Scale questions ...

That doesn't do much good with a tanker .

 

I have not been able to go through the scale at limon CO without getting pulled in. I once sat at the port of entry in WY for one hour waiting for my company to authorize the purchase of a permit so that I could continue on my way. I was talking with the DOT officer in there and she told me some interesting facts. Such as on I-90 they have at least one truck driver every other week that comes into the scale house drunk. She also said that the rate is one every week on I-80. Suprised me.

 

I am not a trucker so please indulge me. If a driver simply picks up a sealed trailer or load or it is loaded while you wait, how does the driver make sure the total weight is not over the limit and how does the driver know how much weight is on each axle without a scale?

Should the company driver have have it immediately weighed, maybe not so much about total weight but the weight on each axle. Does the driver have to pay for the cost at the private scale out of his/her own pocket? I know that any ticket the driver is issued will go on the driver's record. I am sure the shipper has a good guess of the weight and it is on the bill of lading. What happens if the driver can not get to a private scale before hitting a fixed or portable scale?

 

If you are driving with a trailer, it is your responsibility, weights, tires, lights, etc.

 

(1) With some experience if you know your gross weight and how the truck is loaded you can sometimes estimate fairly accurately what your axles are
(2) In the event that you cross a DOT scale prior to a CAT(or other) scale you may sometimes be able to request a weight and show paperwork for where you loaded and that you haven't got to a scale yet. This will depend on the officer working the scale
(3) Yes most if not all of us pay out of pocket to scale, however most companies to my knowledge do reimburse you for the scale.

 

It was suggested to me that if there weren't anyplace to scale the load try calling the coop in advance and explain the situation. They may let you scale out there. Of course you may get an inspection out of it. Oh well the life of truckers.

 

I know I have asked for a courtesy weigh before and been declined on it (got a $200 overweight fine for trailer axle being 150 lbs over). On the other hand I have been scaled before and when I was overweight and told to bring the paperwork in I let the guy know I had just got the load and hadn't been by a scale. He not only told me to reweigh he went outside, pulled the sliding tandem release, and pushed it back in when we hit what we thought would be accurate. It all depends on what coop you hit, what officer is working, and what kind of day he has had.

I did end up getting a fixit ticket though because the screws that held down my fire extinguisher holder had stripped out so the fire extinguisher wasn't secure, but I sure as hell ain't gonna argue about something like that in place of a fine.

 

When I've been given a load and know that I'll cross a scale before weighing, I'll ask my company via Q-Comm to "cover me please, just in case I have a problem." They've always done that for me but I also reply upon my experience in knowing how a load has been loaded and try to get the tandems set right.

Haven't had a problem yet although I've been really nervous!

I do get reimbursed for all weight tickets, although CAT Scale is my preference, far and away from any others out there...

Yes the bill of lading does generally have the total weight. It's not often that I have a BOL that doesn't have the weight. Sometimes I'll watch them load the product or the shipper may even ask me how I want it loaded. They usually have a great deal of experience in knowing how to load their product, so I'll ask them how they usually load. It works out well almost all the time.

If I have a heavy load (40,000 lb or more) and I have a choice on how it gets loaded on a 53' trailer, I want it to the 48' mark in the back of the trailer. Anything more than that and I won't be able to axle out.

Then again, if the trailer is preloaded and sealed, I just have to deal with it and hope they've loaded it well. Example: I pull a lot of Lowe's loads. It's all the way to the rear, usually up to 40,000 lb. I'm almost ALWAYS heavy on the rearend, but I always scale my loads at the Regional Distribution Center (RDC) before leaving.

When I pull high value loads, we're NEVER allowed to weigh, due to the possibility of highjacking the load. The company makes more than enough money to cover any fines and they tell us to ride with it. I've only had one overweight ticket on a high value load out of the many I've pulled so far.

Hope this helps answer your questions KCGuy!

 

I appreciate the responses. It is very good. I have never had any tickets in a four wheeler and would not like to get any trucking but I guess that is something a trucker has to live with. Do these weight tickets do anything to a driver's state driving record like a speeding ticket does or is it more administrative and can a driver lose his license for such offenses?

 

They do count on your record in Texas, 6 points on your record and you have to pay a yearly tribute to the state to keep your license.