My review of the Haulgauge:
I started reading about this device 2-3 months ago and had quite a few questions as to its reliability and proper function. On of the main questions I had was would it work with my 2006 Chevy truck, that has a slight tune in the ECM.
I have added the tune to correct for a larger tire size, and to help very slightly increase the horsepower while towing.
I went the the Haulgauge and posted the above questions to their "Contact Us" page.
In less that 24 hours I had a response bock from one of their engineers, answering my questions, and giving me more info about what to expect when I programmed the unit.
In my case, a 2006 Silverado was not yet in their database, and even if it was, it was suggested that I do a manual calibration, due to my tune and larger tires.
I decided to go ahead and order the unit and give it a test.
When it arrived I plugged it in to my OBD port, and as expected, it could not find my VIN. I simple manual entry of my VIN, GVWR, and Payload Rating, and I was done. Now I needed to calibrate the unit. Again, this would need to be done manually.
I headed out the my local high school parking lot on a Sunday morning where I knew there would be no traffic. The unit requires 8-12 starts, up to 15MPH, at low, medium, and full throttle. Each run for me was only about 50 yards or so, and I had the unit calibrated in about 10 minutes.
Very simple and straight forward. Nothing to be confused about, and no problems calibrating the unit.
Next step was to calibrate the suspension. This simply requires the truck to be sitting perfectly still with the tailgate down. Once the unit is ready, you take a known weight (yourself), and sit on the tailgate. Type in your weight and let the app do its work. 15 seconds later and your suspension is calibrated.
I then took a trip to my local CAT scales and did a scale test. Then compared to using the app to get a weight. On each weighing using the app, I was within about 50lbs of what the CAT scale said I weighed.
I then loaded up a bunch of diesel fuel, partial load of firewood, and various pieces of camping equipment. Using the Haugauge app I "weighed" my payload. Then off to the CAT scales again. This time I weighed almost exactly what the app told me I did. I believe the "payload" function of the app works very well.
I was then able to move to the tongue weight section.
I tow a 38 Heritage Glen, triple slides, with about 1300lbs tongue weight, based on my measurements using a Sherline scale.
I set my scale up and weighed my tongue again. This time it was around 1350lbs. sitting level in my driveway, almost ready to go camping. Using the app, your center your ball under the tongue and let the app "zero" your truck, with the engine off. After it is zeroed, then start lowering the tongue. Once it makes contact, you can actually watch the scale on the app start to increase until all the weight is on the ball.
Each time I have done this, I can get within about 200lbs of what my Sherline says my tongue weighs. This is not super accurate, but it is very close for a quick estimate without traveling to a CAT scale.
I have not been able to do any real world testing on the weight distribution portion of the app yet, so that will have to come.
The most important part of this review needs to be the fact that during all this testing, I was sending an e-mail and phone screenshots almost daily to the Haulgauge engineer that I started working with. Without fail, he would get back to me anywhere fro 1-12 hours, with answers and/or suggestions.
One day he even called me to walk through a couple of ideas he had for me to try. One thing to mention, is each time a measurement is taken, the truck must be turned off, and the engine not running. This is very important. I know this because I did not do it on a bunch of my initial testing, and the vibrations of the diesel engine running kept throwing off my measurements. it took me a while to figure this out. The engineer was very patient when I explained what I had done.
I thinks it is worth the money. It will not replace a trip to the scales 3-4 times a year, but if you want a good estimate of what you are towing and how your loading affects the weight on or around your truck, then this is a great unit to have.
Please ask questions if you have any.
Thanks,
Jerry
