Are the scales still there on the A17 at Sleaford? The Cheerio cafe was always packed with some trucks there for hours when the ministry were open for business… 
switchlogic:
Muckaway:
lancpudn:
LOL the freridgerated trailer guy on Irish plates who was weighed in front of me wasn’t going anywhere, he had hanging beef in the fridge van accompanied by plate steel on the floorHe was grossly over the axle limits.
Congratulations on reviving one of the oldest driving myths/driver BS.
Still amazes me not only how many people actually do believe this story but how many spout it as fact because they reckon they witnessed it
Not entirely without merit.
Some, Ehm, friends of mine would load 3 trailers for Athens. 2 with just over 20tons of paint and the 3rd with groupage then “they” would split the groupage over the top of the paint trailers.
This was in the day of 38ton with 4X2 tractors and tri axle trailers which could run at 40ton legal on the continent so were only 8ton overloaded spread across 5 axles. Not exactly the legendery 60ton gross weight I will agree but saw us, I mean them, get paid for 3 loads for the price of 2 on the outward leg.
AndrewG:
Are the scales still there on the A17 at Sleaford? The Cheerio cafe was always packed with some trucks there for hours when the ministry were open for business…
No need to wait for hours at the Cheerio (me ducks) Café, just turn off and go through Cranwell. 
AndieHyde:
switchlogic:
Muckaway:
lancpudn:
LOL the freridgerated trailer guy on Irish plates who was weighed in front of me wasn’t going anywhere, he had hanging beef in the fridge van accompanied by plate steel on the floorCongratulations on reviving one of the oldest driving myths/driver BS.
Still amazes me not only how many people actually do believe this story but how many spout it as fact because they reckon they witnessed it
Not entirely without merit.
Some, Ehm, friends of mine would load 3 trailers for Athens. 2 with just over 20tons of paint and the 3rd with groupage then “they” would split the groupage over the top of the paint trailers.
This was in the day of 38ton with 4X2 tractors and tri axle trailers which could run at 40ton legal on the continent so were only 8ton overloaded spread across 5 axles. Not exactly the legendery 60ton gross weight I will agree but saw us, I mean them, get paid for 3 loads for the price of 2 on the outward leg.
I didn’t say trucks never run overloaded (I’ve done so myself) just that this particular story is complete and utter bobbins
no doubt in the dark mists of truckie time there could well have been a mad paddy with a load of hanging that had the opperchancity to slide a load of plates on the floor knowing where he was tipping and could get them dragged out the back or something similar,thats became the benchmark for the rest of the tales…ive never really noticed anyone running out of eire with steel to any degree though?..you wouldnt think you could ship out of rosslaire on a sunday and get so ■■■■■■ in the pub waiting on the ferry that you ended up on the boat and forgot to put the truck on with you? thats one of the classics though it happened.i believe the dude had to come back on the same ferry then ship out again.his sunday start was on the wed…pure paddy class,and long may it continue. 
Still amazes me not only how many people actually do believe this story but how many spout it as fact because they reckon they witnessed it 
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Not entirely without merit.
Some, Ehm, friends of mine would load 3 trailers for Athens. 2 with just over 20tons of paint and the 3rd with groupage then “they” would split the groupage over the top of the paint trailers.
This was in the day of 38ton with 4X2 tractors and tri axle trailers which could run at 40ton legal on the continent so were only 8ton overloaded spread across 5 axles. Not exactly the legendery 60ton gross weight I will agree but saw us, I mean them, get paid for 3 loads for the price of 2 on the outward leg.
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I didn’t say trucks never run overloaded (I’ve done so myself) just that this particular story is complete and utter bobbins
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As the heavy oil canine has also pointed out, that someone has probably tried it. I know have to a lesser degree
My own version I heard was lead ingots so these “stories” do get inflamed by those trying to appear big and clever.
This is true. My dad sought to cash in doing internals whilst in Saudi arabia by moving bags of cement from the port to a city building site. 4x2 Seddon Atkinson and a tandem spread axle trailer was loaded and then directed to the weighbridge to see the scale just short of 80tons.
It could be done.
