Where is everyone #5

That’s what I was thinking, except he would have posted something about how lowboys and RGNs are jealous. “Jealous”….right. Wrecking trailers and doesn’t know what a divisible load is, but everyone is jealous.

 

Interesting. Most trucks with 16k steers and 46k or 69k drives are just a single 3/8" or 1/2" rail around my neck of the woods.

 

16K steer and no lift axles probably fine with 3/8. I have a 15mm so a little less than 5/8 single. It's engineered for worst case scenario. Fifth wheel slid all the way forward with the pusher lifted and maxed out on weight. Probably about 25K on the steer and 55K on the drives. Then add in being stuck and dragged through a jobsite by the pull pin up front. I want all the frame I can get. Going with a thick single vs a standard double frame saved 700lbs on my empty weight when ordering.

Also Wisconsin allows absurd weights with a $500 annual permit. 30K single 66k Tandem. I know the guy who ordered that truck new and he wouldn't think twice about dropping 50-60K on the deck and rolling down the road with it if he wasn't going far.

 

Was sitting at the TA in Laredo waiting for the sun to go down when the operations manager called.
“Six, need your help. Got a bridge hit in San Antonio. Can you go, get that load and bring it to Laredo? A pilot car s waiting. Bobtail up there and get it.”

I get to the load. It looked like one of those asphalt milling machines, a small one brand spanking new, sitting between the spread on a step. The top is damaged. Driver, pole car and a full grown bear are waiting for me.

I ask the driver about the weight of the machine.
“44k”
Why do you have that machine sitting so far back on the trailer?
“I don’t like a lot of weight on the drives.”

My first thought was the driver’s an idiot. I remove the securement, start the machine and move it to the center of the trailer for loading. I pull a couple pins, turn a crank and lower the top for transport. Driver’s eyes got really big and he had a look of shock on his face. Measure the load, under the legal height, bye bye pole car. Legal load.

Driver was new. He didn’t know what he was doing. We have all been there before. I’ve made that mistake. When they first came out with the 10’2 spread, I was told that you could put 40000lbs back there. Got a 40000lb coil and my dumb arse put it between the spread. Got pulled at the first scale I went to and got a ticket. I didn’t know. Do you see the problem though?

Trucking is performance based. Beancounters try to cut costs starting with the driver. Meat in the seat. Everything starts and ends with the driver. Why do you think the megas cater to the fat, smelly antisocial sidewalk sissy loser? If beancounters ran the NFL, they would get some fat kid who can’t run 10 steps without getting winded, and change the rules of the game to make him competitive. No one on the field would be allowed more than 10 steps per play. There would be a 2 hour break between quarters and a mandatory 8 hours off duty for half time. No more need for helmets and pads, women could be competitive, and the money would disappear overnight.

“Is trucking performance based?”

Absolutely. Look at the guys in this forum. Look at the level of professionalism, the intelligence here…then look at what you see in the Love’s parking lot. Opposites. Put Tom Brady against any on a field full of fat kids and he would dominate until he dropped dead.

When I got the load to Laredo, I told the OM that this was her fault. Million dollar machine, brand new getting hauled by the wrong driver on the wrong piece of equipment. That meat in the seat mentality meant they paid a driver, paid for a pilot car, paid for the damages, and paid me my rate. What are you really saving?

 

Hahaha! That’s funny.

 

Butter bean was a big un , dont think id want to call him a ###### to his face unless i wanted a broke nose .

 

Saw a step deck with a road grader on it, a big one, took up whole length of the deck last week. He was sitting along the entrance ramp to an open coop, leafing through a pile of paperwork. I think he knew he was toast.

 

Notice you been running a trailer with holes in the side lately.

 

A bit behind on time, but i was hungry for some ribs