load fastening

[rgraven]

I've been hauling heavy equipment with DOT authority since 1970. The law on any wheeled or track vehicle over 10000 lbs is four grade 70 chains pulling four directions.. In the US they can be 5/16 or 3/8 as long as the total rating of the chains is 1/2 the total load...Canada you must use 3/8 chains or larger. 5/16 chains are 4700 lb. rating, 3/8 are 6300. But if it's over 10k you have to have four chains. If you have an accident and don't have it tied down that way the maximum fine was 25000 per lacking chain a few years ago. Always better to overtie than undertie. Plus, if a DOT stops you, they are a lot less inclined usually to be snotty about things if they see a good job of securement.

 

[Chip812]

I've always wondered with loads in that size range, I have to wonder if you're tying down the load or tying up the trailer...

 

[rgraven]

You said a mouthful...I had a drunk run a blind intersection 110mph into my trailer about 1AM 15 years ago-totalled a 40 ton lowboy and the 4020 on it. All the chains held but they guillotined 3 of the 4 tractor axles...7 major pieces of the tractor 350 ft out in a stubble field. Another time I had the driveway give way pulling a load of logs out of the timber... Trailer rolled but stayed hooked to the tractor(tactor stayed upright,kinda). Pulled it back over and went on to Minnesota with it. Still have the old trailer and use it, but it's pretty ugly. Didn't break any chains or lose the logs that time. Sure made the trailer twisty-looking when it's not loaded, though.

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 12:52:13 01/27/14) I've always wondered with loads in that size range, I have to wonder if you're tying down the load or tying up the trailer...

All I know is that if it ain't tied down according to regulation, you get in an accident and the load come loose, injures or kills someone you can expect some time in dat big house. Guy in KY in the late 90's in violation of both the law and his companies policies dumped a load of crush cars on a car on I65 killing several people. He go something like 20 years. 2 other separate incidents in MN, one a guy loosing a trailer and another a landscape stone where both resulted in deaths and both guys got prison time.

Rick

 

[Billy NY]

I used to move larger equipment, D8K's 980 wheel loaders, 627 scrapers, 235 excavators, 12G grader, and many others. The thing that always stood out to me was that you wanted to prevent movement, allowing the load to gain momentum independent of the trailer. I would always check the mirrors for slack with wheeled equipment, tires squash, bounce, things loosen up. Its been well over 20 years now, since I've done that, I never had to deal with any problems with how I secured the load, was always heavy chains, and ratchet binders, as many as made sense. I don't know how many it would take to keep a D8K from breaking free, but as I understood it, the object was to make the load and the trailer as one, given the nature of things in motion tend to stay in motion. We never had any instruction on it, we used what was provided, and owners of this expensive equipment usually did not skimp on chains and binders. I never had any kind of incident when I drove, which was here locally and all over NJ, including Newark, NJ, Jersey City too. I'm aware there are regulations, though I am not familiar with them now, even then nothing rings a bell as being official, specified or similar, there had to be regulations, but like I said, we used what was provided, often times a driver who complained about improper things like this was fired or laid off. Some of this, with an abrupt stop, hard to figure how it would stay with the trailer, given the weight of these things, on steel, in principle it should never gain any momentum from loose tie downs, because they are all taut, no inertia started, in reality, and I'm no physics or engineering expert, I can't say I would trust any chain or chains in any kind of accident, you just hope it stays put, cause its headed your way, thankfully these drop decks/lowboys have a gooseneck LOL ! Straight up flatbed, its scary thought having any load break free.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 13:38:30 01/27/14)

(quoted from post at 12:52:13 01/27/14) I've always wondered with loads in that size range, I have to wonder if you're tying down the load or tying up the trailer...

All I know is that if it ain't tied down according to regulation, you get in an accident and the load come loose, injures or kills someone you can expect some time in dat big house. Guy in KY in the late 90's in violation of both the law and his companies policies dumped a load of crush cars on a car on I65 killing several people. He go something like 20 years. 2 other separate incidents in MN, one a guy loosing a trailer and another a landscape stone where both resulted in deaths and both guys got prison time.

Rick

People don't often stop to think that at the same time as the law is protecting the public from injury, it is also protecting the business man from lawyers