Load shift and damage!

Kinda small to haul very many melons in.....??

 

Look under the bridge.

 

Didn't post my feelings in the other thread--since almost everytime I mention how important it is to be proactive in both loading and unloading...the post is always followed by a dozen "Im a driver not a lumper...etc"
Anyway to clear up a few common misconceptions....fresh whole melons are shipped on about anything....it is airflow not temp that matters--and vented vans are used as much as reefers--as well as flatbeds--although some grocery whse will refuse to go out on a flat from a dock and their buyers will specify no flats.....
As for loading bins...since the inception of 53' trailers and bridge laws--more so--drivers total anal retention about bridge laws..
the single layer--double layer--triple layer concept of loading so 56/58 bins(typical load amount of melons--assuming an 800 lb avg bin weight)has been developed by most load barns--therefor--if you sit in your truck while you get loaded that is what will happen....there isnt a load barn in the world--that will not let you on the dock so it IS up to you--if you are unsure and let them load like this--it is NOT a problem--as long as while they load the first few lines--YOU go in trailer and either load lock the front of the first couple of layers--or strap if you are etrack equipted...trust me they WILL wait on you and work with you to do this...it also give you an opportunity to check the product and reject certain bins--which is also YOUR call....especially in terms of bins that do not look completely full--which hurts you 2 ways--first these loads are almost all(costco-aldis-walmart being the norteable exceptions)paid for and rated by weight--the actual load charge although maybe posted by flat or mileage rate is determiined by actual net weight hauled..and in many cases--weighed bin by bin at the receiver and rate adjusted after delivery--secondly--a bin that is nt completly full allows the cardboard to compress as they are stacked and therefor do not ride as well resulting in damage on the other end....
Now in terms of loading---even if you are terrribly concerned about bridge etc.....
Although the op didn't tell us how many bins he was loaded with--again it is typically 56/58--a reefer will typically only get 56(or less depending) since 56x800=44800lbs
You proabaly noticed--these bins on a red peco pallets--it is rare they are bined on anything but blue/red stron heavy pallets--since typically these bins are brought right into a retail enviornment and set in the middle of the aisle--and grocers do NOT want pallets that may break or collapse etc.....
So again IF you get proactive....all you have to do is tell whomever is laoding--to turn the pallets and load them double sidewides(they will fit) and you can get 15 lines in a 53' trailer---but you are only getting 56---which is 14 lines--14lines=28pltsx2=56--and 40x14=46.6'....there is very little if any overhang--so they are rarely past the magical 48'mark that everyone worries about--and since you have tight double stax--front to rear--they ride rather well.....
As for the OP---I can almost guarantee--EVERY bin from the point they started to shift forward WILL be rejected--the lumpers will get to the point they can easily unload and just stop--get a receiver--who will only accept what is already off the wagon...and remember...these loads are usually rated by WEIGHT so your company will take a big hit--not to mention the loast time you are going to have while you sit on the rest of the load---If it was me--I would find somewhere--in route--you can pay someone to unload and reload the wagon--the cost will be less in the long run....good luck

 

These infant melons have to go to a foster produce whare house now since you killed their parents

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Drive with apex-stacked produce the same way you would drive with a load of steel I-beams is the best advice I can give.

 

just wondering why . Load locks aren't being used on three high? Always let company know what happened.

 

I would try and deliver early. The busted ones might rot in that dry box. Temps will climb up over a 100 in no time.

 

This is why I love flat deck. It's my responsibility to keep the freight in place on the trailer. And I get to dictate to shippers how to load it. The only solution is to report it regardless of consequences. It's your responsibility as a professional to do so.

 

Yeah, I was at a receiver the other day and watched a guy back his truck into a parked reefer unit, oblivious to my air horn. In extremely poor English, he tried to get me to ignore it. No man, if you had scratched the aluminum on a dry van, that's one thing. But that's thousands of dollars in damage you just did, with pieces still stuck to your trailer. Man up and take your lumps.

 

The kid did get a bum deal from some pi** poor loaders for sure. They should have braced it forward if it was loaded like the kid said. However just as many have stated, it's his responsibility. Tanimura & Antle won't let you be on the dock when they load you, but they know what they are doing, and you note that on the BOL's. When I did refer, several times I stopped the dude, and said no, bad pallet, bad box. I even restacked the pallet or helped so no one got in a twist.
If I saw them leaving some 12 foot gap in the front of my trailer, I'd dang sure have them brace it, or strap it
( I'm a strap man ), myself.
It is the kids, or any drivers responsibility.
If he wasn't allowed on the dock, then they should have forward braced it. It's a shi**y deal cause they should have done it anyway, but its his ##*. And he didn't cover it.

Not telling his boss when he found about it, he's gonna learn harsh lesson there too. The reload his boss has booked, that now he has to cancel, and eat a $200 cancel charge on, cause its the last minute. Then he has to scramble and find someone to take it, where he could, even though holiday, have some leads going, so the kid is gonna lose a few days income, and more income lost to the boss. Last but not least, bossy gets to find him another load scrambling around.