Coalpail.com Forum

a word to the wise.

if you are going to be getting a TT of coal and have a set amount of money you can spend, you need to work very close and clearly with the operation you're buying from.

case in point. I called Lehigh and talked to Terry about getting specifically ( and repeatedly ) 20 tons of nut. told that was possible but would have to have the scale slip to provide final pricing.

WELL...... in the end there was 22.97 tons on the truck. that means the load cost me $581.00 more than I expected / wanted in coal and trucking.

IT's OK, I HAVE THE MONEY but, maybe someone else doesn't. and 3 tons is not what I would call a slight over run.

THIS IS NOT A SLAM ON LEHIGH. just a FWIW as a hoped help toward others.

steve

It woulda meant a WHOLE LOT to me KC. Thanx for the post.

freetown fred wrote:It woulda meant a WHOLE LOT to me KC. Thanx for the post.

you're welcome Fred.

don't get me wrong, $600. unexpected cost means something to me too. fortunately this time I just finished a big side job I had devoted to this load and it's covered.

Guys it is practically IMPOSSIBLE to get an exact load of bulk coal, or anything bulk for that matter, they would have to load it by had with a shovel to get the exact pound, there just not gonna do that, With the equipment they use it's just a ball park.

i agree with that and fully expected it could be 1 ton long. I know how they load and I use BIG equipment daily myself and can tell what I got on within 500#'s either way every time.

i want to make sure this is staying framed in the correct context. if it went UNDER it wouldn't have mattered to ME either.

BUT, there are people here for whom being informed after the truck has left the scale AND property that it's 3 TONS long and on the road could be a strain.

steve

had that happen to me on my first big load of BIT, thought I was getting 29 tons ended up with 37.5!

It might have more to do with the trucking company not wanting to truck all the way to you for 15% less. They also go by weight. I always get a quote for trucking and it is by ton. One guy who used to truck for me had an overload permit and would try to get the breaker to overload him by Pa. standards. He brought 28 tons one time. He always asked me if it would be all right. We always went right to the scale too

At Gale Mining Co,loader can give you what you want with extreme accuracy.Truck will first be loaded very close to what you want by timing the flow of coal from the breaker.At that point,truck is weighed and then topped off right on the scale,where the loader can watch the digital readout as he trickles the last few pounds on to the truck.However,as Scott suggested above,Trucker might want to figure on a full legal load to figure a cost per ton and then charge you that much for a partial load.You have to understand the trucker's situation too.Bottom line;You get a better cost per ton on a full load.

fifthg wrote:At Gale Mining Co,loader can give you what you want with extreme accuracy.Truck will first be loaded very close to what you want by timing the flow of coal from the breaker.At that point,truck is weighed and then topped off right on the scale,where the loader can watch the digital readout as he trickles the last few pounds on to the truck.However,as Scott suggested above,Trucker might want to figure on a full legal load to figure a cost per ton and then charge you that much for a partial load.You have to understand the trucker's situation too.Bottom line;You get a better cost per ton on a full load.

thanks for the input and quote Job. i'm probably getting more and will give you the next one.

steve

I will match their price any time,and beat it often.Thanks for your phone inquiry.Windyhill got another load of rice today,and his first load of nut.He puts rice coal to the ultimate test with his efm 520 settings at 7 feed and 7 air...Gale coal passed with flying colors.

hotblast1357 wrote:Guys it is practically IMPOSSIBLE to get an exact load of bulk coal, or anything bulk for that matter, they would have to load it by had with a shovel to get the exact pound, there just not gonna do that, With the equipment they use it's just a ball park.

The Big loader at lehigh has a scale on the bucket.. Usually gets me within 20 pounds.

My load was 800 pounds short of what I wanted this year.

Let me rephrase my early comment, for us little guys buying one or two loads a year, there prob not gonna spend as much time on as the big customers.

I am 110% satisfied with my business with Lehigh and leiby trucking, great group of people.

Kingcoal has a great point for new customers on here that don't understand how these things work, buying bulk is a lot different than running to your TSC and buying 40 pound bags.

Thanks kingcoal for putting this out there to the newbies.

leiby trucking

Yes, that was the name I could not remember - great guys.

1) The truckers often want to bring a full load to maximize their ability to make a profit.
2) There is a scale on the big loader which will get you closer, but many want coal directly from the breaker as it contains less fines. If taking from the breaker it is done by eye balling the load. when you have a trailer loaded with coal it is difficult to eyeball exact amounts.

If you want it to be close ask specifically for stock coal, and provide shipping by a driver chosen by you who will be ok with dumping off if over weight. Chances are it will cost you more per ton for trucking but you will be able to get very close to your desired weight in coal.

LehighanthraciteMatt wrote:1) The truckers often want to bring a full load to maximize their ability to make a profit.

this was what I presumed happened and did indeed find to be the case. the trucking went thru a broker, then an independent.

i would want a full loads worth of pay too. the fact that my preference didn't get down line is all on me and I accept that.

helping to prevent the possibility of a situation like this happening to someone else unawares and unprepared was the only purpose of this thread.

thanks,
steve