How to build your own Auto Scale for 140$

[@mariodesurra1443]

Just found your channel. I love how you take out the tedium but still show the meticulous work you do so well. Thank you for what you’re doing!! Super great content!!

[@alainhallee5934]

Soon I will be converting my 2020 Ford Transit to a camper van. I could not find a place with a scale that weighs each corner. Thanks to you now I have an easy and cheap solution. I ordered my kit right away ...once completed I'll post some pictures. Thanks again!!!

[@AustinCoulson]

Awesome! I have been using this scale way more than I expected. Good luck on the build!

[@markdorman52]

Looks like a great method to check weight reduction efforts and best determine battery location for a balanced car!

[@proppilot9537]

Nice project Austin. Here is some wiring help. The colour code is as follows : RED is +EXC / BLACK is -EXC / GREEN is +SIG / WHITE is -SIG / YELLOW is SHLD so wire those colours to those similarly marked terminals in the junction box. Question : can you comment where this calibration button is and what it did ? I noticed you shortened the leads to the weigh bars. Did you adjust the little trim pots in the junction box at all to compensate ? Thanks !

[@kikiscustoms]

Thank you my man!!!!

[@travelingkaspersworld4096]

You made that look easy. Interesting too. We drive out trailers over scales from time to time to weight different loads. Your scale would work great at showing the tongue weight on trailers.

[@AustinCoulson]

Thanks! I do use the scale for tongue weight and it works good for that. Also good for motors and transmissions. I was surprised how heavy a lot of the crown Vic parts were.

[@biometrix1000]

Patent it for DEA border patrol lol..Seriously, another interesting innovative vid ..It's good to think outside the box..Thanks for sharing your ideas.

[@AustinCoulson]

Thanks! I was really frustrated that there is nothing in between a bathroom scale and those 800$ auto scales.

[@russb4263]

Fantastic job, is the sq. tubing 1''sq. and what size did you make the steel plate, Thanks Russ

[@AustinCoulson]

The steel plate was 1/4" thick, I had it lying around from another project

[@davetooes6179]

Austin as i have these scales for my cattle you could have made up 4 plates. one at each corner. Possibly joining the two rear together and the two front together and get the scales to measure all four wheels at the same time. Obviously, for cattle we just need an area about 2.4m x 1.0m I appreciate it may be a bit tricky getting the planks to sit square without rolling over. Maybe a sliding pipe to join each corner would do it. that would cut out the individual measurements. My scales will take a load of 10 000kgs. Which is 11 tons.

[@AustinCoulson]

I thought about that, but the wiring instructions were in mandarin, and I don't think I could have figured out how to wire them all together.

[@mreguest1000]

Brilliant video thanks! Do you have any links to the items you bought? I can find the corner sensor things but not the reader or white box, thanks :)

[@AustinCoulson]

www.ebay.com/itm/Livestock-Scale-Kit-for-Cattle-Hogs-Sheep-Goats-Pigs-Squeeze-Chutes-Pallet-scale/124506446610?hash=item1cfd299b12:g:ElkAAOSwcPNdfyo~

[@mreguest1000]

@@AustinCoulson brilliant thanks! Weirdly they don't show up on .co.uk only on .com, must not be too popular in uk, cheers :)

[@ozarkswebdesign6366]

@@mreguest1000 Just search the web for "Livestock Scale Kit". You should find them on ebay/amazon etc. ($100-200 USD)

[@grumpyg9350]

What a great video. 👍👍👏🏻👏🏻

[@mattgazz2817]

HI Austin, I can only find the kit on ebay for like $700. Where did you get yours from?

[@AustinCoulson]

www.ebay.com/itm/174543492379?hash=item28a39a551b:g:eikAAOSwEHpfBrp-

[@דודקייזר]

Do you have a link? I did not find anything that sold at a reasonable price.

[@AustinCoulson]

www.ebay.com/itm/2-5T-Livestock-Scale-Kit-5000LBS-High-Precision-Indicator-Floor-Scale-Waterproof/124031796454?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190711095549%26meid%3D80cafc10c13d408c99b8887e7b3fc338%26pid%3D100047%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D7%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D301389805272%26itm%3D124031796454%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWebWithBBEV2bAndUBSourceDemotionWithUltimatelyBoughtOfCoviewV2%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c100047.m2108

[@watahyahknow]

think if you build 4 platforms and use one of the weighthingies and 2 small wheels a piece set up in a triangle under the plate you could weigh all 4 wheels at the same time (you need the 3 ton version for this car but a smart car could be done this way) it might be a little off because it basicly levers off the wheels side ontoo the weightsensor but i think you could get it pretty close if you adjust the weightsetting a little the wiring would be the same way you have it now just longer cables , cannot weigh per corner though unless you only use one scale the same way you do now or all 4 scales with a plank on top

[@AustinCoulson]

I thought about a few different ways to try to weigh everything at the same time, but I couldn't find a reliable way without spending more money for more load sensors.

