Scaling After Loading, And Why You Should Do It
Topic 18142 | Page 1
And that is exactly why you scale loads. Just because the paperwork says one thing, doesn't mean that it's right.
My rule of thumb that I use, if it's over 40,000 lbs, I scale it just to be sure. You never know, they may have loaded it either tail or nose heavy. It's happened to me more than once.
Even though Prime has the Right Weigh system on all their trucks & trailers, unless I've calibrated it myself I don't trust that it's correct.
Ernie
Another good reason to scale: not all shippers include pallet weight in the total gross on the bills. That can be upwards of an extra 3000 pounds, depending on how many there are and what kind. CHEPs are especially heavy, and I cringe every time I see a load over 40,000 being loaded on CHEPs.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
I know this all too well. Got a 1200 dollar lesson.
Yet another reason to scale: the shipper may have their own scale. It may be fine for their own purposes, but most company scales are not calibrated.
Following Ernie's rule, get a certified weight just to be sure.
Note: Scales are not certified by the state Weights and Measures Dept, The "Certified" means a company like CAT calibrates the scale and stands by the accuracy.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Whats a CHEP ?
Whats a CHEP ?
A pallet from a certain manufacturer. Google it. Very interesting how the business started!
I scale everything because i don't have to pay for it. Lol
Buddy of mine coming out of McAllen, TX today with a load of juice. Shipper sent him out to top off his tanks, wouldn't load him 1/2-full - so they could max-load him. They have their own scale - so they weigh him going in, to determine how much they can squeeze on there. Told me his outbound was weight was 79,910. He gets a few lbs in some states for his APU - but I advised him to hit a CAT scale to verify.
Don't know if he did - but when you're running that close, I'd want a CAT certified weigh - that way, if a coop scopes you over - CAT eats the fine.
With a food grade tanker - there's no sliding tandems.
Rick
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
CAT Scale:
A network of over 1,500 certified truck scales across the U.S. and Canada found primarily at truck stops. CAT scales are by far the most trustworthy scales out there.
In fact, CAT Scale offers an unconditional Guarantee:
“If you get an overweight fine from the state after our scale showed your legal, we will immediately check our scale. If our scale is wrong, we will reimburse you for the fine. If our scale is correct, a representative of CAT Scale Company will appear in court with the driver as a witness”
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
Do you get paid for the time they have to come fix it?
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I picked up a load today that was supposed to be 43k. I stopped at the first cat scale on my way, figuring the worst it would be would be needing to slide my tandems a bit. Nope, my gross weight was 81749. Somebody put extra stuff in that trailer. Now I'm waiting for them to fix it.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
CAT Scale:
A network of over 1,500 certified truck scales across the U.S. and Canada found primarily at truck stops. CAT scales are by far the most trustworthy scales out there.
In fact, CAT Scale offers an unconditional Guarantee:
“If you get an overweight fine from the state after our scale showed your legal, we will immediately check our scale. If our scale is wrong, we will reimburse you for the fine. If our scale is correct, a representative of CAT Scale Company will appear in court with the driver as a witness”