Are Your Trucks Carrying Too Much Weight?
Years of dealing with load shifts in Shenandoah VA have taught us the pitfalls of dealing with overloaded trucks.
Traveling with a load that’s too heavy can have a number of repercussions for your drivers and your business:
- Fines and criminal charges — Some states levy fines upwards of $10,000 to truck drivers who carry more than legal load. Companies can be fined as well. And in some states, drivers can even face jail time for carrying too much weight on the interstate.
- Safety issues — Excess weight can affect how the truck performs, putting your cargo, your driver, and other motorists at risk. For example, a truck that’s too heavy can go down hills much faster than a driver anticipates, requiring more breaking force to stop. Cargo can shift, causing improperly distributed loads. And tires can blowout while hauling too much weight, leading to loss of control or rollovers.
- Loss of income — Many weigh stations will shut down a driver’s journey if the truck exceeds the allowable weight, thus impacting delivery schedules and costing you time and money.
These are all, of course, bad outcomes, but there are steps you and your drivers can take to avoid them. For example:
- Fuel weight is important. Take this into account while measuring the weight of the load. It might be better to refuel a little at a time instead of filling the tank all at once.
- Make sure loads are distributed evenly and properly secured. Improperly fastened tarps and ties can damage the vehicle, cause the load to shift or fall off the truck.
- Don’t carry more than is necessary. Overloading a truck with needless items will add weight you can’t afford. Discard what you don’t need and load only what is required.
- Don’t try to tackle every job on your own. Learn to delegate, naming a trusted employee your “weight czar” whose job it is to ensure none of the trucks are carrying too much. And make sure your drivers understand load distribution, communicate with the appropriate authorities, and know who to contact if they run into any trouble while making their deliveries.
- Try to obtain an overweight permit for situations were driving an overweight truck can’t be avoided. The permit will need to cover the loads in question and you may also need to adhere to certain requirements for vehicle size.
Load shifts in Shenandoah, VA
Are you dealing with load issues? Shenandoah Towing and Recovery can help. Whether you need load shifts in Shenandoah, VA or have a driver at a weigh station with a too-heavy load, we have the tools and expertise to help you shift your load and distribute your weight properly.
We can also assist with load transfers or transfer a portion of your cargo to another trailer, and make the adjustments to your load to help you get back on the road.
Our load shifts are provided to large and small trailers and flatbeds. Our services include:
- Unloading and reloading equipment properly
- Redistributing load appropriately
- Transporting any overload to their final destination
- Removing overload at weigh stations
- Use our forklifts on flatbed trailers to redistribute your load
- Unhook piggybacked trucks and rehook them
Contact us today to learn more. We look forward to helping you get your drivers and their cargo where they need to go.