[Uturn2001]

So your latter question of 'how would i feel...'....would never happen.

So you plan on staying where you are at until the day you give up trucking?

Have you been to every drop lot your company has?

Every had to re-power a load doing a direct swap with another driver?

Just because it has not happened to you yet it is ignorant to say it never will happen.

[Uturn2001]

BTW Kevin. You say it will never happen because your company requires a scale ticket but YOU attempted to drop a heavy load without one. Who is to say at some point a driver will not get away with what you attempted?

I worked for your company at one time, assuming you are still with Swift, as well as many other companies and I know all too well how dispatchers and load planners like to toss the rules out the window when their butts are on the line because all of a sudden they have a hot load for some large important customer.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by Kevin0915

oh and THEN when i get back to the drop yard, Captian America stops me in the fuel island, and does a vehicle inspection. Doesn't find a thing wrong with my truck, but writes up 4-5 things on the trailer. Then asks me, "...you have a problem with your 7-way box?" I said, whats a 7-way box?? you mean my pigtail??? He said he saw packing tape around the flap and connector. I told him that i always do that whenever that little flap dont secure the pigtail, just as a precaution it dont come loose when rolling down the road. He tells me 'you shouldn't do that'. And i told him 'yeah you should, to be on the side of safety'. He tells me that the pigtail should be tight enough, the prongs should be tight fitting enough to prevent it from slipping out. if its slipping out, then i've got a problem with the prongs in the trailer, or the prongs in the pigtail. I just shook my head in agreement just to move along....not having the energy to argue anymore.

what is it about people east of the 80th parallel...is it something in the water???

No offense Kevin, but you seem to have a beef with pretty much everyone - not only people on this board, but people you interact with in real life. The guy at your terminal saw something that was out of the ordinary (packing tape wrapped around the pigtail), and was concerned that there was an issue. He is right - if the pigtail is not staying in on its own, then there is an issue with it that needs to be corrected. Even if you were trying to be "extra safe" by wrapping it in tape, that still doesn't change the fact that the guy was simply being concerned that there was a problem. You should be thankful that he was being proactive and trying to supply you with well maintained equipment. Would you rather he not give a crap about the trailer so that you can have breakdowns on the road?

BTW, in 12+ years of driving, having pulled almost every type of trailer out there, I have yet to have my pigtail cable fall out of the connector. Sure - I've had instances where it was not making a proper connection, but when that happens, I fix the problem the right way. No packing tape jerry-rigging necessary.

To answer your original question:

BUT....the question is.....you are under a heavy load 44,000lbs+, you use the scale at the shipper, know you are legal, you even cross 3 weigh stations, pass every one....and under the assumption you're delivering the load, do you bother to get a '2nd opinion', and pay for a scale ticket?? I'm told i have to...and think that is wrong....

Ultimately, it's their truck, their trailer, and their load. So it is their call as to how it is handled. If they want you to scale it, then you're obligated to do so. Also, you're not really "paying for the scale ticket", as I'm sure Swift reimburses you for scale tickets anyway.

[got mud?]

Originally Posted by Kevin0915

Here's a doozie for ya. I sit in Columbus for a day before they decide to deadhead me 500 some miles to a CostCo DC in NJ. So i get there, BEEP....got a preplan for a load that picks up in 4 hours, turns out the trailer is ready, so i hook up to it. I am instructed by company employees working a little 'dispatch' office at the DC, "...to scale the load in back behind the warehouse...". So i do, takes me a few minutes to get legal, but its legal. I now drive 200 miles to the cosignee, and when i get within 5 minutes of the drop, BEEP....preplanned T-call at a drop yard 60 miles away.

I was running split sleeper to get to the DC as soon as i possibly could, and be safe. So ive got 2 hours before i run out of time. Knowing full well once i got to the drop, they'd probably just put the load back on me to redeliver it. I thought about just staying in the area, and tell them i'd keep the load on me and deliver it in the morning. BUT being the good employee i want to be, i tell them that it will be close, depending on traffic (this was just after afternoon rush hour near Washington DC). I look up where to scale the load, because we cannot T-Call the load over 35,000lbs without a certified scale ticket. So i see there is a truck stop 10 miles south of the drop yard. I head there, with an hour to spare on my clock...only to find out that the scale (which is clear in back) is broken, and that the truck stop, already full with no parking, had another 10 trucks driving around looking for a place to park, not to mention those trying get into fuel islands preventing any trucks from leaving cause of hte bottleneck. Takes me 20 minutes to get back out.

So i head to the drop yard, get to the drivers window and tell them the story, let them know i would have got it scaled but their scale was broke, and the next nearest scale was 30 miles away....i couldnt make it there and back before my clock ran out. Well the planner must have been having a bad day, because he wanted to play the 'i'm boss of you' card. And in a rather rude fashion asked me, "im curious why you didnt get the load scaled?". To that i said, "i did, at CostCo..." He cuts me off saying, "NOT GOOD ENOUGH." I then tell him that I'm not going to scale a load 5 minutes away from the shipper, pay $9, when i've already scaled it at the shipper and i know i'm legal. "Thats your job. So you'll keep the load, and you will deliver it tomorrow. You can ask your DM about this, and i am sure he will agree with me." To that, i just said "oh, you bet i will"...and set the phone down and turned away, as i mutter "@**hole" under my breath.

