By Ron Moore
Stafford County truck driver, columnist
Special to the Tribune

On Wednesday morning, I found myself unloading once again in Sioux City, IA. I received a call about my next load, and it seemed like a great plan—pick up a load in Ft. Dodge to deliver in Bismarck, ND. There was also a John Deere load in Valley City, ND, heading to McPherson, KS.

Like all good plans, this one didn’t go as expected. My load in Ft. Dodge wasn’t ready until 5 PM. By the time I got it secured, scaled, and drove to a truck stop, several hours had passed. Unfortunately, my load was 440 pounds over the gross weight limit.

I was concerned about the weigh station in South Dakota. It might not sound like much, but it all depends on the officer. I weighed it again before crossing the scale—I was now 220 pounds over. That made me feel a little better. Luckily, I made it through the scales.

I didn’t get the load to Bismarck until Friday morning. Rolling up the tarps small enough to fit into the side box of the trailer was a challenge. The wind was strong enough to move them across the parking lot, and the temperature was in the single digits.

I finally made it to Valley City in the late afternoon. When I checked my load, I realized it was going to be tough to secure. I did what I could until it got dark. It was still bitterly cold, with the wind blowing.

Saturday morning, I looked in my mirror and noticed that a wheel hub on top of the load was sticking out over the side of the trailer. When John Deere loads a legal shipment, it needs to be legal. If you get caught with a wheel hub sticking out three inches, the driver pays the ticket—not John Deere.

There’s only one industry I know of where the shipper and receiver are responsible for what they load—your local grain elevator. If they overload a truck or accept an overloaded truck, they can be fined. This rule helps ensure that everyone operates legally.

Now I have to wait until Monday for them to make the load legal. Sunday morning, it was -9°F, and Monday morning, it’s supposed to be -26°F. I shouldn’t be stuck here, but because they haven’t learned to check the sides of the trailer, I’m the one sitting in the cold.