We had a really nice drive from Corning, CA to Aurora, Or on Friday. Just before we got to Weed, CA, we received a QualComm message to go to the truck stop in Weed and see if we could scale a load for another driver. The remainder of the 20 miles we had left to go before getting to Weed, both Craig and I tried to figure out just what might be the problem. When we arrived and found the driver, we found out that he had taken a load from another driver and used that driver's scale ticket instead of scaling out the load with his truck. Upon hitting the scales in Madras, OR, he soon found out how costly that error was.
When he got pulled into the scale house, he was told he was 1600 pounds over 80,000. He had the scale ticket from the other driver, but of course that was not with his truck. He did receive a ticket, a reasonable $80 one, unlike the one he would receive in California had he gone much further than Weed and hit the scales in Dunsmuir. Both Craig and I couldn't figure out how there was a 1700 pound difference from the previous truck to his truck, so we hooked up to his trailer and scaled with our truck. It was still 1400 pounds over, but we had a full tank of fuel and an APU and he only had half a tank and no APU.
That still didn't answer the mystery, but we called in our findings, were thanked for our help, and we continued on our way. We guessed that they would have to have another truck that was going the same way maybe off load some product in order to get the load down to where they needed to be legally. We rarely go without scaling a load, even when another driver gives us a copy of his scale weights. We always like to play it safe and not have the worry of getting pulled into a weigh station.
Our drop in Clackamas, OR went smoothly, as always, and with the pre plan we had received the night before, knew we would be going to Eugene, OR to the Oregon Ice Cream Co. Now you know the reason for the title "Cruel and Unusual Punishment". That just isn't fair to have over 24,000 pounds of ice cream and not get even a little tiny taste of my favorite dessert!
We will have 5 different stops on this load, Rocklin, CA - Fresno, CA - Chino, CA - Hawthorne, CA & Moreno Valley, CA. The delivery times are extremely tight and we will be doing some night driving to make the early 4am delivery times for the first drops on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both Craig and I love a challenge of making things work, and I'll have to take on the challenge of having all that ice cream within my grasp and not being able to have any of it!
6 comments:
OMG! Aren't you considered agents with seals to get into that?! Nobody's going to miss 10 or 20 GALLONS of ice cream, are they? Don't you lose a little to evaporation or something???!!!??? lol
Good luck with the will power and beautiful photos!
C'ya on the Hiways!
Good policy to weigh every load. It takes a lot of the stress out of crossing the scales doesn't it?
Good luck with your time challenge on the load. You'll just have to reward yourself for good behavior later.
Do you ever meet any other truck drivers that have a blog?
Anon -
No, I have not had the pleasure yet to meet any of the drivers of the blogs that I read, nor have I come across any drivers in person that have admitted to having a blog.
Ice cream and over-weight loads. I think the other guy must have eaten a lot of ice cream himself before he picked up that load from the other driver. :)
Anyway, I have a quiestion for you that is completely not related to this topic. LOL We just bought a houseboat and need it moved and I know you guys used to be on the boat moving side of the business. I need it to go about 830 miles and the first bid I received was around $4200! That seems kinda high to me. I know you aren't doing that anymore, but I thought maybe you guys had some contacts you could set me up with or something. Any help you guys might be would be appreciated!
Still love your blog and check it everyday. Funny thing, about two weeks ago we were up in Oregon and stopped in Troutdale. The next day I believe it was, you guys were in the same place! I'm always a day late!
My now deceased M-I-Law loved the town of Weed for some reason. We have never taken the time to explore the place...it looks like it only has one weed and I need two to find a place interesting.
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