Haulin' nanners

[Kansas]

Not all banana warehouses care or know of this practice. I loaded at Diamond State Warehouse down in Wilmington, DE a few weeks ago. The are pretty much dedicated to produce and have no idea how to load wagons. They set the first pallet on against the wall and I nicely asked them to load it all in the center...they had a confused look on their faces.

Its not that they dont know, its the fact that they can get paid for two loads if the trucker gets the load rejected. They then get to sell a second load to replace the first.

[gearjamin]

Thanks for the info drivers! I appreciate it when fellow drivers share experience not hearsay. Sorry for the delay in replying. And the banana load did originate in Wilmington, DE. It was not loaded at the port - it was cross docked and loaded onto my truck at the broker / trucking company's warehouse.

[CondoCruiser]

Thanks for the info drivers! I appreciate it when fellow drivers share experience not hearsay. Sorry for the delay in replying. And the banana load did originate in Wilmington, DE. It was not loaded at the port - it was cross docked and loaded onto my truck at the broker / trucking company's warehouse.

We use to have a remote terminal in Gulfport, MS but the company closed it. The shuttle driver would run to the port warehouses and pick the loads up for us, then cross dock it. Everytime I went there he was watching TV or grilling out. He even had a side gig selling fresh shrimp. He had it made while it lasted.

[spyder2012]

Anyone been to turbana in philly? Ive hauled meat & frozen foods, but for produce(especially bananas & pineapples) im a newbie.

[Husker_Trucker]

Sure have my friend, are you talking the one on Snyder Ave off of 676? Pull in the gate and make sure to have $75 CASH on hand if you don't have a TWIC card. If need be there is a Bank of America ATM right across the street. All you need to do is pull in the gate and the guard will get you set up as to what you need to do. As far as loading goes single-double-single then doubles the rest of the way back is the order I load in & make sure to have them load them right down the middle and not touching the walls. If they are loaded against the walls they will brown spot which spells TROUBLE! Also make sure that all of the drain holes are plugged and leave the reefer on continious no matter what.Last but certainly not least is LOAD LOCK the hell out of them! My minnimum amount of locks I put on a nanner load is 3 but 4 is advised as far as I'm concerned. BTW, looking at your screen name are you with Big Blue out of IA?

[Husker_Trucker]

I should've read closer to your post before responding! As far as pineapples are concerned they procedure is the same except for the loading pattern. Single-single-double-single- doubles and then the second to last slot is a single before the doubles on the last slot. Pineapples are very concentrated weight wise so they need to be spread out evenly, made that mistake before!

[spyder2012]

Thanks, unfortunately i only have 2 load locks with me, i havent been through waynesboro or sheldon since i started he bestre, so i'll have to do my best with what ive got. I'm hoping it wont take too long loaded, ive already wasted all of the morning waiting to unload at a beer place just north of town.

[Husker_Trucker]

Are you going back to Boone with those? What I'd do in that scenario is pick up two when you stop and scale out, no one will balk at giving you an EFS to pick som up since every dispatcher knows how shifty those things can be. I don't even seal produce loads if I can help it until I am close to the receiver so I can make sure all of the load bars stay in place & keep an eye on the pulp thermometer. All I can say is watch them loading it and make sure it is packed tight! With it being loaded down the middle it is pretty important to watch your speed in turns and curves, they can tip over easy. Good luck and have a safe trip!

[CondoCruiser]

Two load locks are sufficient. Pallets will favor one direction. Point the two back ones forward and one will never have problems. I've made loaders turn them many times. They don't mind.

One has to synchronize the load locks. Sometimes one will push the walls out and loosen the others up. Two tight ones will do better than four semi tight ones. Grab them installed load locks and if you can't budge them then you are okay.
Also the idea is to stop initial movement which doesn't take much strength. Once the boxes are in motion then watch out.

[spyder2012]

Thanks, guys. I got lucky and got out of there after a couple of hours, and the weight turned out ok, time for me to head west.