Well come to find out, that this load is now rescheduled for a delivery appointment time for the morning of the 17th. (this all happening the night of the 15th). I am willing to bet this is yet another of the planners 'i'm king of the hill' plays. So i'll be calling the drop here in a bit, and ask them if i can drop early....which they will say 'yes' since i already talked to the manager of the store yesterday evening.

BUT....the question is.....you are under a heavy load 44,000lbs+, you use the scale at the shipper, know you are legal, you even cross 3 weigh stations, pass every one....and under the assumption you're delivering the load, do you bother to get a '2nd opinion', and pay for a scale ticket?? I'm told i have to...and think that is wrong....

I don't understand what your crying about? sounds like trucking to me. they want it scaled you scale it. personally my company doesn't have this policy and we don't often "T call" a load. if we do its in a yard where a day cab will deliver so the weight doesn't matter. If I worked for a company that often "T called" loads and I knew that they wanted it scaled, guess what I would do? SCALE IT! that way if they changed plans on me I would be ready.

As for the tape? that is just looking for a trip behind the scale house.

I'm sure your an okay guy in real life (hey i'm being nice) but you have a lot to learn about life!

[Jumbo]

Loose pigtail to life in a wheelchair? Evil Knievel couldnt have made that jump. I have had to scale a 3000 pound load because the company wanted me to. You want a scale ticket you get a scale ticket.

[Syncrosonix]

kevin, in case you haven't noticed, costco is pretty well known at swift for overloading trailers. that's why they want a scale ticket. it doesn't have to be a CAT scale. however, CAT scales are preferred. the planners in that area know which places are trouble. don't even try arguing with them. stop arguing and do what you're told. things will go a LOT better if you'd shut your mouth once in your life. if i happened to be the driver who picks up a t-called trailer somewhere, i'd want to see that the previous driver spent the time to weigh and legalize the load.

just wait until you pick up a load from a very special place in mancos, co. there aren't any scales within 4hrs of that place, and boy, they take full advantage of it! going southbound, the nearest place with a scale is either santa fe or albuquerque, nm. by that time, you're waaaaaaay out of range to go back should there be an issue. the only option would be to go to the terminal in albuquerque and speak with somebody there about having it dealt with.

by the way, only swift drivers and some others on here know what you mean by "t-calling" a load. stop using the swift terminology, because not a whole lot of people understand it.

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by Kevin0915

BUT....the question is.....you are under a heavy load 44,000lbs+, you use the scale at the shipper, know you are legal, you even cross 3 weigh stations, pass every one....and under the assumption you're delivering the load, do you bother to get a '2nd opinion', and pay for a scale ticket?? I'm told i have to...and think that is wrong....

I won't get into all the BS you dealt with the desk jockies… all I can say about that is thank God I run for myself these days; but I would like to offer something I've learned from experience. Unless the shipper's scale is certified, you really don't know you're legal. Believe it or not, even crossing three scales does not ensure that you are legal. Way back when I was a company driver, I was told to go ahead and run with a load that was certified to be 800 lbs over gross and 1200 lbs over on the drives. I left Atlanta and made it all the way to Oklahoma City before the scale on I-40 just west of there nailed me. I crossed the scale in on US-72 on the MS/AL line with no problems. I crossed the scale on I-40 in West Memphis with no problem. Don’t ask me how I got away with it. I think that both times the officer in the scale house must’ve been busy with another driver, or picking his butt or whatever so he wasn’t watching the readout of my weights as I drove across the scale.

Still, with that being said, if I weren’t going to be crossing a scale and if I were delivering the load, I’d probably not weigh it, but of course the fuel to get to and from the scale as well as the cost of the scale come out of my pocket, so I have good reason to not scale a load unless I absolutely have to. As a company driver, it’s not such a big deal, especially if you can get the company to pay you for the out of route mileage involved in weighing the load.

[thbogle]

Be lucky its just every load over 30000 they want scaled! I worked for a company that wanted every load scaled! no matter what the weight! Ive also been asked for an mt b4 loading, a loaded, then another loaded before I have delivered. (batteries to be recycled from CA to IN) If the company reimburses you for a scale ticket why complain?

I have picked up trailers off a drop lot or yard that have been so out of whack on the weight that they couldnt even be reworked to get legal. And also going across 3 scales and not getting caught does not mean your not overweight on some axel. I went from Delaware to OH before getting caught and went across more than a few scales. $387 fine because I scaled at a shippers scales and trusted them. just my 1 cent

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by Uturn2001

Also ask yourself this. How would you feel about picking up a trailer with a 40,000 lb load with no scale ticket and have no idea how that trailer is loaded?

I generally won't scale a load unless it's over 42k pounds, and even then I might not do it. That's what an air bag pressure gauge is for on the tractor. So far I've never been wrong. It's nice to have a scale ticket though, but I don't let it worry me if I don't have one. I guess I should add that if it is a shipper that is known for overloading a trailer, then perhaps I might worry about scaling it, but most shippers I deal with these days load more light than heavy.

I'm not suggesting you be insubordinate and not follow the direction or your company. They sign your check so your job is to do what you're told unless it is dangerous or illegal or perhaps unethical.

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by Kevin0915

He said he saw packing tape around the flap and connector. I told him that i always do that whenever that little flap dont secure the pigtail, just as a precaution it dont come loose when rolling down the road.

Those little ten inch mini bungees a lot of drivers use to secure their CB also work great and they are reusable and not as highly visible as tape. Also, the bungees will stretch and allow the male connector to slide out of the female connector to avoid destroying a pigtail or connector if too much stress is put on the line.