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Better Weigh - Anybody have experience with it?

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  • Better Weigh - Anybody have experience with it?

    I have seen this device that plugs into your OBDII diagnostic port and gives your weight on your smartphone.

    https://www.curtmfg.com/part/51701

    It gets good reviews on the shopping site, and some of the YouTube videos like it and some don't.

    I am wondering if anyone on the forum has any experience with it and what are the likes or dislikes.

    Thanks
    Bob
    Bob & Lynne

    2020 Imagine 2970RL
    2019 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali HD 4x4 Duramax

  • #2
    I personally would not recommend it. This device is pulling OBD2 PIDs on torque which can be highly filtered along with other parameters and apply this through some basic conversions to apply to the formula F=ma. This is the force exerted being equivalent to the mass x acceleration. This would be an approximation at best where they may use the grade sensors to estimate the load.

    Best to use a CAT scale

    Jim

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    • #3
      I agree with Jim - but I sure wanted this to be a good value.
      Did a bit of reading and thinking about it as it sure would be nicer than what I went through today going back & forth to a certified scale to verify the weights on steer, drive, and trailer axles with & without the trailer were within tolerances before we head out for our 1600 mile trip to Tucson, AZ from the Lacey/Olympia, WA area.
      We've only done a few trips with our 5th wheel in the 7 months we've owned it and are living in if full time so still figuring out what we can/can't take with us, where to put things, etc. and something like the Better Weigh would make it a lot easier to have additional assurance we haven't overdone things.
      Came to the conclusion while it's not a completely inaccurate or worthless tool, it's just not capable of the accuracy I think is necessary for making sure we stay within what our pull vehicle & RV data plates call for, but might be pretty handy when pulling a utility trailer or small equipment trailer.
      That's my two cents..... but I'm definitely not an expert on how these type of units work.
      Chris
      Chris
      2019 Solitude 3740BH
      2019 Chevy 3500HD Duramax SRW

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      • #4
        Thank you for the feedback!

        I considered this device when I first saw it. After reading up on it and how it works, I'm thinking it would not produce any kind of meaningful values. It cannot be better than the calibration and it looks to me like calibration would be inconsistent at best. So... if anyone uses this and gets something meaningful from it, please let me know. I am anxious to learn about these kind of tech devices.

        Bob
        Bob & Lynne

        2020 Imagine 2970RL
        2019 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali HD 4x4 Duramax

        Comment


        • #5
          I've been using the Better Weigh for the past year. The good is that it's a quick way to verify your situation, especially if a CAT scale is not nearby. It's also good with tongue weight, and that's what I'm paying the most attention to. So the convenience is a plus. The bad of it is that it is not very accurate and the brake bias calculation is useless. On the whole, I still think it provides value. Get your baseline weights at the CAT scale and keep them handy. Compare your spot weights with the Better Weigh with the baseline to make sure you're still within your parameters.
          The Fraser Family
          Watertown, WI
          2020 GDRV Imagine 2800BH
          2017 Ford F-150 XLT SuperCrew, 3.5L Ecoboost, 3.55 rear

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by fraserfamily View Post
            I've been using the Better Weigh for the past year. The good is that it's a quick way to verify your situation, especially if a CAT scale is not nearby. It's also good with tongue weight, and that's what I'm paying the most attention to. So the convenience is a plus. The bad of it is that it is not very accurate and the brake bias calculation is useless. On the whole, I still think it provides value. Get your baseline weights at the CAT scale and keep them handy. Compare your spot weights with the Better Weigh with the baseline to make sure you're still within your parameters.
            I wonder if this system could provide a better estimation if it was calibrated with a known mass at or close to the trucks payload limit. Part of the issue in using a persons mass on the end of the tailgate, is this mass is a very small percentage of full scale. If you measured your tongue weight with a CAT scale (would be best at the ball or hitch) and used this to calibrate, I suspect it may be a bit better.
            Two areas where this system has issues are the grade sensors are far from lab grade where they are not measuring weight but rather pitch, and not knowing the overall spring rates (ie load versus pitch) without using a full scale load. If you can calibrate the system with a heavy known mass on the ball or hitch, it would be interesting to know if it tracks better.

            Now if truck makers used an air suspension system, load would be measured precisely since they could use an LVDT on the rear axle and calculate the air pressure required to achieve the intended height of the truck. This would be awesome. This force would be measured as: F= pressure x cross sectional area of the airbag.

            Jim

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by fraserfamily View Post
              I've been using the Better Weigh for the past year. The good is that it's a quick way to verify your situation, especially if a CAT scale is not nearby. It's also good with tongue weight, and that's what I'm paying the most attention to. So the convenience is a plus. The bad of it is that it is not very accurate and the brake bias calculation is useless. On the whole, I still think it provides value. Get your baseline weights at the CAT scale and keep them handy. Compare your spot weights with the Better Weigh with the baseline to make sure you're still within your parameters.
              This is kinda the situation I am in. The nearest CAT scale is 22 miles in the opposite direction that I usually go. I was thinking that this might be a good "spot check", but after reading up on it some, I am really skeptical that I could achieve repeatable calibration. I think now I'm leaning toward the Sherline scale for tongue weight and let it go at that. Thanks for the info!!
              Bob & Lynne

              2020 Imagine 2970RL
              2019 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali HD 4x4 Duramax

              Comment


              • #8
                How would it weigh pin weight?
                2020 GD 320G
                2021 Ram 3500 H.O. SRW.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by RoyB View Post
                  How would it weigh pin weight?
                  I'm sure it works the same for pin weight as it does for tongue weight. It uses the onboard inclinometer in the tow vehicle to determine how much the rear of the truck is displaced downward by the weight that is placed on the hitch. As I understand it, the unit is calibrated by sitting on the tailgate and entering your weight. It then uses the value of displacement due to your weight and the displacement due to the pin weight, to proportionally calculate the pin weight. (for example, calibration for 200lb weight on tailgate = 1 inch downward displacement, Pin weight causes 4 inches downward displacement, therefore pin weight = 4 times calibration weight or 800 lbs.), The theory is good. My concern is whether or not you can any accurate values. Seems to me like there is a lot of room for error.

                  Bob
                  Bob & Lynne

                  2020 Imagine 2970RL
                  2019 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali HD 4x4 Duramax

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I tried it, off by 1000lbs. Wish I had my money back. I will sell to anyone for $50.
                    2017 Ram 3500 Mega Cab diesel dually, OEM 5th wheel option
                    Andersen hitch & 303RLS
                    Morryde IS

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      So Etrailer went over it in depth (26 minute long video, including how to calibrate it):
                      https://www.etrailer.com/tv-review-c...le-c51701.aspx



                      Mike
                      2017 Imagine 2800BH pushing a 2019 Ford F150 Platinum

                      Formerly: 2002 Rockwood Popup
                      Location: Massachusetts

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