Fueling when heavy, will it add weight to the drives?

Bulk potatoes pay by the hundred weight... When the haul is 1800 miles... 200 pounds of potatoes can be alot of $$$

 

Yeah, I know how bulk spuds are paid, but when you say a couple hundred pounds could lose you several hundred dollars... that's a bit of an exaggeration. Not to mention the fact that, if you could slide your fifth-wheel to get a couple hundred pounds more on, well, you see what I mean.

 

And this is not about price or quality, it is about weight.

Being that close on the drives it would be foolish to be more than half full at any time, price or quality not withstanding.

 

A lot of carriers have their 5th wheels where they won't slide. I have seen them with short beads of welds. Some drivers get them too close to the tractors and in a tight turn the trailer takes out the fairings or a reefer scratches the heck out the back of a tractor. I have seen a reefer take out the AC condenser mounted on the back of a tractor because of this.

This weight and fuel thing has been a bane in the rears of drivers for decades and is not going away anything soon. With experence, a driver knows their routes and what they can get by with. Some drivers know how to bypass a weigh station. Generally, however, I was stopping every 200 to 250 miles for a short bit of fuel.

 

The same thing can be said for sliding trailer tandems. Both a 5th wheel and a tandem slide can become VERY recalcitrant over time and the weights on them aggravate this. I always carried a can of spray lube.

 

NC is 38,000 lbs on drives and tandems too. You'll burn about a pound per mile in fuel. Id keep below 5/8ths full. I'd probably only fill to 1/2. Nothing beats peace of mind.

Lots of places still sell helium for tire fills. Just ask some old timers. They'll know where to find it.

 

I recently bought a set of chocks for this reason. I can now reliably move tandems even on a trailer with sticky rails.

 

During my career, unless I had an absolute need for something I kept it in my storage building or in my pickup. There are many (tools) threads and I am not going to rehash them. I just carried what tools I knew I would need. I also did not have a lot of things like a microwave or a refrigerator and I was not carrying enough clothes to go for 5 months and not wash too. I was always hauling heavy it seemed. Most all my dispatches had instructions on fuel. It was just the nature of the freight I hauled. The comment about chocks reminded me of this. I took ONE block with me. This was enough. All I had to do was make sure those slides were sprayed and just move the tandem slide about an inch. After this, it slid with no problems. I used to have an excel spreadsheet that listed all the general weights for things like tools and clothes. It would shock some people to know just how much something like a loaded toolbox weighs. On the road, I lived much like I do today. A very spartan existence.

 

I can only rationalize. There is one good place for the fifth wheel. Moving it would only be something special. Otherwise, we can adjust the trailer tandems to take weight off the fifth wheel. No big deal.
My company has non adjustable 5th wheels. If it were needed. They wouldn’t hesitate to get them. This company spares no expense. I’ve got a winter kit with my APU. It works.
And BTW... the OP didnt mention his trailer weight. Which is most likely too low. He trying to avoid paying $2 for a reweigh?
Truck drives better with weights even.
My company pays for scaling. I can go crazy scaling. They pay. They won’t pay for a weight ticket.

 

Even if some states allow 36000 lbs on drives or tandems, but are the axles rated for it? Be aware ofcthe truck's specs as well.
The same applies to the speed rating of tires.