79,840 and only an 1/8 of a tank!

Very true. The turnpike, 495 and 95 in de and pa to the comm barry bridge but chances are if its not a weekday between 0700 and 1330 they are probally closed. Plus the diesel bears in jersey like to go after the little six wheelers.

 

When I worked for Stevens, my fleet manager helped me route around the scales from Chicago to Denver on a way over load. Got near the NE/CO border and came up to some portables set up. I was ready for the #### to come down but they had so many bullracks up and down each side of the road that the NE DOT officer motioned for me to keep rolling.

 

Came into Wiss. from Dubuque IA. Those scales are never open. But for this one morning when the Grain was being shipped. All the trucks in front of me were over weight, and I knew I was a thousand lbs over myself. The scale master had filled up his office with drivers and just as I was approaching the scale the speaker voice came on "OK to bypass Driver" What a relief!

 

I don't dodge them anymore. was told the ticket for that is more than the over weight one. your driving illegally and running from the law, basically. that's how VA said it. lol

 

Depends on where you are but what's illegal about taking a 2 lane state route vs the interstate? How can they prove you were dodging the scales and not just taking the scenic route?

IMO screw 'em! If Johnny law wants to weight me, drag out the portables. Last I knew you were innocent until proven guilty.

 

Some states REQUIRE that you pass them. Sometimes their STAA routes are specifically absent in certain areas to force you to cross them. And some you will pass a white/black sign specifically telling you that all trucks must cross scale x miles ahead. If you fail to abide by that sign, you're dodging the scale.

A state like Ohio is easy to bypass if you feel like running two lanes a little longer. The 'short' bypasses are easily caught. If you get off at the Petro at the Indiana border and then right back on I-70 east of the scale, if there's a DOT there watching for trucks, they can flag you down for a roadside check. Maybe bring out the portables. Might just give you a level 1 or 3 just for the fun of it. After all, drivers running illegally tend not to be picky about what they're doing illegally.

 

a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away i worked as a scalemaster at an apple processing plant. of course the drivers were paid by the load, so i understand the incentive to run overweight. i weighed trucks in many nights at 102k.

how u like them apples?

 

correct me if i'm wrong. but overweight permits are only good if you have the axles to haul the weight. otherwise, you're stuck with 12, 34, 34, 80.

correct????

example: drop axle on truck could put your drives up to 42,000
while a trailer with spread axle can haul 40,000
thus, allowing over 80,000.

without either of those configurations. you're stuck with the normal values.

 

If you're saying that a standard 5 axle truck can only haul 80k, no you're wrong. For example, I have 12,40,40 axles and I can haul 92k under permit legally.

 

Yes but if I know I'm overweight I won't go anywhere near the scales. The guy's that run overweight all the time don't get off at the exit right before the scales, go around, then get right back on. They stay as far away as possible. They can't say you were dodging the scales if the nearest one is 50mi from you.

I always go around the scales. Loaded, empty, bobtail ect doesn't matter. It's not that I'm doing something illegal I just don't want to be harassed. When you have an hour of your day wasted because a bored cop decides to inspect your new truck with less than 500 miles, or another makes your driver "discharge his fire extinguisher to prove it works" your attitude toward DOT changes.

Depends on the state and the product. I can haul 120,000 on 5 axles in ohio with a permit or I can haul 120,000 with more axles, it's totally up to me. In KY I have to have 6 down for the same weight and in MI I need 7 to do the same thing.

Almost every state has the industry it favors. In Ohio with a permit your limited to 53,000 on a closed tri-axle trailer.........unless your hauling steel coils then you can load 60,000 on the same trailer, who padded who's pockets? In KY steel trucks are limited to 120,000 and 6 axles but coal trucks can do 132,000 on 7 axles, guess who's check was bigger!

Michigan is the only state I believe that allows you to simply add more axles if you want to haul more weight, no permit needed up to 164,000. With 7 axles in MI I can only legally do 118,000 since I only have 11" wide steer tires. BUT if I add another axle I can do 131,000, add another I can do 144,000 and so on.

Oh and the rating of your truck/axles doesn't matter to OH/KY/MI. You can put 20,000 on a 12k steer axle as long as your tires are wide enough. The state's only concern is the road, not the capacity of your truck. The permits are measured as "lbs per inch of tire"