D.O.T when it comes to containers.

And the problem is?

Chassis and containers are notorious for being kept in ill repair.You have a whole field of drivers that get paid by the load that figure they'll sneak that bad chassis down the road.Then you're stuck with it next time.If you do a good pretrip and worry about safety before your time its not hard to get a chassis swap at most places.May take a bit but they can swap them.

DOT is out to protect the general public from just this.They don't care about you or your load.They know from experience that containers,Chassis,Trailers and trucks kept in bad repair are 9 out of 10 times going to net them a violation.As much as we all hate it they're just doing their job.Why is it an issue that they told you straight up that you got pulled in for a beat up container.Get use to it if you want to continue in the intermodal field as it's going to continue happening.

 

They started cracking down on containers back in 2010 when csa came on line.

 

Another reason container haulers are DOT targeted is the simple fact that DOT know the majority of containers are overweight, and by watching the way some of these container drivers drive, have inadequate maintenance(the power unit, chassis, and the container itself). A lot of times DOT just want to make sure that they have their Overweight permits and make sure that drivers have their paperwork the way it supposed to be

 

I have no problem hauling cans and the dot, been doing it for 5 years.

I even pull chassis that are from the 70s, ain't that hard to pull legal equipment driver.

 

If I pulled a legal weight load from the rail I wouldn't be over 76400lbs no matter what. People that pull heavy containers are morons, plain and simple. In my experience the trucks in the rail that look like junk surprisingly will pass a roadside

 

can't pass a roadside, when the rim is bent, tries are rotted or bald, brakes are out of adjustment. lights are missing or inoperative. lug nuts missing.


wished i had taken a picture. but i seen a truck in the los angeles area. sitting on the side. with his container sitting about 25% off to the side of the trailer.

 

and their wheels are wobble city, lol.

 

Yeah the vibrations from them are amazing in the truck.

 

I agree, JJ , RR cans have a loooong history of problems. It's money in the bank for the DOT. It's like you have a big billboard on the side of the container, " Hey copper, there's an excellent chance there's something wrong here". I don't mean to be rude, but I get a kick out of people going into intermodal, thinking, this is great, only to find out, it's one of the worst gigs on the planet.