What’s the point of a seal?

Some places check the seal before you depart. I dont put the seal on unless the check. I try to remember to put it on before I get to the receiver just in case. I lock my trailer. It lets me check on the load if I think it might have shifted.

 

I drag a bucket. We've had shippers seal our tarp handles, coal chutes and tailgates with certain scrap loads. When I first started doing this, I thought scrap was trash. I've learned scrap is FAR from trash! The scrap value on some materials can reach high six figures per load. In those cases, the receiver was also concerned about the seal but those were limited cases. I agree mostly with the other guys that most other receivers don't have the pride in their work to care about load seals...

 

Yeah, my experience as a reefer jockey for a couple of years now is that almost all receivers don't check the seal or seem to care. That said, some do and as also mentioned, that seal could protect the driver regarding the contends inside. Mich easier to shift blame on a shipper when the trailer has a seal and annotated on the BOL that it was sealed before leaving shipper. You never know. Some buddy at the shipper may have another buddy at the receiver and they transport stuff they aren't supposed to in with the actual load. Having that railer sealed makes it alot easier to defend the driver statement that it isn't mine.
I'm like the other guy mentioned. I have seals with me, if the shipper isn't going to seal the load, I provide a seal and insist the shipper sign and acknowledge the trailer was sealed when it left their facility. I just think it is good CYA in the highly unlikely, but not unheard of situation that Mr. DOT finds something in the trailer that isn't supposed to be there.

 

Bonded Alcohol.
Used to have trailers dedicated to Ethanol.

Two were used for 190 and 200 proof pure and every plumbing joint and cleanout cap was set up for seals. they would string copper wire through the plumbing joints closed with a brass 'button' seal and the bonded tax seal was shellacked onto the front tank head.

Also did a blended product to tobacco plants where the load came back of one of the 15 or 20 individual seal numbers didn't match. They only broke two of them and the shipper loaded and sealed the trailer so their guy screwed up one of the legacy numbers and we got 1/2 rate to bring it back and then another trip to deliver it again.

That was methlene blue dye, nicotine and 190 proof alcohol that was sprayed onthe leaf to insure the same amount of nicotine...cough, cough...

Customs seals.

When I retired we were in the middle of a multi suit/multi container of shorted cosmetic shipments where the customs seals from the shipping country was covering out butts I had POD's saying "

expected 7 skids/ received only 5, customs seal intact..."

Phew...seals can matter a lot!

 

Consider..........

You pull your truckload of cat food into a diner with truck parking.

Conscientious professional driver that you are, you take a circle check around your rig. No parts missing off the truck or trailer, seal intact.

You can't believe your good fortune as the waitress informs you that today's special is "all-you-can-eat" tacos.

An hour later, you roll yourself back to the truck, a toothpick clenched loosely in your teeth, your eyelids half-closed in "taco afterglow".

Your professionalism overcomes your food coma, and once again, you take a circle check around your rig, making sure all parts are where they should be, and there are no vagrants taking a dump between your trailer tandems.

You come to the trailer doors.

The seal is broken.

Someone has been messing with your load.

Or someone wants to blow this two bit cow town, and you're their ride.

Either way, now you know to open the doors and investigate.

 

Not every story told by a truck driver is true. Who pays for a rejected load if the hidden freight spoils the load?

 

What kind of scrap? A van load of #1 Copper would be worth the better part of $200,000 right now.

 

It’s mostly cardboard/paper.

 

No kidding. They must be trying to keep the suits and skirts busy. I used to haul some of that in the early ‘80’s. Cardboard/Kraft was around $4/ton then and it paid me $12/ton to haul it. That, like most of the eco-friendly save the planet bs, just confuses me.

 

I run reefer, and at most places the guard checks the seal against the paperwork. However not all do that. There are several places, that drivers are not allowed to remove the seal, only an employee may remove the seal or the load will be rejected. Its been a long time since I have pulled a van though.