Tag Archives: truck scale

Keys To Success For Your Truck Scale

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Cardinal Armor Truck ScaleIf you think about it, maintaining your truck scale calibration, keeping your truck scale clean and in good working order and watching out for any operational errors can help ensure that you keep your vehicle scale on track for a solid year of great weighing and perhaps a great year of profits for your business. As you can see from Steve Langford’s article, a lot of this just makes sense. In some businesses a truck scale is the device that ultimately enables you get what you pay for when buying raw materials as well as making sure that you receive proper payment for your products.

An accurate scale is not only necessary to maintain profitability but to comply with applicable local and state weights and measures laws. For most of us, the purchase of a truck scale is a major investment and, when you consider its use, it only makes sense to make sure the scale continues to do its job and to help maximize your profits for many years to come. Let’s take a look at some of the ways to do just that.

Perhaps the best advice to ensure that your truck scales continue to meet your expectations is to be proactive. Don’t wait until your scale is out of calibration before calling your service company. Have your scales calibration checked at regular intervals. How often? How long can you go with an inaccurate scale causing you to pay for material you don’t get or to give product away? At a minimum, a truck scales calibration should be checked by a reputable scale service company at least once every six months. Between calibration checks, keep an eye on the readings to make sure that the readings stay within the ballpark and are not obviously wrong. If there’s any question, call your scale service company. Its better to spend a few dollars verifying the calibration of your scale than to loose thousands or more with an inaccurate scale.

Truck scales are designed to maintain calibration, within predefined limits, over a range of temperatures but calibration can vary from winter to summer. If you are in an area subject to temperature extremes, it is a good idea to schedule the calibration of your scale to coincide with the temperature extremes. Granted, the scale may still be in calibration and only slightly high or low but, the greater the number of weighing operations, the greater the influence on your bottom line. Keep in mind that you are obligated to keep the calibration as close to a zero error as reasonably possible so that the scale favors neither the buyer nor the seller. Why would an honest business owner want it any other way? Continue reading →

Product Spotlight: Rice Lake Survivor Truck Scale

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Rice Lake Weighing Systems SURVIVOR® truck scales are commonly referred to as the Toughest Scales on Earth®. They are designed to provide reliable performance under the most demanding conditions. SURVIVOR truck scales are built with more structural steel, a superior support structure and innovative design features that provide consistent accuracy, less downtime and longer scale life. Each SURVIVOR is built with the exclusive five-step finishing process. Take a look at some of the different Rice Lake Survivor truck scale models below.

SURVIVOR® OTR
The SURVIVOR OTR Series truck scale is an outstanding design that incorporates the most advanced engineering and production technology to manufacture the highest quality vehicle weighing system in the marketplace.

SURVIVOR® ATV
The ATV is rigidly constructed for heavy-duty weighing, yet lightweight and compact for convenient portability. The pre-assembled modules (available in lengths from 10 – 30 ft.) and unique self-seating hinge connectors provide easy installation, expansion and relocation for your growing business.

SURVIVOR® SR
The SR concrete or steel deck modes are ruggedly designed with massive outboard beams available in a bolted or welded design. Load cells and mounting assemblies are easily accessed in the rugged, reinforced load cell pocket, through side access.

SURVIVOR® PT
The PT Series truck scale is available in many standard sizes to satisfy most requirements, but we also understand that pit-type installations often involve replacing and existing mechanical or electronic scale.

SURVIVOR® M-Series
SURVIVOR® M Series Levertronic Scales combine innovative features with time-proven durability that only a mechanical scale can deliver. In a market crowded with scales manufactured to compete on price alone, SURVIVOR M Series Scales are built from the ground up for lasting performance under the most extreme conditions.

SURVIVOR® Rail Scales
SURVIVOR railroad track scales incorporate Rice Lake’s best-in-class weighbridge design to create a rugged, accurate heavy duty weighing system. Used in static weighing operations, the SURVIVOR RT Pit Type railroad track scale and the SURVIVOR PL Modular Type railroad track scale excel in high-accuracy, legal-for-trade weighing and meet AREMA and Cooper E-80 design specifications.

SURVIVOR® Livestock Solutions
Rice Lake’s livestock scales are built from the ground up for lasting performance under the most severe circumstances. Whether you choose the RoughDeck™ SLV for single animal weighing or the SURVIVOR® AG, LV or LS, you’re getting the Toughest Scale on Earth®.

Take a look below at “Six Facts” regarding heavy capacity solutions from Rice Lake. Did you know for applications where steel is preferred or downtime is critical, a great choice would be the SURVIVOR® OTR Steel Deck. Operational within a day, this easy-to-install steel deck scale sets the standard for truck scale design and performance, keeping downtime to a minimum. Tightly spaced wide flange I-beams form the industry’s strongest weighbridge design, weighing as many as 250 trucks per day for 25 years without a trace of weighbridge fatigue.

