Explain scale houses to me please

1st mine are on the drivers side..
2nd and more to the point.. FMCSA doesn't require them every 90 days. they only require them every year

 

Im talking about the passed a level 1 stickers...

 

I've only seen port of entry in Wyoming and yes they are basically open all the time and unless, like me, they are familiar with you they will most likely call you into the office. At this point 99% of the time they just want to see your truck registration and your IFTA license. It is funny at these places when drivers come in and they say "am I in trouble, what are they going to do". I then politely explain it to them and they are relieved. Also, prepass works just like any other weigh station at ports of entry.

 

When I was new doing OTR and my trainer sleeping , I would always skip that one cuz of the name... Lol Port of Entry didn't sound like it applied to me, until one day I saw a long line of trucks going that way but it was too late I had already passed the exit.

I finally told my trainer and he got angry. He asked how many times I skipped it. I told him every trip back to the East Coast

 

"Whatcha mean why didn't I stop? Does this look like a ####ing boat to you?"

 

Lol. I don't know why Wyoming has these oddball weigh stations. Throws a lot of drivers off.

 

So let's say I get a load, go to the CAT scale and I'm over gross. Do I head back to the shipper? Is that going to be a hostile experience?

 

The State does. Via the State Police inside the Scale House.

If the scale is open yes you gotta enter it. Truck Inspections take a variety of paths not just weights. I had a random in Kentucky that did not go well when they detected a leaking power steering Im grateful for them detecting it but the way I was treated you think I was a child. It's a shame because it's not worth telling them that the steering was getting acting up a few hours prior.

Generally I don't have a problem at the scale house anymore they do their thing and I do mine. I know I told the famous Stephens City scale break story but it's not a good day at all to allow that to happen. It's not a mark of a professional, but rather a exhibit A of a newbie trucker who did not know a #### thing that day. And a shipper who could care less about the loading (I had a gang of 5 teenagers in stripes from the juvie hall for their crimes on a sort of work release to load it.) and a Dispatch that could care less. And it cost them money all around.

Then there are inspecitons that go right and smiles all around. Sometimes you are a witness to other drivers having a bad day getting themselves arrested for this and that. Dumfries Scales come to mind for this (South of DC on the 95 just past the mixing bowl they must be getting long in tooth by now.. if they were not already rebuilt to modern spec) I solved the Dumfries threat by bypassing on 15. No more scales to worry about until either Richmond or on 78 across the river from Harrisburg.

 

IF you are over gross, you go back to the shipper. Make them take it off.

Hostile? Hell yes. The more they yell, the quieter you need to be.

Make sure you have a dispatcher willing to fight for you in your corner and not against you...