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RescueLoad

    Trailer load planner: place the pallets, see where the weight lands

    Drag each pallet row to where it will ride, set its weight, and enter your empty-rig scale ticket. The planner estimates your steer, drive and trailer tandem weights and a tandem slide range that keeps both groups legal.

    Drag a row, or focus it and use the arrow keys
    EXAMPLE values, use yours
    Tractor2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9k2.9kKingpinTrailer tandems
    RowFront edge from nose (in)Row weight (lb)Remove
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    Rig setup and empty weights
    ft
    in
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    Steer axle to drive tandem center

    in
    lb
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    Empty weights come from a scale ticket of your empty tractor and trailer, hooked, at the same fifth wheel and tandem setting.

    in

    Estimated axle group weights

    Steer
    11,961 lb
    Drives
    32,470 lb
    Trailer tandems
    27,269 lb
    Gross
    71,700 lb

    Compared with the federal 34,000 lb tandem and 80,000 lb gross limits (23 CFR 658.17). Check your steer against its axle and tire ratings, and your state's rules.

    Tandem slide that keeps drives and trailer tandems at or under 34,000 lb: about 24 to 199 in from the rear (estimate).

    Estimate from simple statics. Confirm on a certified scale before you roll.

    37,700 lb of freight puts about 32,470 lb on your drives and 27,269 lb on the trailer tandems. Our dispatchers check weight against your rig before an offer reaches you, and you approve every load.

    Get loads planned for my rig

    This trailer load planner answers the question a scale ticket answers too late: where will the weight land? Place each pallet row on the floor, give it a weight, and the planner splits the load between your tractor and your trailer tandems using simple statics. Add your own empty-rig weights and it estimates all three axle groups and the gross.

    How it is calculated

    1. Trailer split. Each row's weight acts at its center. The trailer works like a beam resting on the kingpin and the trailer tandem center. A row's share on the tandems = row weight × (distance from kingpin ÷ kingpin-to-tandem distance). The rest goes to the kingpin.
    2. Tractor split. The kingpin load sits on the fifth wheel. The steer axle takes kingpin load × (fifth wheel distance ahead of the drives ÷ wheelbase). The drives take the rest.
    3. Totals. Add your empty steer, drive and trailer tandem weights from a scale ticket of your empty rig, hooked.
    4. Tandem window. The planner tries every tandem position from 24 to 240 inches from the rear and reports the range that keeps drives and trailer tandems at or under the federal tandem limit.

    The limits it compares against

    Federal rules in 23 CFR 658.17 set 34,000 pounds on a tandem, 20,000 pounds on a single axle and 80,000 pounds gross, lower when the bridge formula requires it. Two tandems may each carry the full tandem limit only with 36 ft or more from the first to the last axle. States add their own rules, including limits on the kingpin to rear axle distance. Steer weight is usually limited by your axle and tire ratings.

    Sources: 23 CFR 658.17(d), checked October 2026; 23 CFR 658.17(e), checked October 2026 Check the state's rules for your route too.

    A worked example

    26 pallets on a 53 ft vanExample

    1. LOAD13 rows of 2 pallets at 1,450 lb each, butted to the nose: 37,700 lb
    2. RIGEmpty ticket 11,500 steer, 14,500 drives, 8,000 trailer; kingpin 36 in, tandems 60 in from the rear
    3. SPLITAbout 19,300 lb to the trailer tandems, 18,400 lb to the kingpin
    4. RESULTAbout 12,000 steer, 32,500 drives, 27,300 trailer tandems, 71,700 gross
    5. READLegal on paper with room on the trailer; scale it to confirm

    These are the planner's EXAMPLE defaults. Put in your own ticket and rows.

    How to read the result

    If the drives are heavy and the trailer tandems light, the weight is too far forward: slide the tandems forward, toward the load, or move rows back. If the trailer tandems are heavy, slide them back or move rows forward. If no tandem position works, the freight itself needs to move, or the load is too heavy for the rig. The planner can't see a pallet that weighs more than its paperwork says, so the certified scale always has the final word.

    Mistakes that throw the estimate off

    • Guessing the empty weights. A tractor with full fuel tanks weighs more than one running on fumes. Scale your empty rig once with the tanks about where they usually are, and keep the ticket.
    • Ignoring the fifth wheel. Sliding the fifth wheel forward moves weight from the drives to the steer. Enter where yours actually sits.
    • Treating the paperwork as the truth. Declared weights are often rounded or wrong. If a row looks heavier than its label, plan for more.
    • Forgetting fuel. The tanks sit between the steer and the drives, so fueling adds weight to both. A load scaled right at the limit on low tanks can be over after you fill up.

    Truck load planning before the dock

    Most weight problems start when a shipper loads heavy freight in the nose because it came off the dock first. Ask for the pallet weights before you arrive, sketch the rows here, and tell the dock how you want it loaded. For floor space, use the pallet and linear feet calculator; for light, bulky freight that fills the box before it weighs out, the trailer cube calculator. Shippers can read how a pallet should be built in our packaging and palletizing guidelines (coming soon) and how dock appointments fit together in freight scheduling software (coming soon).

    Hauling preloaded trailers? Weight you didn't load is still weight you pull. Our power only dispatch team asks for weights before an offer reaches you, and you approve every load. Send an application.

    Questions about this calculator

    How do you load a semi truck so the weight is legal?
    Spread the weight along the floor instead of bunching it, keep the heaviest pallets low and centered side to side, and plan where each row sits before the forklift starts. Then check the axle groups: drives and trailer tandems each within their limits and the gross within its limit. A plan gets you close; the scale ticket proves it, so scale before you leave the area.
    What are common 53' trailer loading patterns?
    With 48 by 40 inch pallets, the usual patterns are straight, with the 48 inch side along the trailer for 26 pallets in two rows, turned for up to 30 when the width allows, and pinwheeled, alternating straight and turned. Heavy freight is often spread with gaps rather than butted to the nose, so the weight sits between the axle groups.
    What is truck load planning?
    Truck load planning means deciding where each piece of freight goes on the trailer before it's loaded, so it fits, rides safely and keeps every axle group legal. It covers floor space, weight distribution, securement and unloading order for multi-stop loads. This planner covers the weight distribution part for one trailer.
    Do I need load planning software?
    Shippers and large fleets loading many trailers a day use load planning software to build layouts for mixed freight and stops. A single carrier usually doesn't need it. A sketch of the rows, your empty-rig scale ticket and a planner like this one show where the weight will land, and a certified scale confirms it.
    Which way do I slide the trailer tandems to move weight?
    Sliding the trailer tandems toward the front of the trailer puts more weight on them and takes it off the drives. Sliding them toward the rear does the opposite. Check your state's limit on the distance from the kingpin to the rear axle before you slide far forward or back, and rescale after any change.