Double Trailers; Heavier Trailer before Lighter Trailer 23 CFR

I'm well-qualified my good man. I kindly told that employer to get bent and lined up a better position, that actually respects their drivers.

 

Thanks for your input. I shouldn't drop the employer's name directly on here. But they are probably #1 as far as a common carrier in California and maybe even Nevada.

In addition, I felt the load was unsafe for reasons outside of the load itself. For example, the raining conditions. The time of night, and low visibility--which was a concern of mine, for OTHER drivers. It wasn't pouring-down rain, it was the drizzling type of rain that is just enough to make the roads slick. Combined with the fact that there were no truck routes to my destination outside of a major freeway, which was winding, curving, and hilly, I just didn't want to drive the trailer loaded with the truck empty, in those conditions. It's contrary to my original training, to what is written in the DMV handbook, and contrary to what most of my coworkers would tell me. Would I have survived it? Yeah, probably. But I didn't want to take the risk.

I just want to clarify, I didn't refuse the load outright. I just took about 90 minutes longer than the dispatcher wanted. Ultimately, all product was delivered and our customer's needs were satisfied. It required about 20 more miles of driving, and a little bit of backtracking. But I didn't outright refuse the load.

 

So, I'm going to keep this conversation constructive and on point to the original ideas as presented in the first post.

If I was trying to build a case, I wouldn't be consulting truckers report for legal advice. I'm not sure if any of us are qualified to assess a legal case. That's not the spirit of this post. What I am seeing consistently, is affirming my suspicion: It is more dangerous than ideal conditions. It can be done in theory, but it is up to the driver's discretion to use their judgement and consider all factors. And: In some states, it is flat out illegal. So that's where I'm going with this.

 

Edited all of this out, too long and off track. What about those improperly-loaded trailers.

 

Exactly my belief. For example, the front trailer's max capacity is generally 4,000 gallons. The rear, is 5,000 gallons. I think, that still keeps the proportions equal to or less than the 20% threshold. However, if you were hauling 9,000 gallons of fuel, it is illegal and overweight in any case, at least in my state. Erring on the side of caution, one would generally haul 8500 to keep weight requirements in check. And on that note, it would be :

|1800 || 900 ||1800 || > || 4,000 || , if you look at those numbers and picture the respective tank compartments. The little ">" represents the dolly dividing up the trailer.. I still don't think the rear weight is approaching that 20% or over threshold, which is prohibited in so many states.