Minimum Weight to scale.

Doesn't FL have a scale on US1 headed to/from the Keys?

 

A lot of interesting replies in here. I can also see a few drivers getting dinged at the coup in the future.

I scale every load that's over 20,000.

A: The company pays for it.
B: Why risk being overweight?
C: Your ride will be a lot smoother with an evenly distributed load than with too much weight on one axle group...not to mention safer.
D: That air gauge is not a certified scale.

 

Air gauges are great if you have one and know how to use it. Yet even with an air gauge it dont weigh your trailer axles or your steers.

As a general rule,any load I did not witness the loading of will get a certified scale ticket.
35k and up will get a weight slip regardless.

AND NEVER TRUST A SHIPPERS SCALES! Cover YOUR ##### and not with your wallet.

 

The company doesn't pay for my scale tickets. I own the truck, and all operating expenses are on me. $10/scale times 2-3 loads (often times more) per day....it adds up pretty quickly, and takes time, and would require extra miles to be run which further cuts into the profitability of hauling the loads (which is the whole point of hauling the loads in the first place). If you know the laws of the states you are running, you might find that there is no need to be "exact" on your weights.

For example, in Missouri you are allowed 36K on a tandem axle group, 80K gross. Single axles are limited to 22K. Those weights are good on state & local highways, NOT on the interstate. If you run the big road, 34K is your limit on a tandem axle group, and 20K on a single axle. So, stick to the state & local highways if you know you might be over on an axle group and you are perfectly legal if you happen to run across a set of portables that are set up. The catch there is that you are limited to 60' overall length on the state & local highways, where the interstates have no length limit beyond trailers not being able to exceed 53'. I'm less than 60' overall length, so I'm perfectly legal running anywhere I want to in MO on the state & local highways. Over 60' long and you have 10 miles access from the "designated" routes.

In Illinois, so long as you are legal on your gross weight and within 2000 pounds on an axle group, you are supposed to be allowed to shift the weight to make it legal without receiving a citation. 625 ILCS 5/15-112(d) In other words, IF you are caught not-exactly-precise by a set of portables that are set up in your path, you can make it right without costing you anything but the time it takes to shift the load around a bit. If you aren't caught, there is no need to waste that time making your weights perfect as long as you are close.

My air gauge has 2 needles. 1 is plumbed to the airbags on the drive axles, the other is plumbed to the airbags on the trailer axles through a 1/4" quick-connect on the front of the trailer. Once the 5th wheel is positioned properly so that 34K on the drives is in the neighborhood of 12K on the steers, your steer axle weight doesn't even need to be factored in as long as the drives and trailer axles are close enough to roll on down the road.

 

Pedigreed Bulldog

{reply to bulldog meant in the most respectful way possible}

Bulldog you are the exception to the rule tho. As you stated you own everything and apparently you never drop your trailer for another Plus your under the 60' guidelines. The majority tho don't have those options. If I was in your shoes id no doubt do the same thing as you. My response was in general to the OP who is still learning the ropes. Everyone must adapt and overcome to thier own specific situation. Just to throw around a bunch of numbers at someone who has no idea what you've taken to the next level can be very hard for some to understand. Your examples altho probably 100% correct still leave 46 other states with just as screwed up laws and they basically are all as different as the 2 you posted.

 

My point was simply that you need to know the rules of the game you are playing before you can successfully bend them to your favor. These days with laptops, smart phones, and mobile web devices, there really isn't any reason to remain ignorant of those rules when a quick google search will provide the FMCSA regulations, state size & weight laws, and any other information you might need to know. Too often, though, people take the easy route by relying upon other misinformed individuals to pass along whatever rumors they've heard about what may or may not be allowed in a certain state. The more states you run, the more states you need to research, because every state is different. If you're close on your weights, a quick google search for the states you'll be passing through will let you know if you need to take the time to scale the load or not....or which routes are available to you in order to "legally" bypass a scale.

Or, you can play it "safe", simply abide by the general 12/34/34 limits, and stick to the big roads all of the time. Personally, the big road bores the heck out of me, and I'll run the 2-lanes anytime I have the ability to do so...but to do that, you've got to know the rules for the state you're in.

 

I run into this problem all the time with my company, one do you have blue chip pallets or reg white ones, the blue chips pallets are heaver adding weight, next is dry weight versus liquid weight, they both might be 45 tho , but that liquid moves around on you in those steel totes , can really mess you up on the scale house , so like the other say , weigh in dought , is a lot cheaper then a overweight fine.

 

What you stated is indeed good info. My response was more to the "I don't scale anything less than 40,000" crowd.

I've seen overweight axles with only 26,000 in the box. There is no way that I can (or want to) remember the axle weights and bridge laws for all 48 states. My motto is that, if it's legal for Cali, then I can run it anywhere. Most of our loads run in the 38,000-44,000lb range, so the tandems are rarely behind that magical "5th hole." There have been a few that have run into FL that required the tandems farther back, but I have never had a problem.

 

Because some of us do similar to pedigree and have learned the trucks too. Often hauling the same loads so weights remain consistent.

Do your due diligence. If you question the weight, scale it. It may not be on a cat scale as a certified scale might be an elevator or other similar place.

It comes to being driver responsibility and comfort level

 

I usually scaled everything around 38k or higher with a reefer. Even at that weight between the feel of the truck and the air gauges I knew when I was legal but I liked to evenly distribute it. I've had bills that said 25k and ended up being over gross but it should be something that you can feel instantly when you start moving. At the beginning you might not get that feeling down as much but after awhile you just know if there's more weight than there should be.

I've even caught it the other way, where what the bills stated I should be near gross and it felt like I was half full when I started moving. Weighed it just to make sure and went back to the shipper to find out what was up and they put the wrong load on the bills. Had the right BOL, POs and trailer information and such, just stuck the wrong load info on it for a different product. Wouldn't of gone well at the receiver if I showed up with those bills.