Q. I have rented a 26-foot-long box truck with a total 26,000-pound limit three times recently to haul non-commercial loads to Ohio. I have a Class C driver’s license, the one most California motorists have. The place I rent the truck from does not have a truck scale that can be used after loading. I can find no commercial truck scales in Orange County to check the gross weight of the vehicle before departing on a trip. The first California truck scales encountered on the trip is on I-40 at the Colorado River, which is a poor time to learn of being over weight. I shudder at the thought of finding out being one pound or a few hundred pounds over the limit there. What happens if it is over weight by one pound or a few hundred pounds? Is the truck impounded?
— Fred Muesegaes, Westminster
A. There are businesses that will weigh your truck to ensure you are OK with the overall pounds — and make sure your weight is evenly distributed. Google “public weigh scales near me” to round up a couple of them. Honk called two: One would charge you $12.50, and the other $15.
Traditional pickup trucks are exempt from having to go into the scales. But, generally, moving trucks with an enclosed back need to go into the weigh station when it is open.
If uncertain whether you need to hit the scales, call the Border Division headquarters at 858-650-3600 and ask for the Commericial Unit. CHP Officer Jake Sanchez told Honk a CHP officer or a commercial-vehicle specialist will help you and can offer suggestions to keep your loaded truck legal.
Oftentimes, Sanchez said, when a truck is over the weight limit it isn’t about how much the truck is holding. It is about where the weight is in relation to the axles. The load needs to be distributed property.
The CHP’s scales can detect if there are too many pounds in one part of the enclosure.
If a truck is indeed overweight, Fred, the officer can warn or cite the driver. If safe, the driver might be allowed to continue on. At times, overweight trucks are forced to sit and wait until another truck can swing by and grab part of its load before returning to the road.
“They wouldn’t be allowed to leave until they corrected that weight,” Sanchez said.
Q. Dear Honk: Is the lane closure on the southbound 55 Freeway transition to the 73 southbound a permanent closure? I travel that daily. The backup on the 55 can stretch for a couple of miles in the morning. Doesn’t seem reasonable at all.
— Les Archer, Costa Mesa
A. No, not a permanent closure — Caltrans is overseeing an improvement project there.
“One lane of the connector at a time will be closed for the safety of the work crews and commuters,” said Nathan Abler, a Caltrans spokesman. “From time to time, there will be a need to close both lanes of the connector, but this will only be done at night.”
The project began in November.
The state’s transportation agency has a different take than yours on the lane closure’s impact, Les.
“Caltrans inspectors have noted that the queue of traffic heading onto the connector has a minimal impact on mainline traffic,” Abler said. “The expected completion for this project is late 2023.”
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
Source: Orange County Register
Be First to Comment