Now just because they are passing you dont get all worked up and take it out on your equipment. You had a bad day and you (and your rim) got bent out of shape. You are finding out that some days its a b!tch and some days its a breeze. Chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

kinda a point i was making months ago when my driving 'skill' was questioned based upon who i drove for. point is, and you just made my case.....is you cant.

 

oh my........

 

We have a winner.........this is the best quote of the thread.

 

I hate to bring something this entertaining back on point, but.........

Hawk, I don't know how long you've been driving, but you really will get better at dealing with stuff like this over time. Evertything is scarier the first time. When you've been in the situation several times before it becomes much more routine.

Eventually you will be able to judge the dimensions of the pallets, the weight of the shipment and know how it should be loaded.

Now that you've been through the shuffle once with your DM or dispatcher you will have a better idea of how to approach it next time.

And eventually, if you're really, really lucky & work really hard at it, you might be a super trucker like Kev.

 

Hawk...Just one point here.

Last friday I picked up a cheapy ***** load up in Hammond IN. The shipper there is notorious for loading well over the max order amount...(cheap and heavy them folks). Because of the trailer I was pulling and the fuel I had on board, when I arrived to load, I told the loader exactly how much product to put in the tank(bulk chemical tank).

When said load replied "I will see what I can do", I informed him that he would only put in the specified 44,000 pounds, that I would be stopping out at the TA, and if I was 200 pounds or more over weight on my drive axles, I would be returning and he would be removing the excess weight.

It is the Shipper's AND the Driver's responsibility to make sure the truck and load are road legal. If you returned to the shipper, unbidden or not, with a certified scale ticket, which indicated that your trailer axles were illegal, then it was the shipper's responsibility to correct the problem. Their so called "Policy" does not circumvent federal, state, county or city regulation.

 

It is ultimately the drivers responsibility to see that his truck is not over loaded. After all, he will be the one paying the ticket. I really don't care what any company's policy is, unless they want to pay the fines then they can see that my truck is not over loaded. You can be polite, but unless the shipper wants to take responsibility for the load then they need to make sure it is loaded legally. If a shipper regularly over loads trucks then the state or feds are likely to step in and deal with that particular shipper.

 

A while back, i had a load of pallets to pick up in Jackson, MO. First time i was ever there. The place was noisy, and most 'factory' type shippers provide earplugs. I saw a box of earplugs, so i grabbed a pair. There were two windows to the S&H office, i only saw the one next to the box of earplugs. The gal inside asked me to slide the window open, i said i had a load, then she said "well you need to come over to the drivers window". Are you kidding?? like a little kid in pretend-land and you have to walk thru the 'pretend' door to enter the castle. Then she gets on my case for 'stealing' a pair of earplugs !!! I can take alot of crap before i lose my cool, but accusing me of theft? that will get my blood to boil. I went back to my truck and thought the best way i'd deal with her was not to utter a word next time i went back in to pick up my paperwork. I thought about buying her a Coke, but didnt want to waste the $. HAHAHA.

what i DIDN'T do was peal out, whip my truck around and take off the corner of the building.

But Orange, i've never driven a tank before (and never will), but i know your load is much more weight sensitive. But there is a thing called 'tact'. If i were to go in and start saying, "hey look, i topped off my fuel the night before i got this load, so i can only take 41,000lbs of bottled water. Oh, and i dont want any pallets loaded 5ft from the head of the trailer or 5 ft from the trailer doors. all pallets will be side by side with no singles, and all the labels will be facing out." ..... how do you think they are going to respond to you?? Now if a driver goes in and says, "hey look, i topped my tanks the night before i got this load, i know i can only haul 44,000lbs legally, can you only load that please? Otherwise i'll have to come back, and it will end up making both our jobs harder.....

i'm not trying to teach manners.....haahahaha...i'm sure i'm near the bottom of the list of posters on here who would be qualified, i'm just saying. I get a little irked when someone who has never driven a truck tries to tell me how to operate my truck. Same goes for loading. Almost anybody can drive a forklift and load a trailer, but i've never done it. I am sure they have a little pride in their work too, and some super "i am god" trucker comes in and tells THEM how to do their job, i couldn't get upset if they shot attitude right back at me.

 

I've told shippers more times than I can count how to load my truck. "single in the nose then 2 and 1 all the way back or 2 singles in the nose and double double then alternate" etc... Never had them refuse. Had a couple say "are you sure because we always load them like......?" In that case I usually go with the shippers recommendation after telling them what kind of truck I have and how much I weigh. They load trucks all of the the time and usually know the best way to load different trailers for different trucks.

 

Every post you have posted in the last few days has only proved your immaturity, shown your lack of experience, and revealed your poor character.