Hi all -
I am married to a truck driver and asking a question that may have been asked previously but I am baffled by his situation.

He did a reset in AZ over the weekend and on Monday his "load" came through that another driver was brining a trailer from CA that he would then hook onto and go. That driver was supposed to arrive at 6pm.

Anyway, he came and hubby hooked up. Took a peek in the little window in the back and there was stuff crammed right up to it and couldn't see anything. Got back in the truck and the air pressure (?) was WAY high. Knew he was over weight and the tandems (?) were all the way up. He said it just didn't feel right.

Scaled and I know there's an 80,000lbs limit....he weighed dang near 87,000. He called dispatch and they told him not to move that they would figure it out. Other driver drove from CA that much overweight and is now on his way again.

So, here sits hubby - it's Tuesday now. Dispatch sent another empty down and he and my husband are supposed to unload some of the overweight trailer (into the empty).

My question is (as well as his), he's not making the money he would be driving loaded. For us, every little bit counts and we have a little one, Christmas is coming up, etc. Is detention pay the closest thing he'll get to compensate for this loss?

Any advice would be appreciated. He understands and I understand that you have to take the bad with this good and he does enjoy his job. This has been a one time thing - but to go all day w/ out a load, then have this #### happen and then HE has to be the one to "make it right" ... is this just the norm?

Thank you!

Too many variables involved.
Depends on the company.
More info needed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, you can't really haul it because its overweight but it makes me wonder about the guy that picked it up and took it that far to begin with. He should be the one in trouble because HE should have done something about it before things got out of hand.

My question is this, how do you actually manage to load a truck with 7,000 over. Should you as the driver verified the weight of the load. I suppose the company that shipped it does care enough to not load over weight. Its been many years since I worked on the dock but I can remember my boss always checking the weight of the load before the driver pulled away.

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- Crusher -

Situations like this cause management to get grey hair/ulcers. The original driver messed up by not weiging the load. Now the problem gets dumped into your hubby's lap. The original driver will be docked for the extra time/trailer rescue. Hubby needs to politely ask for some compensation for his troubles. He'll be doing good to get layover pay, at best. But trying to transfer a maxed out lettuce load will be fun. (loaded to the back door, floor to ceiling, sitting in some truck stop) Yikes! Ah, the joys of trucking.

A dozen rolls of 80 inch 40lb basis weight paper will put it over in a hurry. But all of that assumes that the weight posted on the bills is accurate. Sometimes they just assume that it weighs "about 40,000 lbs" and go from there.

Thank you all for your responses so far.

This is a really dreadful situation, unfortunately. At this moment, he is still sitting in AZ . . . waiting. I guess there is another driver from the same company with him, waiting to help "unload" some of this mess.

My husband was completely shocked after realizing how overweight he was with that trailer on, that this other guy drove it as far as he did without - saying a word, or worse getting caught, having an accident, etc.

He told me the gentleman said to him at the transfer "You might want to check that, I think they put too much weight on ...[sic]whatever portion of the truck". Then took off and that's when he realized all this trouble!

Hubby is very frustrated right now .

Thanks again, much appreciated!

Thank goodness your husband scaled it !!

He might get paid to unload the trailer also. I know it isn't much but every little bit helps. Thankfully he scaled the load. That would have been one gigantic fine if he would have ran with it and got caught.

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"We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
— Martin Luther King Jr

They know what the product weighs! Most of these shippers have been in it to long NOT to know but #1: I hope the original driver gets what he deserves! #2: NO way in heck I'll hand unload a load of lettuce! I'd find a warehouse and pay them to unload the needed pallets. It will get done faster and with the proper equipment and correctly! Ever tried to manhandle a pallet jack with a 1500 pound pallet over the lip of 2 trailers backed end to end even with a plate between them? Not easy when the pallets are to the doors!LOL

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No greater love hath a man that he give up his life so another my live John 15:13