Over on my drives, under gross.

C'mon man, no scale house anywhere in this union going to write a ticket for 120lbs over on the drives. Especially when you're under gross, no way...

 

You aint seen VA or Md I take it.

I'll share the story I broke the Sterling VA scales one day...

Loaded in Harrisonburg a 40 foot box for ocean export to europe turkey. You know where it is.

Anyhow like a dumb ### my crew of semi felons court ordered humped the little bacon turkey slices into the box all the way to the red line one foot from the ceiling. Combined with my own dumb newbie ### knowing nothing at all made for a very interesting day.

Climbed into my 1964 Mack, something like a 260 or maybe a 350, I don't know. At best. Go with the 260 on a 9. Anyhow. Pulled two feet from the dock and my entire set of drives wobbled side to side with this creaking. Stopped and thought about it. Nah I stand around all day watching court people shovel turkey into that box #### it let's go.

Got onto the interstate northbound 81. Steering went out at 29 mph, backed down to 25 on shoulder thinking what in the world am I getting into. How much is in that ####### box? Nah, Ive a permit for VA and Md. #### it. So new and sooo stupid Im telling you .. flat stupid stupid and retarded stupid I was omg...

Eventually made Stephens City scale. Platform style. Steers went in as I paused looking at it with entire coop of cops looking at me. A preganant pause finally radio says get the #### on there child, it's not gonna break.

First steer went on. CLANK! sunk a foot. Drives went on GROAN .... sank a inch with the noise of crunching cells or somethign improtant. I began to fear for my life as the trailer came on wondering if the #### scale has a basement.

CRUNCH.

Silence. More silence.

Speaker squawks GET. OFF. MY. SCALE BACK here NOW.

Me. How much?

WAAAY over you *&^ oh boy. Not often a cop loses voice... hmm how much...

Climbing out of scale required me to defeat about a foot of step with the mack. #### near broke the thing.

Pulled around back.

5 cops ready to kill me slowly scales were esseentially ruined.

Fines started at 3000 dollars for 135,000 with advice to avoid Maryland scales coming up. They could not write for more than 3000 over gross. Axles were approximately three times that at best guess before the technology failed.

I did show them the permits. They laughed. The kind of laugh before they shoot you for being so stupid with worthless 99K permit.

I am not going to tell you how I bypassed maryland scales. That was a black black day and night. 8 hours into baltimore dispatcher leaned over the table cursing my skinny new ### out demanding the papers on the bOX NOW. It has to go back to norfolk to maybe catch the ship that left baltimore hours ago.

I handed him the stack of tickets in the glorious thousands of fines and went home.

I wonder if that ####### box made it to norfolk... I hope they split it into three boxes.

Long live Mack. Forever and ever.

 

I think there is a tolerance in most states 150 , 200 lbs?.. not sure on this
Sounds like you passed up your best option.... Take it back & have em fix it ... I know sometimes it's hard to find a scale close enough to the Shipper to make this pheasible
Well bucko... You're screwed and it's going to be a long way to Texas dodging chicken coops I would say
... Maybe that cat scale wasn't too far from the shipper
... You know we have to rib you on this one , don't you?
.... We have all done stuff like this accept for the perfect drivers of course
We all hope you get there safe but not so sure about how much this will cost you
Be calm, relax and enjoy life it's not the end of the world just yet !!! ... Bless you

 

I hit the scales at west Memphis pretty often at 34800 on my drives 10800 or about on the steers. 40 or 55 either one gives me the green back to the big road.

 

If I had that happen today, the situation would be completely different as you said.

I would have them unload the box. If they sqawked about reloading it correct high in front layers to low in the back with a specific number of turkey to 77K gross for my rig tared at around 21K I think it was. I would have left the box there and bobtailed home, company be ######.

Total different night and day in my thoughts, behavor etc when thinking what I was at 2 months out of school knowing nothing fast forward to 30 years... makes a world of difference.

Maybe I should have crossed the maryland scales #### em. It's only money to burn.

Tease, rib away joke all you want. Im a big boy too. I can take it. Ive dished it out a time or two myself HAW.

 

I think you got me on that one 1xheavy....
Having a Michigan state trooper chasing me in reverse from the other side of the highway on the shoulder and pointing at me and me just looking confused at him while picking up speed on the north bound side because he had just finished writing someone else a ticket on the southbound side and saw me cross over an off ramp getting back on the highway ( pee break)
.... I couldn't believe he was keeping up with me with while in reverse at like 40mph on the other side of the highway
.... He never did come after me as I was watching for him in the mirrors and thinking " oh boy" is he ever going to be p&$% off
I still can't believe he didn't flip around and fly up on me or how his driving in reverse training was so impressive

 

Easy solution would have been to just offer them a couple of boxes of the bacon turkey slices...

 

I would have taken the load back to the shipper and had them rework it.

 

Heh. I think you have me on the reverse cops. AND YESS THAT bacon would help out ... customs sealed though...

Anyhow...

Cops. Let's see...

I was wide open on 84 I think it was, the Albany to Scranton? Binghampton? Yeesh I have to look it up omg...

Anyhow.

Cop was on left in a sort of median mountain hidden in a cove, I blaze by at speeds not on my speedometer while standing on the hammer extracting the last 200 rpm downgrade. I guess it's 110 maybe.

There he is in my mirrior reading paper with box of doughnuts and coffee. why oh why me woe is me Im lost finished good bye world etc. For about 5 hours.

nothing. See here I missed him by this much with the tractor and nought at all with the trailer as it leans closer to him and his car due to the highway slant to the middle on that curve to left downgrade. I wonder about him now and then.

But... this one I pull out for a warning to everyone.

Southbound 81 from York climbing the Summit. If you are not familiar with that hill, it's 2 lanes each way tight hill call it 5% maybe if that. Cross the top a green car slammed to a halt in front of me on shoulder jumped out pulling a bazooka weapon and aimed at me.

My hands jerked involuntariy to the right to take the man and his weapon out. Out dead dead dead. The rig staggered towards him as I made final adjustments before putting foot down, I saw the cord. Radar gun.

Missed him by this much and maybe took a button I don't know Dumb ###. I did everything I could to get it back and I guess I did.

I aint ever for all those years see him there anymore on that tight summit spot pulling #### like that. There is a Military depot not far from there and unfortunately when hauling out of there you have a altered thinking, your load will go through.

You learn things about yourself as I did that day. I thought about leaving the industry. I don't know what's what. But I managed to sort it out with the help of Mobile Chapel. They are outstanding.