Freight stacked high in trailer

the freight can be all the way up to the roof...........and YOU WILL have those loads someday as well.

its NOT a good idea however to stack loads on pallets on top of one another unless there are "stacking bars" for the trailer, which allow pallets to be stacked...............

let your company know how the load was put into the trailer, lest you have a freight claim against you. then your company can call who ever loaded the trailer and make sure it doesn't happen again, lest THEY PAY for damages.

now, you say,

which is telling me you looked inside the trailer, or you were on the docks as it was loaded. this makes YOU responsible for any claims, as you COULD HAVE had it loaded differently, or called your company first, to avoid damage claims.......

you also "show" 5 years experience..........you didn't know any of this...........in 5 years.........??

 

I used to carry double stacks all the time, have them turn the top tier so there is little side to side room and use load locks front and rear of the double up. Just make sure the bottom can hold it. And secure your load it's your ### not the shippers.

 

Powder Joints just took the words out of my mouth - turning 4 way skids width wise will prevent movement so long as the product wrapped on the skid is as wide or a least very close to the width of the skid.

We stack and pack trailers every night and one thing I've learned is if there is space between the freight, the freight will be occupying that space when you open the door..

 

Don't sweat some of these guy's man.. I've been loading/unloading trailers on our docks for the last seven years daily and still learn something new on a regular basis.

Another point directed at your original question - at times shippers double stack then wrap skids.. I see it on a nightly basis at the hub I run where the skids were wrapped together as a double stack and the very top or very bottom boxes on the lower skid gave way causing the entire thing to fall over. Not the drivers fault - I always write it up as bad packaging from shipper on our hand held devices as you should on your BOL or DR..

Some freight stacks good and some does not.. The load is generally as good as the loader - we have deck trailers that come in looking like a chipper shredder blew the freight in and we have trailers that come in stacked 4 and 5 high without one piece of damaged freight.. It's all about keeping the heavy freight low and filling the gaps with dunnage or those inflatable bags while bracing the back with a load bar or strap..

I understand that most drivers don't have a ton of block/brace devices at their disposal, but simple things like empty skids or 2X4's and some nails can keep freight in place. I load a heavy lane by myself at the hub I run loading all kinds of freight into the same trailer but no matter what the same principals hold true - keep the weight low, fill the gaps, and brace the back of the load..

The only dumb question is one not asked..

 

Just remember, never, never, never double stack a liquid load.... unless it's sailboat fuel, then it's ok.

 

You always learn something new! Whenever you are not sure of stuff like that get a dock manager and make sure your DM or OSD knows before you leave that dock! Yes you are responsible and should load lock and secure but if it isn't loaded correctly it can still spill all over the place. Another good thing to do is take pictures. There is definitely no excuse these days for not getting a snap shot of the shoddy crap someone else sticks on you! This is also great if product is damaged before you even close the doors. I know in some circumstances you cannot be on the dock if this happens you sign the bills noting that! If you are allowed on the dock, you better be back there or yes anything that happens you are, and should be responsible for. By no means am I saying this to you, but there are some lazy drivers that won't get their butt out of the cab to make sure things are done correctly. As a professional driver you should know how your truck needs to be loaded especially according to where you are going. You cannot load a Ca.load the same way as a Tx load! Not all dock workers know that, of course not all truckers do either but they should! You should be able to find some diagrams on the internet on how to stagger and load your loads correctly. Hopefully that will help you (if you need it) If not you new guys need to learn it.

 

good idea to mark your bills slc--shipper load and count as well---you can make sure its not going rearward--but the rest is up to them
its sooo nice to have properly loaded trailer--some places do an excellent job---some just bang it in there

 

Thanks Canuck, I was thinking ahead of myself and forgot to put what you should actually sign on your bills. VERY IMPORTANT FOR NEWBIES---- If you are not present on the dock make sure to write on the bill of lading "SLC" "SHIPPER LOAD AND COUNT" then sign your name by it. This lets everyone know that they were responsible for everything that went on in the back of your truck up until the point in which you applied the seal. Some shippers are going to give you a hard time about writing that too. Tell them "MIDDLE FINGER"! It's important to do so because they can and will throw damaged freight in the middle of the load that you can't see and guess what, you are responsible! So this nice little phrase above covers your butt!