new driver: first oinion load

Dang, that sounds like a flatbed load.... What ya doing taking our freight?

 

Onions is all i haul lol.

 

It sounds like they were loaded correctly. They put those singles in the nose and in the middle of the load to stretch the load out in the trailer. If they didn't do that, you'd never be able to get the tandems far enough up to get the axle weights legal. I repowered a 16 pallet grape load once, 43,000#'s total, the idiot that picked the load up had them load it straight on to the trailer, and the drive axle weighed 37,000#'s with the tandems set all the way up. What it sounds like is that after they loaded the singles, that they didn't load the doubles behind them up tight enough to them to hold them in place.

 

Uh huh. You are going to get loads where the loader is going to ask you how do you want it loaded... it happens, but not very often.

Dont be afraid to discuss it with the guy, ask him how they typically load a trailer.

If you start getting responses like, "you are going to tell me how you want it loaded and it will be your responsibility" or signs telling drivers they are responsible for directing how the trailer is loaded and that there will be a charge to re-work over weight loads. STOP and call your dispatcher and get some advice.

 

What you usually want to do is stretch the load out to the 48' line is the trailer if you can. If you are picking up a load that is 22 pallets then it should be pretty close if they load them straight on. This is how I usually have them load other pallet counts...

20: Single in the nose, and another single around the halfway point of the trailer

18: Single, double, single in the nose, a single around the middle of the trailer, and a single, double as the last 2 rows on the tail of the trailer.

21: Double, single in the nose, doubles the rest of the way back.

30: All the pallets have to go on sideways (the is the highest number of pallets you can haul in a 53' trailer)

One thing I always make sure of is that the final row of pallets is a double, that way they are easier to secure. If the final row of pallets is loaded straight on the trailer, I will put a load bar against the side of the pallets to prevent them from tipping over, if you can get them to load the last 2 pallets on sideways they should take up the entire width of the trailer, and will only need a brace across the back.

Be sure to check the additional info on the load assignment page and the info at the bottom of each individual locations page before loading any pallets on sideways, there are some recievers that will not unload sideways or chimney blocked pallets.

Also very important when loading SLDC loads (especially produce), try to get them to put a shorter pallet in the nose of the trailer, the air chutes in our trailers hang a little low up front, and a very tall pallet, when shoved into the nose, can cause the chute to pop off the bulkhead. If the chute is not connected up front no air will travel to the back of the trailer, and you will very likely have a claim on the load, and if you were supposed to be on the dock watching the loading and counting the product, you will be responsible. Be sure to go in the trailer and make sure the chute is still connected and not obstructed after the first pallet is put on.