I'm getting my first trucking job with a custom harvester out of ND and I'll be hauling some of the equipment like combines tractors etc. I'm pretty sure I'll be overweight and WIDE loaded. I'll be making my journey from ND to OK and I was wondering if there is anything I should know from experienced drivers who have gone through those states ???

 

Just make sure you know the rules concerning the hours you can move if you have a wide load, and make sure you have the right permits before you get to the next state line. I've seen some of those fellows pulled over in scales and shut down for lack of permits.... When it comes to permits, there's no "maybe's".

 

Everything Skywalker said, but also keep in mind that even the simplest of tasks becomes a huge pain sometimes when dealing with oversize loads. How did you manage to land a job such as this as your first driving job, normally only people with 5+ years do those kinds of moves.

 

HAHA....i dont really know. Been trying to find a trucking job and these custom harvester need people to drive and will take even guys without any experience at all. Plus my dream is pull hopper bottoms, so it works out. I didn't think I'd have to be a professional trucker so sooon though. hahaha.

 

Well.... let's see. Stay to the right... far right.... so I can pass ya! :lol:

I don't know much about 'em.... but, expect to be top heavy! Slow turns!

"Pretty sure" fits in their with "maybes" Be VERY sure about everything you do.

Try to make sure you're headed SOUTH! :shock:

Seriously.... I'm just messin' with ya! Sounds like an interesting gig... but I agree that it is a daunting task for a newbie! You'll have to be TWICE the trucker I am right from the gate!

Be careful. USE YOUR CB! What kind of training will you get?

Keep the rubber side DOWN!

 

Be sure you follow the exact routing on your permit. It might not look like the best way to go but if DOT gets you off route they get real cranky and you will sit right there for a couple or three days till you get new permits. Been there, done that :sad:

 

My brother did the custom harvesting thing last year. He didin't have much for experience, so he started out pulling the bunkhouse behind a pickup. Then he slowly moved up to a truck pulling hopper and headers. Hes going back next year to the same crew and wil possibly be pulling combine.

Only time you might be overweight is when pulling that hopper. Most of the combines are only about 30,000lbs. Their usually about 13 feet wide so moving is daylight hours only, unless the combines are being roaded which anytime is fair game. I don't know if the harvester your going with has a website, but if you go to www.johnsonharvesting.com click on Photo Album you can find some of the combinations you could pull when moving.

You'll only need one permit. The custom harvesters permit. Which you shouldn't have to worry about. Most DOT and police look the other way when custom harvesters come through anyway. You'll be taking pretty much one main route down to Oklahoma. He said it's been the same route for years.

I can't tell you how the crew you picked so going to be. His has every meal paid for. Any thing extra he wants he buys. The hours can be very long. If you want to compare the pay from what he makes to what I make during the same time frame. I make in one week what he does all month. Don't expect to get rich.

 

Aaaaaaaaaah. To be 15 again!! Running a combine, drivin a truck...checkin the short's....errrr...thigh's...errr....pony tails...err...man...to be 15 again.


Wheat, Barley, Oats.

Blonde, Brunette, Redhead.

Wheat, Barley, Oats.

Them Mennonite girls....Man they was HOT :!: :!: :!: :!: :shock:

 

Combines aren,t so bad, even with a 5metre header you,re still only talking about 14 tonne. Carrying them on a semi low(?) you will have no stability problems and can hoof it down the road.
Bit of advice for travelling wide, keep the load off the hard shoulder when you,re on freeway. Take whatever road you need but keep off the bloody shoulder!!!!! :wink:

 

For whatever it's worth, be very careful crossing rail road tracks; I've seen more than a couple of drop decks stuck on the tracks, (IIRC, the last one was carrying a very large yacht; wouldn't want to have to "splain" that one to a client!!) and from what I've been told, the police don't take very kindly to that kind of thing.