California Bridge Law

Not much really beside standard stuff: get loaded (with experience and particular product You can have general idea how to place pallets), slide to be CA legal and go to closest scale (Cali, specially produce areas have small non CAT scales, so it is good idea ta ask and do research before hand).Unless You are O/O and have tractor and trailer with own scales.

 

6th hole? Some trailers it may be the 2nd or 3rd hole. All trailers vary.

Shippers that ship to California SHOULD know about this and load accordingly., not that they always do it right.

Just CYA and make sure it's Cali legal or don't haul it.
Never understood how 53' trailers roll down the highway with tandems all the way back. If you have to stretch it that far back to get your trailer legal, that's one lopsided load.

 

Sam's Club is good for that. I've had to move the tandems almost all the way back, which is always fun when you're making turns on state highways in small towns.

 

With typical 53 foot trailers, California is 40 feet from kingpin to center of rear axle, maximum. Many trailers have this point marked on them on driver side.

Don't get too wrapped up in "number of holes". This often varies trailer to trailer. Measure if you have to.

With heavy loads, many loaded past the 48 foot mark may be problematic unless the light part of the load is in the rear.

 

Isn't this the kingpin-to-axle distance law?

I thought the Bridge Law was something else.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

And BTW. For the purposes of California, this is not really part of "a bridge law" but rather a KP to RA limit to keep 53 foot trailers from tearing up property in tight turns and ramps.

 

You can start before you even go to cali. Get in the habit of asking how many pallets and roughly how heavy each one is. Tell them how you want it loaded and see how the weight works for runs that don't enter cali. Some states -MD comes to mind - has a maximum 35% rear overhang so you can't always slide em all the way to the front and call it a day. Also watch for sideways loaded or chimney block or straight in or even smaller sized pallets (grapes sometimes). You will get the hang of it.

Get 20 boards at 2100 each for example you can do 1-2-1-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2 for 11 length wise spaces used if straight in and you should be good. I kinda like single single in the nose and all the doubles together and a few inches on each side so they don't touch the walls..

 

Bridge Law is when certain axle groupings are too CLOSE together for the weight your carrying. Something I've never paid attention to which might get me in trouble someday. I've been close to 80,000 with my tandems all the way forward which may or may not have been in violation of the bridge law.

 

Verify the 40 foot mark by measuring 10 feet from the back edge of the trailer not including the guard around the lights. Don't trust a sticker someone slapped on the trailer. With the center of the hub of the rear tandems on that mark you'll be CA legal assuming your axle and gross weights are legal.

Frank