When tieing down equipment and hooking trailers wrong kills people

[aczlan]

I think you did it just right, nothing overboard about it. What if you had just did the front most strap and the rear, and the front came loose. There would be nothing to keep that unit from rolling back and forth.

That was the plan, any one failure on either end (or one failure at each end) will not necessarily allow things to come loose.

Aaron Z

 

[timswi]

This is a real shame...Wonder if he was even using safety chains.

I don't see the trailer that broke loose...The last picture appears to be another vehicle as the UTV is red...The offending RZR is black....Can't see the tiedowns on that but it's a tandem with the load moved forward. no way to determine tongue weight from the picture but the motor seems to be over the axles. What am i missing?

 

[aczlan]

This is a real shame...Wonder if he was even using safety chains.
I don't see the trailer that broke loose...The last picture appears to be another vehicle as the UTV is red...The offending RZR is black....Can't see the tiedowns on that but it's a tandem with the load moved forward. no way to determine tongue weight from the picture but the motor seems to be over the axles. What am i missing?

I agree. That trailer doesn't appear to have crashed, or have even had enough space for a 2nd UTV to be on it.

Aaron Z

 

[timswi]

I agree. That trailer doesn't appear to have crashed, or have even had enough space for a 2nd UTV to be on it.

Aaron Z

I stand somewhat corrected...The tiedown on the red UTV appears to be an over the middle job..I'd never do that...After looking more closely, I think I see the single axle utility flatbed..No way anything of that size or weight should have been on that trailer...Heck, I didn't like putting my RTV1100 on a 14'x82" tandem with brakes let alone that toy. It appears to be an 8 or maybe a 10 footer..Not nearly big enough for load balancing or securing for a UTV of that size.

Mine is tied down with at least 4 3" ratchet straps going through the hitch and front push bar and suspension (Kubota directive)...Depending on the distance I might even throw a couple more on attached at other locations for good measure...OCD I guess.

I now haul mine on a 16x82' car hauler with lift gate, 18" sides and D rings welded everywhere.

 

[aczlan]

I stand somewhat corrected...The tiedown on the red UTV appears to be an over the middle job..I'd never do that...After looking more closely, I think I see the single axle utility flatbed..No way anything of that size or weight should have been on that trailer...Heck, I didn't like putting my RTV1100 on a 14'x82" tandem with brakes let alone that toy. It appears to be an 8 or maybe a 10 footer..Not nearly big enough for load balancing or securing for a UTV of that size.

You mean this picture: http://www.newslincolncounty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/double-fatal-highway-101-1-6-13.fix_.jpg?
If that was the trailer it was on, I am not surprised that it was fishtailing. The axle might be up to the task, but it is too far forward. It looks more like a converted popup camper frame than something that was intended to be a utility trailer.

Aaron Z

 

[dhagood]

Almost every load you see on a semi is not secured in a way to prevent it from becoming unsecured in an accident. I don't even think laws are written to prevent a load from coming unsecured during an accident.

van loads are typically woefully under secured. a beer load, for example, will have a short bulkhead to move the load back a bit in the trailer and will have a couple of load bars in the back to prevent the load from wandering around inside the trailer. under normal conditions, this is ok. if the rig goes over on its side however, you'll get pallets loaded with many cases of beer tossed right though the soft aluminum top of the trailer. the load can also move right through the front of the trailer if the rig hits something head on. i have pulled van loads which were well secured, but that was very rare.

flatbed loads have quite a bit of federal and state regulations defining proper securement. in general, the regulations define the working load limit as half the total weight of the freight. if you have 50,000 pounds of lumber on the deck, for example, the working load limit would be 25,000 lbs. if you then have straps with a limit of 5200 pounds, which is typical for the 4" nylon straps i typically used, a minimum of 5 straps would then be required. i used 7 as a minimum but 9 straps were typically used. you are also required to use two straps on the front bunk of lumber on the deck, two straps if a bunk is over 8' long and over 4' off the deck and the list of of these extra required straps go on and on. both state and federal DOT cops specifically look for infractions of these regulations. most states view their efforts as educational (they try to teach what is required) as opposed to trying to maximize revenue by ticketing drivers not in compliance.

as far as tying that toro down, i don't see that as overkill. that to me is just about the minimum required.

 

[creekbend]

Thanks for posting. Hopefully your thread will provide additional insight and a reminder regarding the importance of properly securing loads and equipment adequately and utilizing the correct trailer.

 

[timswi]

You mean this picture: http://www.newslincolncounty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/double-fatal-highway-101-1-6-13.fix_.jpg?
If that was the trailer it was on, I am not surprised that it was fishtailing. The axle might be up to the task, but it is too far forward. It looks more like a converted popup camper frame than something that was intended to be a utility trailer.

Aaron Z

Yup that's the one I was referring to...The other one looks ok to me (except the tie down methodology)

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Saw a guy bring a RTV900 into the dealer one day with 1 300 pound strap across the floorboard, cannot believe it sometimes.

David Kb7uns

 

[aczlan]

Saw a guy bring a RTV900 into the dealer one day with 1 300 pound strap across the floorboard, cannot believe it sometimes.

You would think that after dropping north of $13k on an RTV900 you would spend $30 on straps...

Aaron Z