Built to Withstand Extreme Use
Weighbridge design and the weight of structural steel used directly affect the life of a truck scale. Many truck scale designs incorporate low grade, non-certified steel and an inferior design to reduce the cost and decrease production time. These reductions also reduce the life of the scale. Rice Lake SURVIVOR® series truck scales utilize up to 30% more steel than most competitive models and incorporate a longitudinal highway bridge design. More I-beams are strategically placed longitudinally with the traffic flow to ensure tire support regardless of truck position.

Ultra Load Cell Protection
Load cell pockets that are welded or bolted to exterior I-beams allow excessive bending and flexing, causing damage to the weighbridge. Bumper bolts loosen and break. Check rods bind. Rice Lake’s SURVIVOR® series truck scales are designed with the load cell pocket integrated into the steel structure of the scale. The pocket is built inside the outer I-beam, offering a more durable, long-lasting load cell pocket. The SURVIVOR® series scales feature the G-Force™ self-checking mounting system, eliminating the need for check rods or bumper bolts.

Breathing Room Below
Closed-bottom weighbridge designs with both top and bottom plates, typically using lighter weight components, create cavities that tend to hold moisture causing rusting of internal components. Rice Lake’s SURVIVOR® steel deck truck scales feature an open-bottom design providing unrestricted airflow eliminating rust causing moisture buildup, which accelerates rusting of internal steel and imminent scale failure.

Tough, Start to Finish
Harsh environments and corrosive materials can quickly deteriorate improperly finished truck scale components. Rice Lake’s SURVIVOR® series truck scales are steel shot blasted according to the highest industry standards to remove mill scale and surface imperfections. An asphalt emulsion undercoating is applied to all non-visible steel surfaces on all steel deck models to protect against moisture damage. High-performance epoxy primer and specialized hard-coat alkyd enamel is applied to all visible steel surfaces for a car-like finish that protects the scale from the elements.

Custom Sizes are Customary
Replacing truck scales on existing foundations or fitting truck scales to unique locations or space limitations need not incur extra design fees. Rice Lake’s SURVIVOR® series truck scales can be custom-built to fit almost any application.

A Complete Solution for Any Application
These truck scales are only a part of the equation. Rice Lake offers not only the scale, but also the complete solution for your weighing application. From automated ticketing and truck transaction data collection systems to intelligent controllers like the 920i, to advanced cell diagnostics. And of course no truck scale is complete without a Ticketpress ticket printer and Laserlight Remote Display.

Cardinal Harvester Truck Scale Promotional Sale Price Offer

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Harvester Concrete Scale for Weighing Trucks on FarmCardinal Scale is offering an exciting truck scale pricing special that only lasts from May 1 to June 15, 2013.  Order a Harvester® model 5070-PSC 70-ft truck scale for only $25,000 list price! This item is normally $28,846 list, so if you take advantage of this limited time promotion the savings could be over $3500! The Harvester series precast concrete scales offer an economical approach to truck weighing for farms.

The Harvester is a fully-electronic truck scale featuring factory poured concrete decks for above-ground, low-profile weighing. Incorporating the latest in patent-pending concrete composition with high tensile strength and optimal deck weight, the Harvester is designed for farms with 3,000 acres or less. Cardinal offers single-source convenience and quality construction utilizing USA-made stainless steel model CBC compression load cells. Designed for light-duty agricultural weighing, the NTEP certified Harvester series of vehicle scales are the farmers’ choice for all types of vehicle weighing from planting to harvest. The Harvester’s low-profile design allows direct access to all scale components for ease of service.

The Harvester incorporates the latest in patent-pending concrete composition with high tensile strength and optimal deck weight, the Harvester’s 70 x 10-ft model 5070-PSC features a 50-ton capacity and 25-ton concentrated load capacity.

Please note that this particular scale is designed for specific types of customer usage and may not be recommended for certain types of applications. The Harvester® truck scales are not designed for applications outside of light-duty weighing use on farms with less than 3,000 acres. Other heavier-duty type applications outside of these parameters are not acceptable at this time.  For complete information and recommendations for what system would work best for you, please contact your authorized Cardinal Scale dealer.

It’s What’s Inside That Counts

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Cardinal EPR What are some other features metal recyclers need to look for inside a truck scale?

There are several attributes recyclers ought to take into account when making the decision to purchase a 70 foot long truck scale, which includes deck plate thickness.

Recyclers are normally handling a high traffic frequency daily on their truck scales, so weighing machine strength becomes a important aspect. For instance, Cardinal Scale produces truck scales with 3/8″ thick steel decks for maximum strength and resiliency to handle hefty loads over the long haul for exceptional overall performance.

An additional quality element to look for is factory-assembled load cells secured in the truck scale. Every Cardinal truck scale is 100 percent factory assembled and examined prior to shipping to a job location. This requires calibrating the whole 60 foot long truck scale to make sure appropriate set-up before shipping for exceptional accuracy.

Usually, a 70-foot-long truck scale dimensions are sought after in the recycling business to be in a position to allow for weighing semi-tractor trailers. Stainless steel load cells and a NEMA 4X stainless steel junction box for load cell wiring can also be important to check for when making the decision to buy a vehicle scale.