Mazzer2:
Juddian:
All the checkpoints that I have been in are all axle weigh bridges then you get your running total once all axles have been weighed
Just shows how often i’ve been weighed then (must be 20 years, last time Risby Nr Bury St Edmunds), cos some axle weighers have vanished and its so rare to get pulled i’d assumed they’d been replaced.
axletramp:
AndrewG:
Are the scales still there on the A17 at Sleaford? The Cheerio cafe was always packed with some trucks there for hours when the ministry were open for business…No need to wait for hours at the Cheerio (me ducks) Café, just turn off and go through Cranwell.
‘Me ducks’…ah yes, Eileen wasnt it? Is she still about? She and her husband used to live at the back of the cafe so i remember.
Re the diversion through Cranwell, wasnt this policed though when the scales were open?
Just shows how often i’ve been weighed then (must be 20 years, last time Risby Nr Bury St Edmunds), cos some axle weighers have vanished and its so rare to get pulled i’d assumed they’d been replaced.
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Lol I’m having a good year this year just the two pulls although there is still 2 months to go
AndrewG:
Re the diversion through Cranwell, wasnt this policed though when the scales were open?
They’re a pro-active bunch of chaps…
The Sleaford ‘team’. If they’re not sitting on the slip road from Horncastle onto the A17 westbound, they’ll be right out front of the weighbridge pulling the eastbound traffic. However, every now and then they’ll wander around Cranwell for a little ‘drive out’.
Those who wish to avoid having a conversation with them, can take another more tortuous (but legal) route away from the aforementioned weighbridge.
I was overtaken on the climb M62 Westbound near Ainley Top by West Yorkshire police
and they put on there Follow me sign and I followed them onto the Ainley Top weighbridge
were they proceeded to weigh me, I had to drive slowly over the scales and then I was informed I was 1.5 ton overweight was told that I was being reported for the offence
I then refused to move the vehicle until either trading standards or vosa re weighed me
as the 2 policemen were not trained in the use of a dynamic weighbridge
Because I wouldn’t move they got their accident investigation officer out because they said they could hear an air leak on the trailer, I was prosecuted and at Halifax magistrates
I was cleared of the overloading and defective brake charges and was paid costs and loss of earnings. I’m going back to the early nineties now.
dieseldog999:
no doubt in the dark mists of truckie time there could well have been a mad paddy with a load of hanging that had the opperchancity to slide a load of plates on the floor knowing where he was tipping and could get them dragged out the back or something similar,thats became the benchmark for the rest of the tales…ive never really noticed anyone running out of eire with steel to any degree though?..you wouldnt think you could ship out of rosslaire on a sunday and get so ■■■■■■ in the pub waiting on the ferry that you ended up on the boat and forgot to put the truck on with you? thats one of the classics though it happened.i believe the dude had to come back on the same ferry then ship out again.his sunday start was on the wed…pure paddy class,and long may it continue.
was the "sunday " start driver
not a well know character that drove a big Ford?
dieseldog999:
about 1980 or thereabouts,round about midnightu the hill i got stuck in the snow with the road recently being closed in front of me on the A69 at greenhead bank ■■ i think…where the speed camera is heading to hexam though i was heading for carlisle direction.cop with range rover was not leting anyone try to go up unless they were loaded for traction with him using a chain as a helper( obviously those days are long gone now).however,i digress,back to the story…this mad paddy 3 trucks back breezes up to the cop and offers to head up and lay the tracks for us to follow with the reasoning behind this heroic act being,that although 32 ton was the limit,he was grossing over 46 ton with paperwork to prove it,and so long as he got up,then we could all follow in the squashed snow tracks…plod let him get on with it on condition he didnt stop till he made the boat. i think some of these paddys sometimes ran just a wee bitty heavy.it wasnt uncommon to be running 20 ton of steel plates with 20 pallets of whatever on the top.with me it was mostly tins of food,r coca cola.completely nailed to the road.
yeah used to work tractor dealer in Carlisle,early 80s ,was regular stop for the bhoys on way to boat,plate,not sheet,steel on flat bed,tractors,diggers chained on top,engine blocks an other bits of what we considered scrap steel filling every available space,always remember one bloke had soft super single on trailer,asked if he wanted Treadfast lol calling out,‘not the time boat sails in couple hours’!