How-to · CAT Scale
How to weigh an RV or fifth-wheel at a CAT Scale
CAT Scale will give you steer, drive, and trailer axle weights plus a gross. It will not give you corner or individual wheel weights. The scale will not run under 2,000 lb. In California, pick up a printed ticket if you need a weighmaster certificate.
What CAT actually measures
A CAT Scale is three platforms. CAT’s own diagrams put the steer axle on platform 1, the drive axle on platform 2, and the trailer (or tow car) on platform 3. For a motorhome, CAT says the coach must be completely on the scale, steer on 1, drive on 2, platform 3 likely empty. Same idea for a truck and fifth-wheel: truck on 1 and 2, trailer on 3.
Our scales can give you axle weights and a total gross weight, however, they cannot weigh each corner of the vehicle. We cannot provide individual wheel weights and, to prevent damage to your vehicle as well as our scales, do not allow that type of weighing. — CAT Scale, How To Weigh (motorhome)
If you need corner weights for tire loading or a weight-distribution hitch setup, CAT is the wrong tool. Dedicated public houses sometimes offer axle splits; portable wheel scales are a different product. RV owners on the Grand Design owners’ forum work around CAT’s three-platform limit by weighing the truck alone, then the combination, and subtracting to get pin or tongue weight — that is owner math, not a CAT corner-weight service.
Sources: catscale.com/how-to-weigh · Weighing on a CAT Scale? (Grand Design forum, 2020)
The 2,000 lb floor
CAT: “Our scales are set to a weight threshold of 2,000 lbs. If your vehicle or combination is estimated to be lighter than 2,000 lbs, please call our 24-Hour Help Desk.” A toad-less class B, an empty motorcycle trailer, or a car on the way to the DMV may not register. For those, use a dedicated public scale house (see What CAT’s 2,000 lb minimum means).
CAT’s FAQ also states a CAT Scale can weigh vehicles between 2,000 lb and 200,000 lb.
Positioning, in plain language
- Motorhome: whole coach on the scale; steer platform 1, drive platform 2.
- Motorhome + tow car: coach on 1 and 2, toad on 3.
- Truck + fifth-wheel or travel trailer: steer 1, drive 2, trailer 3. Combination must be completely on the scale.
- Truck + boat: CAT publishes a truck-and-boat diagram — trailer on platform 3.
- Tag-axle motorhome: CAT says call 1-877-228-7225 ext. 6 rather than guessing.
Use the intercom on the scale. Then go inside for the ticket. CAT will not alter a ticket after it is printed.
Printed ticket in California
If you are being paid by weight or registering a vehicle with the California DMV, CAT says you need a California Weighmaster Certificate, not only the guaranteed CAT ticket. CAT published these CA prices on its FAQ (checked 29 Aug 2026): Weighmaster Certificate $30.50 first weigh / $10.50 reweigh at the same location within 24 hours; California Guaranteed ticket $15.25 / $5.25. Confirm at the booth — prices move.
The Weigh My Truck app PDF is not a California Weighmaster Certificate. CAT and the Weigh My Truck help page both say California requires information the app does not capture. Go inside and get the printed certificate.
CAT: When do I need a California Weighmaster Certificate? · Weigh My Truck Help/FAQ
Where to do this in Los Angeles County
Verified on this site: Montebello CAT Scale (on the CDFA list) and Pilot Castaic (CDFA + Pilot location page lists CAT Scale). Harbor, Bandini, and Commerce are CDFA truck-stop scales that may not be CAT-branded — call. For a house that will weigh a light RV or a toad under 2,000 lb, use Certified Scales, Rawlins, Santa Fe Springs, or Allstate Logistics instead.