Explain scale houses to me please

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by 1278PA, Aug 15, 2016.

  1. 1278PA

    1278PA Road Train Member

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    I know nothing about it. thanks I watch a lot of youtube videos and i hear guys get pulled in random and get inspections. Is that the main purpose for these places?
     
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  3. Diesel Dave

    Diesel Dave Last Few of the OUTLAWS

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    They weigh your wagon to make sure your legal. If your pulled for inspection it's cause your due for a 90 day or they just bored and need to keep busy.
    If you did your research on here you would find anything you need. Just like every other thread you start.
     
  4. alghazi

    alghazi Road Train Member

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    Have you watched the YouTube video of that scale house in Florida? DOT officer tells you everything you will ever want to know about how scale houses work.
     
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  5. alghazi

    alghazi Road Train Member

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  6. 1278PA

    1278PA Road Train Member

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    Thanks i'll check that out.
     
  7. STexan

    STexan Road Train Member

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    They are mainly a means to "keep the trucking industry honest". Lot of what they do is random to keep quotas met. If there were no various state truck inspection houses, trucks would routinely load heavy and drive with unsafe equipment. The possibility of getting randomly caught is enough to change behavior.

    Excess weight is said to be unsafe and further damage roads.
     
  8. Bill51

    Bill51 Road Train Member

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    Not the best example, but they are there to make sure this doesn't happen:
    [​IMG]
     
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  9. pattyj

    pattyj Road Train Member

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    The purpose of weigh stations is to make sure you are legal in weight.When you go thru a scale the dot will be looking at your trk and trailer while crossing scale.If he sees a violation he will tell you over the speaker to pull around back and bring your paperwork in which is BOL,permit book driver licence and logs if you're on paper logs.so when you cross scale read your signs and leave your window down so you can hear the DOT.Always weigh your loads before crossing scales,you don't wanna give the DOT any reason to give you a random inspection.
     
  10. 1278PA

    1278PA Road Train Member

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    Just finished watching that video thanks! but still a few questions i have. So basically you MUST go through the scale every time if you don't have a prepass? Also in the video he didn't go over truck inspections it was all about weights. What would make them choose to inspect your truck and who decides that?
     
  11. roadranger550

    roadranger550 Light Load Member

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    Weight mostly. They will be looking to see if your lights are working, and if anything is not in place.

    I got chewed out big-time when an air-tank water drain cable was dangling down, when it should have been secured to the frame or someplace else. So I jammed it up high so it didn't dangle.

    I was working as a newbie Teamster driver at the time, and I didn't know that I had to have a Brotherhood member repair it, not me. I knew I was going into a weigh station on the way to the
    other barn, and didn't think twice about shoving the cable up, so that it would get me through the scale-house without being pulled in for an inspection.

    After that I learned to "fix" things like that outside of the property, as that "fix" caused me to be late to
    the barn for breakdown and local delivery in the early morning hours by the local P&D drivers.

    I am not bashing the Teamsters Union at all, but I wasn't "fixing" this cable it at all, just making sure i got through the scale-house without an inspection, so the freight would get to the destination on time.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2016
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