Full tank or not? Shipper...

I've rolled with 500 pounds over gross (put the excess on my steers) and the DOT didn't bat an eye when I crossed the scale 2 miles after getting on the interstate.

Not that I'd advocate rolling heavy, but 500 pounds will burn off pretty quick.

 

I never want to have more than 1/2 tanks if I know I'm picking up a heavy load. Many times the dispatch requires you toNOT have full tanks going into a shipper with heavy loads. Once I have scaled the load THEN I know how much fuel I can take on for max weight on the drives. For some shippers if you arrive with full tanks that is an automatic service failure.

 

I never had that problem, and I ran dual 150's.

 

That's how it's always worked out for me. I refuse to roll out if I'm overweight (the situation I mentioned above was a one-off that I wouldn't care to repeat... I got lucky).

 

If you load with half a tank, and you get a ticket, or worse an accident the company is going to sell you out, "We told the driver not to overload the truck" They will hang you out to dry. I have never had a problem fueling then loading, only the other way around and depending on the state it maybe e hefty fine. Do not be a cowboy run legal.

 

Exactly right Powder JointS...fuel your truck and trailer , before loading...also make sure if at all possible to know what you empty weight is......never let a dispatcher/or a customer tell you have to run heavy...neither one of them is gonna pay the fine.....learn to "just say NO!"

 

If truck driving was easy everyone would be good at it. You're either a professional, there to serve your company and their client, or you're not. That attitude won't fly to the end of your nose, and it will cost you money.

 

That's right. Several times I've hauled loads that require me to run no more than half full. That's not "a shipper problem". It's simply a matter of following directions and common sense. You can run run all day on half tanks, so that's not a big deal. If you go in with full tanks and then scale out overweight and have to go back to the shipper to rework the load because you failed to follow simple instructions, then guess who gets dinged by the customer and then dings the driver for a service failure?

 

Full tanks is the only way to cover your butt especially in the winter.