Do OO prefer lighter loads due to wear and tear?

I don't think his Dad would touch an overweight load.

 

What kind of garbage loads are you getting where your freight bills don't show the weight of stuff like pallets and shipping matetials plus the product weight? Mexico?Perhaps this should be your first clue your running bad freight.

Be that as it may...

If you know what your doing, then you don't cause excessive wear to your equipment because you weigh 75-80k versus 60-70k.

If you DON'T know what your doing, even if you run ALL miles empty, you'll be making more trips to see the mechanic than those who DO know what their doing loaded down heavy.

You contradict yourself saying weight wears things out faster but then say trucks were built for it.

Trucks are built for duty. Period.

How you load it, drive it and how you maintain your equipment will be the biggest factor in how fast you wear it out, all things being equal.

I see guys all the time in brand new rigs, brakes SQUEALING like crazy from overuse. Just watch them drive, like their in an Indy car chasing for pole position! Every red light they wait until the last moment to slow down, then jam on the brakes. Every green light, their trucks are shaking and rocking side to side from over revving low gears and hard shifting. They jam the shifter so hard, sometimes you hear the drive shaft banging. They wait until the light turns green to shove the clutch in and grind up the trans getting into gear, they either are too impatient or have no clutch brake left, so you hear it. You hear them ride the clutch out giving it throttle before it's all the way out like they're in a subcompact. Then whine the piss out of each gear...this is why every mega fleet runs idiot-proof trucks with automatic trans, computer controlled to the whazoo, driver-facing cameras and a tattle-tale system.

In the mean time, the smart driver is gliding smoothly down the road from green light to green light, never coming to a complete stop, never needing to engage the clutch...his brakes aren't squeaky from overuse, his MPG stays higher than the rest, he can get 750k-1m out of a clutch, maybe more if he drives all highway miles, he isn't glazing brake pads, he's not smoking tires to make a panic stop.

He's nice and relaxed behind the wheel, not caring how many people cut in front of him, he's curious and gives others around him a break. He knows, he'll get there about the same time as the Jack Rabbit.

But, thats what separates the pros from the wanna-be's. It's called common sense and patience.

 

Well said sir. Descriptive and accurate.

 

Thank you! Spoken like a true pro yourself!

My autocorrect changed courteous to "curious"...a good driver might be that too, but, for #### sure he's COURTEOUS".

I also left out what I started to say about duty ratings...trucks are built for different duty. My W900 had heavy axles and rears, it had an 18 speed and a 15 liter stock 600hp motor that easily could be modified much higher. It was a HEAVY truck...about 3-5Klbs heavier than those built with regular axles and rears...and, built for doing heavy duty work.

If you took a truck NOT speced for heavy haul, with a weeny 11 or 12 liter 350-400 hp motor and asked it to do heavy haul, common sense should tell you, your gonna wear it out fast. You get the right truck for the application. Someone else said it here already, that's why you see single screw tractors and single axle trailers...its for around town lighter duty work, easier to get in and out of tight spaces, more economical to run.

With that said, different strokes for different folks. If someone is more comfortable driving only light loads because heavy loads scare them, so be it. I'm all for reducing the quantity of white knuckle drivers on the road!

We also got the ones WAY too relaxed behind the wheel...ear buds in BOTH ears... their left leg up on the dash, their left arm slumped over the top of their wheel not even holding it with a few fingers, just the pressure of their wrist, and their phone in their right hand shoved up in their face. Or, the guy practically sitting on the floor, pushed all the way back with the shifter lifted to the sky, can't see over the dash!

First, what truck driving school teaches this form of truck driving? Is it extra credit?

Second...how do you drive 100k MI a year like that? I get tired just watching ya!

I dunno...takes all types I guess.

Please. Sit up, both feet on the floor...and at least ONE hand ( with fingers) on the wheel...with all distractions put aside.

Personally, outside of shifting, I got 2 hands on the wheel the rest of the time. I stand a MUCH better chance getting out of a steer tire explosion...but, that's 40 years of professional driving, 25 years piloting a semi talking.

 

Hah, made me think of this video.

 

Yes! Exactly!!! Hence why they can't hold the truck in the lane.

Unbelievable, doing that all while following too close!

A fiery crash awaits his future...unfortunately, some innocent people too.

At least he's not on US roads.

 

Of course all things equal I will pick the light load. I just think it's very limiting and really stupid to say "I'm only going to haul 30,000 lbs or less". Great way to lose money and drivers like that the are also the same people who can be sold a cheaper rate because a load is lighter. Unless hauling by the hundred weight it never even occurs to me a lighter or heavier load to charge more or less money. A truckload is a truckload and I rate it as such regardless if it is a shoe box weighing 2 lbs or something maxing out the legal gross weight... My truck has over 1.5 million lifetime miles and hauled plenty of loads up to 80,000 lbs. It's had nothing but routine maintenance and likely no more or less than anyone our sticking to their loads of 30,000 lbs or less guns... Abuse is what causes excessive wear and tear, not loading up a truck as it was designed to do....

 

Im thinking of going my own authority sooner or later. Would you say its best to work with ch robinson or what would your recommendation be?