Breakers and scales

When you go to the coal yard to get lets say 2 tons in your pickup, do they fill the truck with an estimate and then you drive to the scales or do they know how much they or dumping in so you are getting loaded sitting on the scale. I plan on making a run to Superior just don't want to be over my gvw

All breakers have large truck sized scales. You drive on the scale with your empty truck, get the truck filled (judged by eyeball to the amount you want) and then get re-weighted. You pay for the difference in weight. At Superior you just drive on the scale when you arrive, a traffic light signal blinks rapidly telling the scale operator has your weight. Then you drive across the street to the breaker to get loaded from a shoot. Wet or dry, your choice. Wet means a water valve is opened that sprays water on your coal before it comes out of the shoot. Then you let your truck drain and get re-weighed and pay. You can choose to loaded from the pile if you wish. However it's a huge loader, most of it's bucket load will not be in your truck!

The place that closed in Middletown two years ago had a streetlight hooked up to the scale. You would drive onto the scale and he would zero it and set the weight you wanted. The light would be on red. Then he would start to load you right on the scale with a tractor/front end loader. When it got to within 100 pounds of your order weight the yellow light came on and he would slow down the coal, stopping when it turned green. He usually got within 10-15# of your order.

a good loader at a breaker will get you in the ballpark of how much you want you may just have to fine tune a bit

japar wrote:just don't want to be over my gvw

If you are over your gvw and don't want to take it just ask the guy in the scale where you can shovel the extra off to get it down to the weight you want to take.

Ok I am going to Carlisle towing a small trailer of car parts. I stop at Superior on the way to pick up a load in the truck. Should I unhook the small trailer before I get on the scales or it don't matter.

it should not matter i would cover up the parts to be safe as not to get water or coal on them

It don't matter. Get coal in the truck and in the trailer.

There is space to unhook the trailer if you want.. the shed you drive through where the coal chutes are is rather narrow, and a few feet below grade,, you might find it easier to unhook rather than pull the trailer through the dips and humps and narrow passageway below the chutes. Once you take a look at it you can decide. If you decide to go with dry loading,, the loader's bucket is about 10' wide, so a lot of coal goes everywhere,, not much different than being under a coal chute..

Greg L

As OILEYMAN said a good loader operator will get you in the ballpark, get a little tougher with the larger loaders like the ones at Hudson....

Where i get coal the older guy that loaded you could get within 40-50* of what you wanted and took it nice and easy.since he died the new guy is bad. he can"t load worth s--t. it comes with experience over time. i can hall 2,300lb. on my trailer. if i don"t stop him he would put 2-3 tons on. hope he gets better for next year.

japar wrote:When you go to the coal yard to get lets say 2 tons in your pickup, do they fill the truck with an estimate and then you drive to the scales or do they know how much they or dumping in so you are getting loaded sitting on the scale. I plan on making a run to Superior just don't want to be over my gvw

First how big is your truck since most full size beds are 4x2x8 =64 cubic ft. so one ton of is around 40cubic ft You will not get 2 tons on the truck unless you have bigger sides on it my old 87 truck is only 19Inches deep so it is less then two ft deep that will be even less room Superior coal is 51lbs Per cubic ft. so 51x64=3264lbs Now as far as loading you truck when you get off the scale go across the steet to the breaker Pull under the right size coal chute they have signs Do not worry about them over filling you Most of them Guy have been filling trucks & trailers for over 30 to 40 years they know there Jobs And as far as wet or dry that will be up to you they can do both at the chute No need to go down to the pile to get your coal The two loaders they have are huge the one bucket is a 3 ton bucket the other one is a 4 ton The buckets are bigger then you whole truck If you are worried about being over weight well if you try to put two tons on you truck you are already over weight depending on what size you truck is 1/2 3/4 1 ton not counting the trailer filled with car parts if you do go there do not forget to bring a tarp and tie downs you will need to cover you load on Highways and
Interstates Now if you go to UAE Harmony Mine They load with a bobcat loader 500lb bucket 4 buckets is 1 ton they get with in 40lbsto 80lbs when they load you They use that on all Pick up and small trailers The big stuff gets loaded with the 3 ton bucket loader they is a hopper there where the fill it up and chute it in to the Tri-axels and tractor trailers dumb trailers You should be abel to keep you trailer hooked up at either place the scale will know how much coal you got And if you would sell all of the car parts you would have a empty trailer to fill up when you come back up threw

My truck is a F350 dually tagged gvw at 12,000 lbs . This truck I have not weighted my old one was around 7000lbs. The trailer I plan on taking this trip is enclosed but will not be able pick up anything on the way down, If I have enuff room on the way back I would like to get a pallet of Blaschak bagged in the trailer but by e-mail they say they only sell bagged to dealers. Can you local guys pick up bagged blaschak ? My open trailer is tagged for 8000lbs but the tires are only good for 6000lbs. So I have to up grade to load range D. The DOT in Ct. are realy pricks and I want to be all legal. A $200 - #300 ticket can wipe all the all the savings on coal. Thanks Japar

japar wrote:My truck is a F350 dually tagged gvw at 12,000 lbs . This truck I have not weighted my old one was around 7000lbs. The trailer I plan on taking this trip is enclosed but will not be able pick up anything on the way down, If I have enuff room on the way back I would like to get a pallet of Blaschak bagged in the trailer but by e-mail they say they only sell bagged to dealers. Can you local guys pick up bagged blaschak ? My open trailer is tagged for 8000lbs but the tires are only good for 6000lbs. So I have to up grade to load range D. The DOT in Ct. are realy pricks and I want to be all legal. A $200 - #300 ticket can wipe all the all the savings on coal. Thanks Japar

OK your truck can handel the weight but you bed does not have enough cubic ft to put 2 tons of call in you would need 80 cubic ft for 2 tons As far as bagged coal that is how blaschak Runs the business the do not want to undercut there dealer's You might be able to buy 10 bags but that will be it If you want loose bulk they will sell what ever you want a Pallet has 60 40lbs bags 2400lbs to a pallet if I go with you I might be able to get you more bags Getting back to you truck bed 4x2x8 = 1.6 tons 4x3x8= 2.4 tons 4x4x8= 3.2 tons 4x1x8= .08 tons you Just don't have the room unless you put bigger sides & back on it then you will fit it in You can Put post in in the holes on the bed rail say 6 four footer's one foot down inside and three foot sticking out then cut playwood screw it onto the post sides and across the back unless you have a bedliner then the holes maybe covered Other then that you will only get 1 1/2 tons in your box

I get 2 tons of rice coal in my dodge ram without any problem. No additional side panels either. It is humped up in the center.