Truckers cannot verify safe load weight before driving

“I just got my CDL back in June. I got on with an Amazon relay company. I’ve always been told to weigh yourself after you pickup. I usually don’t weigh myself unless I’m traveling out of the DFW metro plex area. At the beginning I asked them how do we pay to weigh. They told me, I never have to weigh the truck and trailer. It bothers me bc I know that’s not right. It’s my first CDL job and I’m just here for the experience. Since they aren’t going to pay for the weigh tickets or refund me my money”

“In general, correct, but it's much more nuanced than that. Different people have pushed it up and down and that is based off a certain "safety" rate that adjusts slightly”

“Long story short, I recently had a dispute with the moving truck company I work for in which the truck they gave and my helper was over weight for us to drive with regular licenses. I refused to drive it and explained why and why it's illegal for me to drive without a CDL while it's door tag reads 33000lbs. They were initially insistent that it was okay to drive because it was licensed at 21000 pounds not 33000. I explained that that doesn't matter, if a DOT officer stops a driver wi”

“Been driving through Davenport IA for 5 yrs and today was the first time I have seen the scale on 280 open, and holy crap was is "open" 2 officer trucks at the west bound scales, 2 in the median, 4 at the east bound scales, 2 more in the median after with 2 more having trucks stopped on the side of the road, and 2 suvs with another truck. submitted by /u/kscountryboy85 [link] [comments]”

“Typical mega carrier bullshit. Sit around for 3 hours, go get an empty 100 miles away. FUCK ME. It’s been a bad week in general but this is the cherry on top! However, I’m still in high spirits. You know why? I spoke with some badass people today. 2 drivers, one at a fuel stop and another at a shipper. And I also met one of the coolest, most chill guards today. What I’m trying to say is this. DON’T BE A DICK! I know this job can be shitty, I felt it today. But just because of 3 cool dudes, I fee”

“Isn’t this supposed to be shouldered by the company Insirance ? Looks to me like a money making scam that has been set up by these crooks . I only tapped the post with the back of the trailer . Maybe scratched it I did not see the damage submitted by /u/East_Indication_7816 [link] [comments]”

“Tire pressure was fine this morning. Blew a tire with auto inflators on and functioning anyway. I didn't see any debris in my tires on my pre-trip or my mid-trip. submitted by /u/DingleberryOrchard [link] [comments]”

“So I got loaded yesterday, and the shipper did not have a scale. The nearest scale was about 40 miles away, so I rolled over there to get weighed in and the scale was down. So I said the heck with it, I’ll scale it in the morning. So morning time came around, the scale was working so I got on there and low and behold I was overweight. I thought maybe there was something wrong with the scale so I drove and found another one and it weighed the same. Now mind this is about 3 o’clock in the morning,”

“Reported to boss man, truck has been in the shop 3 times since, and the airbag still hasn't been changed. Am I wrong that these are exposed cords? submitted by /u/blahpblahpblaph [link] [comments]”

“Hahaha, I'd do that pretty regularly when I was hauling grain. That's what made the paychecks so good 🤣 One time I had 93k on and made it from Iowa to Indiana to where it was going and half way there, my boss called me up screaming that if I got caught, DOT would do this and that and everything else and I was just calm as a cucumber and said I knew how to get around all those coops 🤣 When you're getting paid by the weight, ya gotta do whatcha gotta do!”

“If you're getting "reworked" and the weight doesn't change, they just joyrided in your trailer with a forklift. I'd give them one more chance to make it legal before refusing the load outright.”

“Freaking conagra in Frankfort. Drop and hook ready to go. 82500 lbs total. Now I'm a fatty but I ain't that big. Went to rework. Again 82500. By the 4th rework they finally got me under 80k. Luckily they have a scale on site. Still spent half a day there with their bs. I wasn't the only one. Saw several trucks turning around to get reworked.”

“Heaviest i ever did was 106k total, was hauling concrete preforms from Woodland CA to Boise ID, but that was flat bed(fuck chaining during the summer btw) and we had permits, banners, and flags specifically to do this, the oversized part was fun though, going downhill was not”

“You got insanely lucky. But that's a huge gamble. I wouldn't recommend it. You're looking at potentially several thousand dollar fine. And your company won't reimburse you for it either. Just not worth it. Remember, it's your cdl on the line.”

“Haul that shit pussy. Joking. Heaviest I had was 98k in cattle hides.... But we had permits for those loads only up to 110k. Taking back roads from Arkansas City KS to Amarillo is a whole other ballgame (good chicken strips at the only truck stop in Oklahoma on the route I took though).”

“Literally got told that exact shit back when I was with a mega Picked up a swap trailer for another driver going home trying to be nice and they show up with a trailer at like 85000 and change and when I asked how that happened she was like well I couldn't understand what they were saying so I didn't weigh it, she had drove 600ish miles with it not caring about it Even worse most of it was on my drives and dispatch wanted me to move my 5th wheel to “see if it would help" and I had t”

“It’s both nice and frustrating. But once you’re solo it can be kinda nice to make your decisions on how to use your time and o handle your loads. And figuring out how and where you can find a good spot to take a reset or a 10. Also be sure to visit Iowa 80 if you can manage it. Lots of spots and a really cool museum.”

“When does that end? I still love the hell out of driving even with all the other bullshit. (Obligatory fuck Chicago)”

“Trust and believe there are phases. Phase one you’re going to be focusing on being safe, maneuvering, pre trips, paperwork, tandems, yada yada. Phase two is you can move the truck, now it’s about building stamina for long miles and making deadlines. Routes and finding life balance in terms of living in the truck long term. You have a groove. Phase 3 will have you thinking long term and money. Realizing the bullshit they had you doing for little to no money or straight up screwing your. Phase 4 i”

“This is golden. I’m a step decker so I’m a little different, but when I’m loading at ports or military bases, or practically anywhere there’s other drivers loading, I’ll get my shit secure and then go chat up the other’s asking if they need help or a simple how’s it going will get em chatting. We get lonely out here and chatting it up with someone else is nice. I learn so much from other drivers and I know most drives get excited when they can teach or help someone else. Don’t be afraid to ask w”

“Thank you, I've been trying to keep that mindset. The ones I've met so far are teaching me a lot.”

“Best piece of advice I can give is converse with and listen to the old school guys that have been out there for 20-30 years when you come across them out in the wild. Sure, some will be bitchy morons that were never that good at the job to begin with, but you can gleam some valuable information from those who have been there and done it. It's not like it was back in them days in many ways now, but adopting that sort of mindset early on will help you.”

“Wait till your first 34-hour reset at a truck stop with no hot water, then tell me how cool it is. Just kiddin, kinda.”

“Buddy this is the fuckin' life. Once it gets in your blood you'll never want to do anything else. Yeah it's a pain in the ass sometimes and yeah it'll push you damned hard at times but consider the cubicle or shit job life has to offer you otherwise and you'll rejoice every morning you climb in the throne. Hot coffee, tunes on the HiFi, and the freedom to make your own choices (and mistakes). What could be better?”