Any useful information appreciated!

Was the trl sealed by the shipper?

 

If the trl is sealed by the shipper and unsealed by the reciever,Driver is not responsible for anything except driving the watermelons ....

 

Uh-no. The only way the driver is NOT responsible for the count is if he is picking up a preloaded, pre-sealed trailer. If the driver is being live loaded, then he IS responsible for the count and securement. The OP stated that HE pulled forward and closed the trailer doors, which tells me that he had the opportunity, and the responsibility to count the load.
It looks to me like the driver, (or his company,) is going to be paying for some watermelons here. Sure it sucks! But checking the freight as it is being loaded, IS the responsibility of the driver, except in very narrow circumstances.

 

What if a shipper refuses to let you on the dock ? Some do,

 

That would be one of the very narrow circumstances that I was talking about.

 

Ok,So lets be real here,, A driver isn't gonna try to take 6 mins of watermelons off a truck and try to sell them out the "back door"would he? Then the shipper needs to say yea we shorted your load and we'll be sending you more ASAP..

 

Sure, that is what the shipper SHOULD do, but will they? Have you never run into a dishonest shipper, (or receiver for that matter?)
The name of the game is CYA!

 

Unless you can convince the shipper to write SLC (shipper load and count) on the BOL, it is on the driver if anything comes up short.

It could very well be a dishonest shipper here. Farmer K sees that the driver is taking a nap instead of being on the dock inspecting the loading process and sees a golden opportunity to sell six bins of melons twice.