[@watahyahknow]

@@AustinCoulson the amount of load sensors stay the same theres just one loadsensor per plate , the 2 wheels across from them are just to have the plate move with the suspension when lowering the car prevent the sensors from being pushed sideways (a second plate with grease in between them works too), needing to weigh the whole car does mean that you need the loadsensors that go up to 3 tonnes or so , i checked for the set youre having and found them on aliexpress they have different ratings from 0.5 up to 3 ton , theres a small difference in price but its stull reasonably cheap found a different type of loadcel with a central display that could work too that was slightly cheaper but would take more work to make it work under a load plate

[@Wingnut_Stickman]

Why not install the sensors at the end of your lifts lifting arms? Then the lift would *be* the scale.... Asking for a friend.

[@AustinCoulson]

I suppose that could be done. You would still need blocks so when you lift it up, you'd put the blocks under the sensors and lower it down, otherwise the wheels would hit the ground first. Then you'd have to remember to turn it on to tare the weight before lifting with it. interesting idea.

[@proppilot9537]

When you threaded the plate what was the thread ? Metric 12mm or ??

[@AustinCoulson]

It's been a while but i seem to remember it being 12mm standard pitch

[@proppilot9537]

@@AustinCoulson Yep that was the ticket..... welded up a frame like yours, tapped it and mounted the load cells.

[@mymagicsigns]

But it can't be accurate...I mean the scale is, but the final weight can't be, I tried myself with a bathroom scale and a chair, weighed myself on every corner of the chair and apparently I'm 30 LBS heavier! So you can weigh the corners of the car, but then, I think you have to use an equation to figure out the weight of the car...Adding up the numbers does not work...I get 30% more weight measuring the chairs feet separately and adding them up than I get when I weigh them all at once...

[@AustinCoulson]

The weight would be off if I didn't use the wood blocks to keep the cars level. I have been using this scale for years and verify it with the scales at the dump and weigh stations and weighing my 7100lb truck came in 20lbs different than the certified weigh scales, and that difference could have been fuel loss on the drive home

[@TD-cu6pe]

I wonder if there's a way to put one of these inside a dump trailer

[@AustinCoulson]

That is an interesting idea. Not sure where exactly you would put the sensors

[@TD-cu6pe]

@@AustinCoulson yeah I don't know either but it would be cool, it would help me be more profitable knowing my weight ahead of time, that way I can accurately charge the customer for the dump fee and make 100% profit off the rental

[@edonveil9887]

The diagonals count. Think about a rockin table.

[@laiky71]

is there a way to read these cells, one at a time?

[@AustinCoulson]

I couldn't figure out how to

[@laiky71]

@@AustinCoulson thanks for the reply. I know this is an old video. But I'm trying to do the same as you without the lift. I want to make 4 platforms, but with one scale kit. By chance do you know if you can plug only one cell in and read it?

[@AustinCoulson]

@@laiky71 I didn't try that, but I did think about it and I think it would work. I was trying to find a way to be able to weigh the entire vehicle at once and I couldn't figure it out, outside of building 4 of these contraptions

[@laiky71]

Thanks for the info. My though was to build 4 rectangular or triangular platforms with only 3 feet, one side being the load cell, the other, 2 standoffs equal in height to the load cell. Then 2 pieces of tubing welded across the top to locate the tire in the center. If my vague memories of highschool math are correct, that would give you 1/2 the actual weight at each load cell. Then you need to read them one by one

[@Good-Enuff-Garage]

$140 dollar scale and a $14,000 lift, ha ha just kidding interesting idea and quality craftsmanship

[@AustinCoulson]

Funny story, I got this lift for free as a trade for putting together a 99 c1500. some "mechanic" took the engine down to a short block to do a head gasket and put all the pieces in the bed in a big pile and never showed up again. I agreed to put it all back together in exchange for the lift.

[@thegeneral7484]

You can't just bolt some load cells to a 1/4 plate and think you will be accurate. There is a lot more to making a scale then this.

[@AustinCoulson]

This scale has been tested accurate within 60 lbs on a known weight 7100 lb vehicle. Its even accurate to a bathroom scale within 1 lb.

[@johnbyrne1022]

Why not? What would cause it to be inaccurate?