When a company driver like Swift or Werner gets a load are the trailers loaded properly for state weight laws? Do drivers have to inspect the load or go to a weigh station and check? Do you get a ticket at the terminal/pick up point that details weight? Does this senario apply only to o/o? I understand the principal of moving the tandems to adjust load on the axles but listening to the Midnight Trucker on this issue it seems the industry is wide open/lacking so drivers can get nailed with ticket cost.

Are they loaded properly? well the company tries thier best to load a heavy trailer correct... There is a formula they use to position weight in the trailer, that does not mean it is going to be legal.. You may have to slide your tandems to get it legal, you may have to slide your fifth wheel (fithwheel is a rare occasion) you may have to go back to the shipper and have them take some off because your over gross(80,000lbs) or can't get it legal on your axles because it is nose or tail heavy.. Now as a new driver I always suggest weighing any load more then 32,000 LBS (that will pretty much guarantee you will get legal in every state even Cali, bridge laws)

Now where do you weight? some places have thier own scales at the shipper, but most you will need to find a truck stop with a scale and weight.. If you hit a state scale on the Interstate and your heavy its to late your going to get a ticket.. those scales are not there for your convenience, they are there to nail you and make the state money...

So when you leave and the only scale is one on the interstate then it's a roll of the dice or should I keep going to find a privately owned scale, say at a truck stop? Does it happen often that companies are overloaded? If a trailer is overloaded from the point of shipping, again Swift for example, does Swift reimburse for the ticket or is it always the (company) driver's responsibility?

Thanks

Well it is a roll the dice type of situation, I know baltimore coming out of it on I70 has this scenario and they love to nail trucks. (no scale in the area unless you want to go 60-70 miles out of route, in baltimore that means 2 hours)keep on rolling by the scale? only if you want a ticket for not stopping, then getting another ticket once they turn you around and make you go back to the scale and weight and they find your heavy..
happens more to some companies then others and with certain shippers, a good company will let you know that the shipper is known to load heavy and you need to double check.. You will learn how the truck pulls and rides if it is overloaded for the most part...

Quote:

If a trailer is overloaded from the point of shipping, again Swift for example, does Swift reimburse for the ticket or is it always the (company) driver's responsibility?

Majority of the time they will not cover the ticket and your on your own...


Don't worry so much about it.. They will teach you how to find scale, it is something you need to do before you take off.. every trip you should do a pre plan and scaling if needed would be in that... if your not able to find one ask the shipper, ask your company, ask another driver. where a scale is..

I think I would scale every load I picked up just to be safe and not have to pay the ticket....

Never! assume the trailer is loaded legally...if you are loading a heavy load...always get to the first scale you come to and weigh it to make sure you are not over gross, and the tandems are at their proper weight....12,000.....34,000.....34,000.....any time I was loading anything over the 38K area, I would weigh....just how I did it....if you leave it up to the loader, you can get hit big time....better safe than sorry....weigh the load to be certain.

__________________
Allen
Truth About Trucking

You should get reimbursed for what it will cost you to weigh the truck if you have to pay. But a overweight ticket is all on you. It goes on your record and the fines come out of your pocket. If your company pays the fine then you have a nice company but they can do nothing for your record.

Sorry for the all the newbie questions but does a driver get paid for the time it takes to get the load weight corrected after you have had it scaled and find out it's over or is this just part of travel time for getting the load delivered? For example you get a load in Phoenix that's going to LA apx 330 miles and you have to go back to the shipper/terminal once after weight check and you add 20+ miles getting the overage corrected.

Thanks again

Honestly? No, if you gripe enough they may pay you for it but usually no.. Companies don't want to pay anything extra other then your mileage.. All time doing the job it takes to get a load is non paid, sure you may be able to get detention time after 2 hours ext.. for sitting there waiting on the load, but for the most part its all time donated...

If your paid by the hour different story of coarse..

Scale every load.................

any questions...................LOL