Heavy Loads, We Got You Covered

Trucking Load Dimensions The measure of things

in Equipment Check

Trucking Load Dimensions seems like it would be straight forward enough.  I mean a tape measure measures the same no matter who uses it, right? If it were only that simple, but what we do know is that shipping dimensions are very important in the trucking and certainly in the heavy haul trucking industry.  Talk to any driver or dispatcher and they can easily recite numerous examples about how they were suppose to load one thing and got something entirely different.  Unfortunately in heavy haul trucking these can be very costly mistakes for everyone, so it is essential we get load dimensions  right, accurate, honest, and timely.  Dimensions are not just for determining legal trucking dimensions.  But beyond that there is, shall we call, load dimension ettiquette.  Like golf there are do’s and don’t to golf course ettiquette, so here are some do’s and don’t’s of load dimensions.

  • Load dimensions should be in order of length x width x height and weight.  This is the standard and to stray from this can easily cause confusion.
  • Load dimensions should be in feet and inches or just inches (8’6″ or 102″) and weight should be in lbs.   Excel and websites like online conversion can make switching meters to feet and inches easy.
  • Careful expressing feet and inches measurement as a decimal. For example 8.6 feet.  Some will mean 8’6″ (legal width), and others will mean 6 tenths of a foot or 7.2 inches, 8’7″ (over-width). Divide 103″ by 12….
  • Keep measurements consistent.  Don’t use feet and inches and then weight as metric.
  • If estimating is required then estimate on the high side.  Example: about 65k lbs turns into what is really 68k lbs.  Better to use 70k lbs.  Your risking a lot by being under by 3k lbs.
  • Finally, supply all dimensions for all loads.  LTL’s (less-than-truckload) and tarping require dimensions to ship accurately, legally, and safely.

If everyone follows these simple rules we will have happier drivers, safer loads, and less expense.  In woodshop class  they say “measure twice and cut once”, wise words we can take to heart in our heavy haul trucking industry.