Big Problem With Load Right Now

B & W Trucking Inc has a scale in NOLA

As well as all of these places

Driver the reality is, 82 miles not getting that truck over a scale, that is your baby, your mistake, you own it and you deserve the ticket you got.

Now you need to give credit where credit is due, the shipper loaded way too much weight on you, that is their fault. They SHOULD (notice I said should but not always do) know what their product weighs.

Now, as for your company, how does the dispatcher sitting in the office who took the load have any clue what the load actually weighs? They have most likely never been to the place you loaded, they have most likely never hauled that load, and they have most likely never met the person they took the load from face to face. So it is not their fault.

Now you, you're the guy who bumped the dock with the truck, you're the guy who signed for the load once they loaded it, you're the guy who drove 82 miles before figuring out he was way over gross. In this case we are talking 16,000 lbs more than it was supposed to be. That is 140% of what the load was supposed to be. You should have noticed.

We all have learned lessons like this the hard way. I know I sure did. When I had been on the road about 5 months, I was about 2 months into owning my own truck. I was pulling a triple axle high cube non slider, big pos, but it was my first gig.

I got sent over to Belgrade Mt to pick up a load of Potatoes, I went over, watched my air scales and on the tractor I was fine, on the spring ride trailer however they loaded me way way way over. I was legal to 86,000 lbs, but I wound up at about 98,000. When I pulled away I could tell the truck was pulling hard so I drove 10 miles to the nearest scale which happened to be the Flying J in Belgrade, got it weighed and found out what was up, I immediately drove back to where I had loaded, everyone was gone, it was 4:30 on a Friday.

So I was left with one of two options, sit in Belgrade all weekend on a load that wasn't paying all that great, or I could get busy with it, find a work around and get out to Ellensburg Washington and unload them, I went back to the J, had a chicken fried steak while I was thinking it over, and I decided to get on the road and go through Helena to avoid the Butte Scale, then out of Missoula I went up and over Highway 2 to miss the Haugan and Spokane POE.

I thought I had it all worked out but there was one little problem, that chicken fried steak from the Flying J in Belgrade, it gave me food poisoning, I mean violently violently ill food poisoning. I wound up spending 45 minutes in the bathroom at the town pump in Townsend, another 45 in East Helena, then again in Garrison, and East Missoula, finally I made it to Muralts in Missoula and spent a couple of hours tying up a shower stall.

Finally after the next afternoon I was feeling somewhat better and I was hungry, I went in, got some pancakes and eggs, was feeling pretty good and I hit the road. As I hit the road it started raining, I made it about 100 miles out highway 2 in the middle of the night and my guts started boiling again, only this time there was nowhere to stop, not even a place to pull off, I wound up stopping right in the middle of the road turning my flashers on in the middle of a long straightaway so I could be seen, and I squatted right off the passenger side step to unleash the raging ### slurry of doom for the next fifteen minutes.

The only upside was that because it was raining I was able to wash my hands when it was over.

From there I wound up making it as far as Kenworth Sales co's parking lot in Spokane, spent the night there, then the next day was able to make it to Ellensburg and delivered my load.

That was the last load of potatoes I have ever hauled, and the last chicken fried steak I have eaten.

Sometimes the trucking business is a hard business. Some days it is going to suck. Sometimes you just have to deal with it as it comes. (Or in my case goes, and goes and goes and goes)

Learn from what you have been through here, learn to tell when your truck is too heavy, in the future you will be able to deal with the situation with out getting tickets, and with out dramatics.

Also instead of getting pissed at the dispatcher for not asking your name, why not ask him for his, be a bit personable with them, you would be amazed at what it does for you. I know when I get on the phone in such a situation or just looking for a load, I have a tablet there to write on, and the first thing I do is get their name.

So when the guy answers the phone and says "Whats your truck number?" why not reply with "It is 12345 and this is Joe Blow, who am I speaking to?" and when you are talking to him, use his name, don't get upset, he didn't create this situation, don't be mad at him.

Be the guy who stands out as a good guy when the phone rings, have that dispatcher remember you were a pleasure to deal with when the situation was bad, they will remember you for it, and I can promise you there is a day where that will pay off.

 

I wouldn't use a threshold # like 36K. I have had a BOL say 25K and it grossed 86K. Like this O/P, I got about an hour from the shipper knowing by feel that there was no way my load was only 25K. Scaled it and returned to shipper.

 

What was the fine? Did they make you unload the stuff?

 

I've never gotten an overweight ticket before but I believe it's considered an arrest and the driver has to post a bond at the scale house plus the truck is impounded right there until the weight is corrected. We'll have to hear the details from the OP.

 

Its just a ticket, don't know what the fine is where he was. But I picked up a ld from laredo made excuses to myself for not scaling it. Swore to myself that the scale would be closed before San Antonio, then swore at myself for having to pay $265.00 for being 1400 over on my drives.
That I was told is the standard fine for 1 to 3000lbs over in Devine, Tx

 

You truly are clueless,.
This is nearly, note I say nearly, as ridiculous as being able to get an overweight permit for a divisible load. Which, BTW, is not legal in ANY state.
Why not get a clue before posting this junk?
99% of scales will give a ticket based on the weight of the load, with some having a set ticket up to a certain amount. Some charge by the pound, others by a set fee. Impound a load? Driver post bond? Get a clue. After your whopping SIX years of being clueless, we would have thought you had overheard enough at a Subway in a Pilot to know more than you apparently do...

OP, your call IMHO. I run my own equipment, thus have gauges etc. But when a load is wrong, it's wrong and its your call what to do with it. Run it and deliver the load, take it back, or drop it on a drop yard. Either way, you're screwed by the sound of it. Unpaid sitting time, unpaid mileage, or take a chance. If no scales on the way, run it. Those os uf that have been out here a "little" longer than a whopping 6 years have done it before often enough. Even us oversize load guys may bend the rules a little from time to time. The difference between those who get caught and those that dont, is knowing when to take a chance.

Martin

 

Look like I've done pretty well being clueless. OP listened to all the nonsense from you "lol" truck drivers and look what it got him. I dont recall advising him to to go scale dodging did I?

 

I agree with Martin, its choice YOU have to make, sometimes we make the wrong choice and then have to live with the consequences. Its not the shippers fault if you decide to run with it, nor is it dispatches fault. Most of the time an experienced driver can tell by feel if he should scale it or not. But even the most experienced will make a mistake sometimes.
Whenever you are not 200% sure. Scale it. The $10 you pay is always reimbursed by USA so there is no excuse not to.
As for the air pressure gages. They are nice in some cases. But not for a training company that sends their trailers to Mexico frequently. A lot of times they come back with completely different tires and wheels on them, so I can just imagine where the pressure gauges would end up.

 

Neither did I genius. Thus why I said it was his call. Ring a bell, or still in lala land from when I got hit by the DRUNK USA driver?
Over 20yrs of accident free driving, hauling oversize loads in 19 different countries, with one speeding ticket on my record, all the time while driving trucks that were wide open. I dont have to prove anything to the likes of you I dont think.
At least now I know why all your fellow USA drivers talked to you the way they did in my thread. Kinda bad when even the people from your own outfit cant stand you I'd guess huh?
Was it Hammond, Indiana? Vaguely remember it being....
OP, sorry for this, some clueless fools just bring out that side of me. Like I said, your call. It seems you are screwed either way you turn to me mate, sorry.
Martin

 

You sure haven't had much to do lately but handout in the USA Truck forums. I guess your truck got dinged up pretty bad. Well, I've got to go now since I have better things to do.