Tandems all the way forward illegal???

I took a mack with a bulk tanker onto the new market scales at 4:30 one fine winter morning. Redlight held on the platform being carefully weighed because it's at 80K gross. I turned to look at the window and found a big hat bear with stripes batoning various points of my rig to about 20 white shirt tied trainees filling that bay window in the harsh light.

My first thought was OMG, how many of those will fit inside my mack out back? And second thought what will I have to do besides trucking after they got through with me today.

They let me out. There was no traffic that day worth speaking of (I was trying to get first in line at a silo) and sitting there 20 minutes makes a man wonder about life and work.

 

If you're in the right lane making a turn on red, you can take out the car stopped in the lane next to you. Or if you're making that same turn on a 2-lane, oncoming traffic now has the tail of your trailer encroaching their lane blocking their path. Yes, it is a hazard and a very real concern...especially where narrow lanes are common. Personally, I never have cared much for excessive tail swing, and usually put my tandems around 41' mark on a 53' trailer, or place the center of the tandems where the center of the spread would be on a 48'...unless weights dictated otherwise.

It is a balancing act...longer KPRA is more stable and easier to back...shorter KPRA doesn't off-track as much going around corners. Maybe that's why Calif---ya wants the tandems slid all of the way forward...they care more about the grass you might run over than the cars you might sideswipe with the tail of the trailer. Who knows. Just consult your MC Atlas and adjust your axle spacing accordingly.

 

Yea that ### hanging over the tandems is a problem. I myself don't like it inside a tiny truckstop with millions of equiptment 40 feet apart.

I always get out and look to see where that ### end is going. Always, even if it took 5 times, 10 times when backing a foot a time. If I break something good it's on me. There are a mountain of you tube videos of truckers too stupid not to hit stuff with the front of the trailer. And you expect them to manage tail swing?

That idea leaves me prostrate and crying if I did not laugh also...

 

Maryland isn't nearly as bad as you folks are making it out to be lol. Just that perryville scales. Those guys will pull you in for anything. Never had an issue on 70 hauling back down to Virginia.

 

I have delivered beer in Baltimore. The only way to get weight right on some beer loads is to have tandems all the way forward. The beer companies I was told would bulkhead those loads to keep the weight off the tractor tandems. Not sure if they use enough.

 

Yes

 

They allow you to pay fines rather than obey their laws. They're helpful that way.

 

Well, that is why truck drivers are paid such big bucks...

Just kidding... use to be that all drivers kept a reasonably current Rand McNally Truckers Road Atlas, which had all sorts of useful information in the front for each state.

However, now with many drivers opting for the GPS I am sure they just google each state and find the laws pertaining to trucks...

Wait.. you said professional drivers... then the front of the Road Atlas...

 

Here we go