Stevens Transport aviary

Finally a lite load

 

In Feb, I left Greensboro NC with 1828 lbs... left 1500 in Columbus OH and proceeded to Phoenix AZ with 328... left 180lbs there and proceeded to Los Angeles the final 148lbs...

I don't ever expect to see a load that light ever again.

 

WOW, what happened to a good ol' box of chocolates and flowers? Keep that quiet or you will have us all in trouble.

 

Hey guys, I know hubby & I passed thru Winnemucca and the general area all the time, just hoping everyone will keep a look-out and help get this dog home to the family. https://www.facebook.com/stormythenewfoundlandmccallan

 

TRKRSHONEY is going to print this out and put it on her fridge . .

 

You better believe it!! Of course by the time we have our 19th anniversary I'll be getting too old to drive, LOL

 

Got a Hershey load yesterday. Not out of the Palmyra plant though, this was a little tiny place in Hazleton. I was told it was a D & H at both ends. Ok, get to the plant, "it should be ready shortly, go drop your trailer and you can park right out there and I'll come get you when it's ready." So he says to drop my trailer anywhere I can find a spot. This place is tight. Finally get my trailer dropped and go back and park. The guy comes out after a half hour and says he made a mistake, my load may not be ready until morning. No problem, I got 2 days to get 900 miles. So I bob tail to a small TS nearby and go to sleep.

I head back over in the morning, see my trailer on the way to get my bills, it's parked where I saw a driver almost get stuck pulling his out the day before as he had to pull into soft stuff off the road. As I am pulling in I see a CR Englund day cab pulling a trailer from the same row as my trailer and I waited while he jockyed back and forth to make it out. Have I mentioned this place is tight? On my way out to the truck with my bills there yard dog was putting a trailer in a door, so I asked him if he would do me a favor. It works for DM's who want you to do a repower, right? He pulled it out and dropped it right by the exit for me. Nice.

I have to engage my brain more, I got this load assignment which said the load was 44K even. I thought, they just threw that in there because they didn't know how much it would be. Then I get my fuel solution that has me fill up on the way over to pick up. Anybody see a problem here? So like the idiot I am I follow instructions blindly. After picking up my load this morning I go scale out, yep 360 lbs over gross. 12500 on my steers, 34600 on my drives with the tandems all the way forward.

So I call dispatch and they don't think Hershey is going to rework the load, so I should run with it and hope I burn enough fuel to get legal before I get across a scale. I'm thinking I need to losa a half tank to get legal, that's about 84 gals at 8 lbs per = 670 lbs. I'm not even sure that will do the trick, but they did send me a QC saying Stevens will cover any fines.

I got a green light coming into OH on I-80, I'm on I-71 headed for I-70 into IN, just under a half. I have a fuel stop in IN, but I think I'm only topping off the reefer and getting DEF. I should be able to make the far side of IL for delivery on the fuel I have.

This is the first time I've ever been over gross.

 

Shippers are getting meaner and meaner about the gross weight.
Competition is so bad, and there are so many independents as well as some fleets that will run overweight, that shippers are now forceing everyone to do it.
'Take it or leave it!'
There had been talk with this CSA thing that it would extend to shippers that load overweight and refuse to adjust weights.
Well that's a pile of smoke!
Until the trucking companies stand up and refuse loads from those shippers, it will only get worse.
Same thing goes for late charges. Holy smoke, are those getting bad.
Everyone is learning they can charge the trucker for arriving late, delivering late or looking late!
But no one charges the shipper for making a truck sit for hours to be loaded or unloaded.
Ron Wyden (D) from Oregon has introduced a bill the last three years that would guarantee detention charges to shippers, but it keeps dying in committee. Too bad.
It's all about our 'recovering' economy. Less and less freight, lower and lower rates, and more and more empty trucks willing to run a load illegally just to pay their truck note.
I'm glad I don't own my trucks anymore!

 

Fozzy, careful with the fuel calculations... Diesel weights 7.15 lbs per gallon. Doesn't sound like much difference untill you are close to or at gross.

PA and OH both have the 400lb APU exception so you are good at 80,400 and their steer limits are both 12,350 so with the burning fuel, you should be ok there. That just leaves the drives as an issue and again with fuel being burned off and most States giving you a few hundred pounds for a calibration tolerance and you are probably OK.

It sucks being put in that position though. Be extra careful in TN as they do not have the APU exception.

 

I have questions about the detention and late charges. Are the late charges receivers charge regulated? If so, how? If not, why would it be necessary to regulate detention?