8 Benefits of Axle Weigh Pads

Originally posted: 11/06/2017. Updated: 12/07/2018.

If you are in an industry where obtaining a vehicle’s weight is critical for efficiency, safety and legality - axle weigh pads are right for you.

To use axle weigh pads, simply park your vehicle on top of the pads (or drive over, depending on the solution you choose) and view the weight which is displayed on the indicator.

Ease of use isn’t the only benefit of axle weigh pads - read on to find out how they can improve safety, costs and efficiency for you and your business.

1. Protecting Drivers/Civilians

If most of the weight is placed towards one side of the vehicle it can create an imbalance.

In some cases, an imbalance can cause weight to shift so much that it can prevent some of the wheels from making contact with the ground altogether. Imbalance can even make steering difficult to control.

In extreme cases, an imbalance in weight distribution can lead to the vehicle being more likely to crash. When wheels lift and if the truck is top heavy, it can cause the truck to continue sideways and land on its side. This is effected significantly by windy areas.

It's also important to remember that overweight vehicles have longer stopping distances. This makes it harder to stop for stop signs, traffic lights, civilians, and other drivers who move into your lane.

Image source: https://www.gov.uk/government/...

2. Protecting The Vehicle

Overloading your vehicle can also damage it. If maximum thresholds are not adhered to then axles, drive shafts and tyres are particularly at risk - this is despite large industrial vehicles possessing high stress tolerances.

Increased risk of damage to vehicles makes them unsafe and it may be costly to maintain. MOTs may flag issues more regularly if the vehicle is often overloaded, which can increase costs more than running an additional trip.

3. Protecting The Road

An unbalanced vehicle is one of the main causes of road damage. They can result in deep potholes, edge failure and surface deterioration, which need to be more regularly retained.

This results in more taxpayer money being spent and can even cause more damage to vehicles. To avoid this, you should ensure that your vehicle isn't overloaded.

4. Avoiding Fines

Exceeding the maximum weight of your vehicle is actually a criminal offence, which can result in heavy fines depending on how overloaded your vehicle is.

These penalties are given because of the damage that overloaded vehicles can do to the road, as well as the danger they present to both themselves and civilians.

You can view the fines below:

5. Reducing Costs

A vehicle that weighs a lot costs more in fuel than one that doesn’t weigh very much - if they are travelling at the same speed.

The excess fuel consumption can quickly begin to exceed profit margins and become a financial burden on your business. This isn't very economical, especially if you run a logistics business that spread over a number of countries/miles.

Overloading your vehicle can also breach your insurance policy, resulting in further costs.

6. Improving Efficiency

By weighing your vehicle, you can also make your processes more efficient.

By drawing the link between fuel consumption and weight, you can more effectively budget for long journeys. You can use records of previous weight readings and links to cost in order to efficiently pass prices on to customers.

7. Weigh your truck anywhere

One of the key benefits of axle weighers from Marsden is that they're small and compact enough to transport with your truck.

Instead of installing a weighbridge in every location, simply place your weigh pads on the floor and weigh your lorry quickly and easily wherever you're picking up or dropping off.

It's cheaper, easier, and it means you can monitor your lorry's weight, wherever you're going.

8. Weigh your pallets easily.

If you don't own a platform scale or a pallet truck scale for weighing your pallets as you load them, then an axle weigher is another solution.

Weigh your truck before and after loading to check the weight of your pallets and ensure you're not overloaded.

Axle Weigh Pads from Marsden

The AP-200: The sophisticated axle weigher. Each axle weighs up to 20,000kg and the pads are waterproof and wireless. The indicator itself is touchscreen and is housed within a tough but lightweight carry case. A printer is included so readings can be used to meet SOLAS regulation.

Browse our range of axle weigh pads here. For more information on any of our scales, call 01709 364296 or contact us here.