Truck Axle Load Distribution Calculator | ContainerMetric

How Axle Loads Are Calculated

Axle loads come from a moment balance about the front axle. The calculator multiplies the truck's empty weight by its center-of-gravity distance from the front axle, adds the cargo weight multiplied by its own CoG distance, then divides that total moment by the wheelbase to get the rear axle load. The front axle simply carries the remainder: total weight minus the rear axle load. Moving cargo rearward shifts weight onto the rear axle and lightens the front.

A worked example: a 7,000 kg truck with its CoG 3.0 m behind the front axle, a 5.0 m wheelbase, and 10,000 kg of cargo centered 3.5 m back. The total moment is 7,000 × 3.0 + 10,000 × 3.5 = 56,000 kg·m; divided by the 5.0 m wheelbase that puts 11,200 kg on the rear axle and 17,000 − 11,200 = 5,800 kg on the front axle.

Enter your front and rear axle limits and the tool flags whether each is within its rating. It also warns about an extreme case: if cargo is loaded too far to the rear, the computed front load can go negative, meaning the front wheels would physically lift — a dangerous loss of steering. The fix is always the same, move load forward until both axles sit within their legal limits.

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