lay out the best way to weigh your rig - truck, truck/trailer, trailer, trailer tongue, etc. Some even have diagrams with blanks to fill in your information.
Another thing to know is to let the scale operator know you are going to do multiple weighs. The charge is usually around $10.00 for the first weigh and 2 or 3 dollars for subsequent weighs. If you don't let them know, you'll get charged ten bucks for each weigh.
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Old 03-31-2016, 08:44 AM   #5
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Where in NC are you located? Is the "Apex" your town or your camper?
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Old 03-31-2016, 09:51 AM   #6
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Where in NC are you located? Is the "Apex" your town or your camper?
That's our camper. We're in Waxhaw, south of Charlotte. My brother lives in Wake Forest though
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Old 03-31-2016, 10:23 AM   #7
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OK. I know of some scales here in the Raleigh area. But as said, just go to a CAT scale. $10.50

Really easy and you can get weights for front and rear truck axles plus the camper's axles all in one shot. Just be aware when lining it up on the scales so each axle is on its own scale. Very simple.
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Old 03-31-2016, 10:59 AM   #8
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Out here the secondary roads have scales that are hardly ever manned, but the scales are work'n, 24/7
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Old 03-31-2016, 11:55 AM   #9
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Thanks all! There seems to be one within 30 min of my house, so we'll hit that one the next time we're out that way camping. I appreciate the help!
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Old 03-31-2016, 11:56 AM   #10
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If you are in Florida you can stop at any weight station on any interstate, and it is Free....just pull through and go inside and tell the people what you want to do....
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Old 03-31-2016, 12:04 PM   #11
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If you are in Florida you can stop at any weight station on any interstate, and it is Free....just pull through and go inside and tell the people what you want to do....
That's what we thought would happen in NC. Guess not!
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Old 03-31-2016, 12:09 PM   #12
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Yep, in California you cannot enter the weigh stations on the highways. But, if there are not any truck stops around, another place that has weigh stations are Moving Van yards such as Mayflower, United, etc. They have to weigh the trucks and vans before they get on the highway to ensure they are under the limits.
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Old 03-31-2016, 12:26 PM   #13
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Closest CAT scale is on I-77 South at Sutton Road at a Love's truck stop. $10.50 for the first weigh and $2.00 for each additional within 24 hours. Stopped there two weekends ago on our first trip out to Ebenezer Park in Rock Hill, SC.
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Old 03-31-2016, 12:38 PM   #14
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Closest CAT scale is on I-77 South at Sutton Road at a Love's truck stop. $10.50 for the first weigh and $2.00 for each additional within 24 hours. Stopped there two weekends ago on our first trip out to Ebenezer Park in Rock Hill, SC.
That one, and the one in Monroe are equally close. I guess it'll just depend which camp ground we go to. How was Ebeneezer? We drove through there the other day to check it out. No privacy but love the lake.

We're headed to Kings Mountain the last week of April. We camped there before, but not in a camper
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Old 03-31-2016, 12:46 PM   #15
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My family and I took our first long distance trip this past week to Tennessee and wanted to weigh our truck/camper. The weigh stations were closed, so we had to wait for the way back. We stopped at the first open station and were promptly told to "Get off the scale, please", and were told NC does not do courtesy weighs. How else can we see the GVW?
All major truck stops have scales you can weigh on.
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Old 03-31-2016, 12:59 PM   #16
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All major truck stops have scales you can weigh on.
There weren't any true "truck stops" on our route, at least not that I'm aware of. We thought we could stop at a weigh station but learned we cannot. We've got a lot of great options from this thread. Thanks everyone.
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Old 03-31-2016, 01:43 PM   #17
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There is one pitfall when using the Cat scales at a truck stop: be advised that the push-to-talk button on the intercom is "waaaaaay" up there! That's so the truck driver can reach it easily from HIS window. You won't be able to reach it unless you have an umbrella, or a cane, or a window scraper, or you stand on your wife's shoulders, or the roof of your truck! Ask me how I know!
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Old 03-31-2016, 02:21 PM   #18
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I line up the truck on the scale, get out, jump up to hit the button. Then jump back in the truck and talk to them through the window. Make sure you get back in the truck so you'll have your true weight per axle while you and the family are in the vehicle. I also fill up the fuel tank before I get the truck on the scales.

The thought is to get the truck and camper as heavy as it should ever be. Then as fuel is consumed or others things are left at home, you already know the heaviest you will be.
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Old 03-31-2016, 04:43 PM   #19
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It used to be that most of the big moving and storage warehouses had scales and most of the time, they were not busy. They used to allow rigs to weigh free if they were not busy. That was in Michigan.
Now, in Oregon, like Washington, we have free scales used by the log truckers. Just drive on and off but best to go after 3:00 PM (1500) since the loggers are usually done by then. Otherwise, they are in a hurry and resent us old RV'ers clogging up the scales when they are trying to run hot.
I commend you on wanting to accurately know your weight.
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Old 03-31-2016, 05:33 PM   #20
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I would also like to know?
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