Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumbo
Shippers can do the math and know what the load weighs. The problem is driver #1 shows up with a day cab Freightliner pulling a new lightweight van with super singles all the way around and driver #2 shows up with a long hood Pete and a spread axle reefer. The loads are the same but the trucks are the variable in the equation. In an ideal world you get to a shipper, they weigh you, figure how many pallets you can haul, load you and make sure you are legal before you leave. Some places have this set up most dont. Now, If Hawk had a spread axle trailer, or a slider with 50 holes in it there would have been no problem. He can only run the equipment they give him.
That Nestle plant loads 22 pallets and the weight is 46,659 pounds. That's just the way it is. They tell the carriers this in advance. The carriers know this before they send the driver over there. My load instructions, every time I head to that place, make it very clear that we must be able to scale 47,000 pounds or we need to refuse the load. For me, it's not even close to being an issue. For people with a different setup, they'll never get it legal.
Re-working the load isn't really a solution, since the pallets are jammed into the front of the trailer anyway and his weight issue was more on the rear. The bottom line is that Schneider shouldn't have booked the load. I feel bad for the driver involved here, but this one is on Schneider, not the shipper. Like you said, he can only run with the equipment that they give him. He can't, apparently, haul 47,000 pounds of water like the shipper requires.