cargo weight question

you know where your heading, make legal for the strictest state.

the Rand McNally motor carriers atlas has all that info in the front pages. and a lot more.

buy a new one every year to stay up to date.

I get the paper one not the laminated as it's too expensive.

 

Gotta be legal for where you is going, & all parts in route. 34K tandems + 18K each axle, AND they did check me last week coming thru Texas...ie; 5th wheel could ruin yer day mebee.

 

I've loaded there. It was probably 15 years ago, though.

Don't forget, you get a trading card, too!

 

Typically, it runs all environment items, like A/C & heater, powers an inverter for your games, TV, fridge....as well as keeping batteries up...and...if water cooled like Tri-Pac, it will keep the cooling system at temp.

I'm in a new F/L Cascadia, and really, really miss the last truck w/a APU. They rock...but some newly hired college engineer type decided it would be better to change what worked...& give me the chance to get hassled about idle-time, and more importantly, I now have the opportunity to run the batteries into the ground so the truck won't start. That's the "Park-Smart" dealio. Kinda works like Obama-Care. Ya' really don't know what you're going to end up with until you need "it". Jeez am I a whiner or what?

 

And...speaking of Pre-Pass; anyone out there noticing fewer green lights since around Thanksgiving?? I think I've only gotten 1-2 passes. I know over the holiday scales were closed & they left the "go" light on....but afterwards I've had to hit darn near every scale from NM - WI. Just curious. Maybe just potential revenue enhancement.

 

I drove for a LTL carrier and they had a straight forward policy on being overweight(they wouldnt pay your fine,but they would reimburse you for your scale tickets. So,good case scenario if you're concerned take it to the closest Truck stop cat scale pluck down $8.50 and get certified printout. If you,re 80 lbs over on tandems but 800 under on your drives move tandems a couple pins forwards(evens it out). Try to a least go well under on your steer tires. The last thing you want is to blow out a steer tire,very dangerous.The way I used to go about it is if the load is light 20,000 lbs or less,its nearly impossible that you will be overweight on any axle.Keep in mind most of these loaders load trucks every day (thats what they do every day) and most of them know how to distribute the weight evenly.Some have diagrams showing how much weight to load where maximum. They dont want to get fired because angry truckers keep coming back and they have to unload you completely and then reload you. There is a few dip..... that will stuff 50,000 lbs in your trailer and dont value their job so be careful.Usually you can tell when you pull out of the dock ie. some or all of your tires will be bulged out ( like they are going to pop) will take a while to get going and stop also,daycab trucks usually require constant downshifting and bog down,low top end power. So pluck down $8.50 get it weighed when in doubt.Make sure it stays legal(might not be able to run with full fuel tanks) might overload your steers.And some states you may be taking the load thru could(if its borderline overweight (could be too much on your drives) soon as you cross their state line.

 

Apparently, the shipper called my company. I didn't tell her that I was overweight, she knew. That's why she starts asking about my empty weight and how much fuel I had. Next would come a suggestion to either cut through the woods to avoid the scales until I burned fuel. It's an old dispatcher trick...they will call you on the telephone (not the Qualcomm)and drop hints, "If only you could get rid of some of that weight/got any way to can get rid of some of those tarps/how long do you think it will take to burn off 500 lbs of fuel?"

Yeah, right.

The game is to get you feeling like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Shipper is screaming that the order can't be cut and dispatch is dropping hints. It's a form of bullying. Deal with bullies wrong and it haunts you again and again. I have to work with my dispatcher, so I don't yell at her, or use fowl language or ever get mad (if they can piss you off, they can control you). I speak to her in a soft voice, never excited, always calm. She knew, however, when I excused myself from the phone to address the screaming shipping lady, that I was going to tell her to get that load off my trailer. When I brought the phone back to my head, it was done. She was going to say, "I can't believe you did that", but she hung up before she finished.

Never had that problem again.

Just remember, if you're responsible for it, YOU make the call as to whether you move or sit.