Scale Question

what kind of trainer/mentor (term used loosely) did you have? this is like #2 on the checklist right behind don't hit anything. Anyway, like the others said, fully fuel up and scale your truck/trailer empty.

 

Not that it matters, but,

it is the shippers responsibility to completely fill out a B.O.L. ,

BEFORE a driver signs for it.

That includes listing the weight !!!

 

Just because a weight is listed doesn't mean it is even in the ballpark of accurate.

 

Who mentioned accuracy ????

 

An inaccurate weight is no better than none

 

Point was,

it IS a required piece of information on the BOL.




and most of the time, they are not accurate.

 

I had one about 10 days ago that read 22k. No way. I scaled it on a CAT and It was 86k making the payload 52k not 22k.

 

I think you will find that very rarely is an accurate weight ever printed on a BOL. Most times even at their most accurate they still won't include pallet weight or weight of ice or packing/packaging materials. For example, I haul fish and it is packed in ice. The ice is probably a 1/3 of the weight and is never accounted for. Granted a lot of it melts off during transit but still when you pull away from the dock that is weight in your trailer that isn't accounted for. You personally can account for it and figure on it lessening as you are in transit but if you have a scale 5 miles from the shipper that isn't going to help you.

Those big bins that potatoes or bulk items come in don't get accounted for either and they can weigh hundreds of pounds a per bin!

Ever see a forklift pick up a huge bundle of crushed boxes (about a trailers worth) they weigh hundreds of pounds! Well that's all weight not accounted for most times when shipping product.

You have to put yourself in the shippers shoes. They are going to try and get away with whatever they can so that they aren't paying for shipping. Kind of when you ship or buy something off ebay or send in the mail.

There are also other instances in which the shipper just pays for the truck and it doesn't matter what the weight is. Therefore they may include a lot of stuff that isn't accounted for or have a weight for. Could be something last minute in which they throw on another 10 pallets.

Point being.... weigh your truck asap! Never, ever go by the bills (unless you have money to donate to the DOT) and never, ever go by those digital scales on your trailer or in your truck. Very rarely are those ever correct!

 

Show the regs that require a weight please....


Because they aren't.


Shipper
Consignee
terms of conditions
and commodity are the minimum required.

It is more a legal document of all parties defining who's the legal owner and liable for the product during shipment and how the shipping charges will be paid.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=375.505

Follow the link for better formatting of how it breaks down

 

We have a customer who puts 44, 000 lbs on the customs invoices for the load to cross the border but its seldom over 12, 000 lbs.