OTR Series From Rice Lake Now Suitable For Livestock Weighing

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Rice Lake Weighing Systems was recently granted an amendment to its NTEP Certificate of Conformance for the SURVIVOR OTR Series of above ground truck scales. The amendment reduces the scales minimum division value (emin) from the industry standard 20 pounds to 10 pounds, making the SURVIVOR OTR suitable for not only vehicle weighing, but high-dollar applications such as livestock and scrap-metal weighing. The improved resolution is essential where valuable commodities are being weighed and Rice Lake truck scales now offer a competitive advantage in those cases.

The new certification applies to Rice Lake entire OTR Series, including steel and concrete decks and pit or pitless grain dump models, in standard widths up to 16.5 feet and standard lengths up to 160 feet. The SURVIVOR OTR is also now available with racks and gates for livestock containment needs.

Inaccurate Tare Weights in Vehicle Weighing

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This summary (link was taken down on nist website) was done several years ago but it brings up some good points regarding checking truck scales for accuracy and storing tare weights for trucks.

The concept of storing a tare weight for a particular truck sounds like a great idea and a wonderful time saver but as you can see from the presentation, it can lead to some very inaccurate weights.

Stored Tare
Stored and recalled from memory in digital indicators and computers.
Charts with truck-id and tare weight taped to the wall.
Marked on vehicle or driver information.

What Changes Tare Weight?
Driver/Passengers on-off truck
Repairs or modifications to vehicle (e.g., new tires, paint, welding etc.)
Tools, material handling equipment, personal effects.
Fuel and other fluid levels.
Mud, dirt and others (e.g., product retained in bed of dump truck).

New Precast Concrete Scale Now Available

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The Cardinal Harvester series precast concrete scales offer an economical approach to truck weighing for farms. The Harvester is a fully-electronic truck scale featuring factory poured concrete decks for above-ground, low-profile weighing. Incorporating the latest in patent-pending concrete composition with high tensile strength and optimal deck weight, the Harvester is designed for farms with 3,000 acres or less. Cardinal offers single-source convenience and quality construction utilizing stainless steel model CBC compression load cells.

Designed for light-duty agricultural weighing, the NTEP certified Harvester series of vehicle scales are the farmers choice for all types of vehicle weighing from planting to harvest. The Harvesters low-profile design allows direct access to all scale components for ease of service. Clearance underneath the Harvester truck scale’s weighbridge is 7.5 inches from the top of the pier to the bottom of the deck which allows plenty of room for washouts and easy access to the load cells. Bumper bolts allow for easy maintenance of the truck scale. Lateral checking is placed in the center of the scale to reduce bumper bolt adjustments due to expansion and contraction of the weighbridge from temperature change.

Survivor ATV

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SURVIVOR ATV built by Rice Lake is described as a heavy or extreme duty, top access portable scale. The ATV is rigidly constructed for heavy-duty weighing, yet lightweight and compact for convenient portability. The pre assembled modules from 10 to 30 feet long and unique self-seating hinge connectors provide easy installation, expansion and relocation for your growing business. The Rice Lake ATV truck scale boasts more steel, the strongest weighbridge, and higher quality construction for long-lasting durability and performance. Standard end clean out eases debris removal to help maintain scale accuracy.

Rail Systems for Truck Scales

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The Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) issued a Program Policy Letter (link has been removed since we wrote this article years ago) that was intended to provide guidance for guardrails or other restraint systems. The Policy Letter highlights different requirements based on the elevation profile of the weighbridge of a truck scale.

– If the profile is 16 or less, then standard 8 high guide rails are satisfactory.
– If the profile is greater than 16, then it must be treated differently.

Several standard offerings for a double-high rail system, with the top rail at 24 above the deck, reaches center-of-axle on a vast majority of over-the-road vehicles, but as the regulation states, any guardrail should extend to at least mid-axle height of the largest truck using the scale. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the end user to advise their sales person and the truck scale manufacturer on their actual height requirement based on the largest trucks to be weighed.

side rail

Keep in mind that rail systems provided on a typical truck scale are referred to as guide rails or rub rails or sight rails, but definitely not guardrails as MSHA chooses to define them. Therefore, most if not all, scale manufacturers do not claim that any of the guide rail systems attached to truck scales are fully MSHA compliant as there are simply too many application variables identified in the regulation and it really must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Continue reading →

Research and Homework

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As we have mentioned previously, buying a truck scale is a process and requires research and homework. Quite often the final decision should not be just about price alone. There are other factors to consider as well.

steel deck or concrete deck vehicle scale

The foundation that is under the truck scale needs to be solid and measured correctly. The weighbridge needs to be built tough and built to withstand the elements for years.  The ramp and approach on each end of the scale must meet certain standards. The digital weight indicator that is used for the scale needs to be one that meets the customers needs.

Does the customer prefer a bright red LED display or a gray and black LCD?  Does the customer wish to store Truck ID numbers as the trucks go in and out from the scale?  Does the customer hope to connect the digital indicator to a ticket printer?  What if they want to connect to Continue reading →