Bad First Impression!
Topic 32032 | Page 4
So yes, I just started with a new company this very week. I always think it's a good idea to make a great first impression.
Instead, here I sit at a weigh station in Virginia with a preloaded 36,000 lb load with the tandems slid back as far as the law allows (41ft), and I'm at more than 35,000lbs on the tandems and 22,000lbs on my drives.
What can we learn from this?
Waiting for company to figure out what they want me to do. I was unaware of this fact: Virginia will allow you to carry your load within its borders for 24hrs after an overweight citation. Unfortunately I need to go into North Carolina where another violation can be assessed if I get pulled into a weigh station in that state.
Any updates, RD?
Still pluggin' & chuggin' along, happily?
Hope SO, man!! One hiccup..does NOT deny nor define one's future!
Hope all is as supposed to be, finally!
Rock that gig, update soon.
~ Anne ~
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".
So yes, I just started with a new company this very week. I always think it's a good idea to make a great first impression.
Instead, here I sit at a weigh station in Virginia with a preloaded 36,000 lb load with the tandems slid back as far as the law allows (41ft), and I'm at more than 35,000lbs on the tandems and 22,000lbs on my drives.
What can we learn from this?
Waiting for company to figure out what they want me to do. I was unaware of this fact: Virginia will allow you to carry your load within its borders for 24hrs after an overweight citation. Unfortunately I need to go into North Carolina where another violation can be assessed if I get pulled into a weigh station in that state.
Wow thatâs insane dude. I wouldnât have thought to scale it either because until now I didnât know it was even possible for a shipper to load a trailer so incorrectly. Sorry you had to be the one to learn the lesson but thanks for sharing it with us.
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".
Wow thatâs insane dude. I wouldnât have thought to scale it either because until now I didnât know it was even possible for a shipper to load a trailer so incorrectly.
I had a 16k pound trailer that was 1,700 over on the drives because they loaded liquid totes on the nose. As soon as I hooked that one I knew something was wrong.
Had another one that was 2k over I didn't even notice until I was an hour away. It shouldn't have been that heavy so I didn't check dash gauge or even scale it. Had to cancel my meet and take it to another terminal to fix.
We can usually load upto 24k on a pup and are supposed to scale any trailer over 20k. I didn't know they could be that far over on a trailer.
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.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
A note on "fault". If fault means, "who initially screwed things up" then Bruce is correct that the shipper is at fault for loading the trailer in such an irresponsible way. I appreciate Bruce's statement as a show of support for a fellow driver.
If fault means, "who is ultimately responsible" then Bird-one is correct...I'm at fault.
Thanks to G-Town for supplying the word, "responsible" (and his kind words) to help make things clearer. And to Bird-one for further clarifying what he meant. Semantics is a pain in the butt sometimes.
Auggie, the fine was $184. The officer at the weigh station said that the fine was not mine. It is the company's, and they are the ones responsible for paying it. However, I may have signed something during orientation that said I'd liable for any fines I receive while operating a company vehicle. Not 100% sure about that. Haven't been told I'm responsible for it yet. I'll find out soon enough.
Any news on this, RD????
If so, my darn ole self missed it. Sorry, & ...
Thanks!
~ Anne ~
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.
Sorry. Didn't even see the last 4 replies on this thread.
Yeah, though. I'm surprised loaders can load a trailer so unevenly. Gotta watch out for that for sure.
Looks like I'm paying the cost of the fine, Anne. No. I did not try to dispute it or ask the company if they were liable. When I called into safety they told me-in a nice way-that I could just have the money taken out of my next paycheck. I screwed up so I kind of deserve to suffer the consequences.
Loving this job so far. The mileage per day easily averages less than 400. No worries about clock management or trying to log time "creatively" to save hours thus far. Zero live loads. All have been drop and hooks.
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
We can usually load upto 24k on a pup and are supposed to scale any trailer over 20k. I didn't know they could be that far over on a trailer.
I believe our PUPS are rated up to 40K but are limited to 20K on the drives of a day cab/single axle.
I've had 24K before and sweated every minute driving through VA but when pulled in I scaled just fine!
Day Cab:
A tractor which does not have a sleeper berth attached to it. Normally used for local routes where drivers go home every night.
The pups are limited to 28,700 on a single axle
Sorry. Didn't even see the last 4 replies on this thread.
Yeah, though. I'm surprised loaders can load a trailer so unevenly. Gotta watch out for that for sure.
Looks like I'm paying the cost of the fine, Anne. No. I did not try to dispute it or ask the company if they were liable. When I called into safety they told me-in a nice way-that I could just have the money taken out of my next paycheck. I screwed up so I kind of deserve to suffer the consequences.
Loving this job so far. The mileage per day easily averages less than 400. No worries about clock management or trying to log time "creatively" to save hours thus far. Zero live loads. All have been drop and hooks.
It's all good, RD .... We've actually been in 'email swaps' with your preferred company...as well. I really don't blame you for agreeing to the 'fairness' of paying the piper. We had one of those a few years back, as well. It happens to the best.
At least they LEFT you with that option. Sadly, Laura's (IDMtnGal's) prior company of YEARS, wouldn't give her the option of paying for her tow. GLS lost a WONDERFUL driver/gal. Pics are in her profile & on my phone; we tried to talk her out of the ditch.. sometimes no matter what the tools in your box, it's just ... a 'BAD day.' Y'all 'REAL' drivers, admit so.
I'm glad they worked with ya, man.
Thanks again, always!!
~ Anne & Tom ~
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
The pups are limited to 28,700 on a single axle
Haven't seen that number before.
I double-checked and the PUPS are GVWR at 40K pounds. Federal law limits trailers to 20K pounds on any single axle.
But I have been wrong before :)
GVWR:
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
GVWR is the maximum operating weight of a vehicle as specified by the manufacturer, minus any trailers.
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LOL I just had to pull your chain đ
How far are you from Barstow? I will be going through there again not sure when, Sunday night or Monday morning. Will be trying to get to the port in Oakland by 1500 Monday because then they close down Monday evening and all day Tuesday and won't open until Wednesday morning đ Just love running recaps that are not friendly.
Laura