Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[zing]

This picture reminds of one day when we moved here 25 years ago and I had a new Ford F150. I needed some pea gravel and called a local place and got everything arranged for a yard and they said they would load it. I called my wife and asked her to go pick it up. When I came home after work that day my truck was sitting in the driveway looking about like this as it had close to two yards in it. i went inside and asked my wife and she said they had loaded it way in the back end and when she left it was very hard to steer and she had gone in the ditch on the way home. She realized what was wrong and got in the back and pushed it with her hands to move it forward as much as she could and then drove it out of the ditch and drove slowly home.

Of course I changed my clothes quick and went out and got the load off as soon as possible and was hoping the springs would come back - which they did and I could not find any permanent damage. The next day I had a chat with the owner of the place about loading a vehicle improperly and letting it go out on the road.

I was impressed that my wife realized that moving the weight forward would solve her problem as things like this are not her forte.

I am hella impressed with our wife too Creamer. Not just realizing what to do, but she went out and did it. Mine would have been on the phone in a heartbeat, and if I couldn't get there to solve the problem asap she would have just left it there and cabbed home. I guess 25 years ago cell phones weren't as much of an option though.

 

[KubotainNH]

I didn't get a picture but today I saw a Toyota pickup (older Tundra I think) pulling a large dual axle trailer. The trailer looked like it was more than the truck should be pulling but the bed of the truck was full of slabs of slate like rock plus the trailer had it too. I was thinking he she have put it all on the trailer instead as that thing was crazy low in the rear and high in the front. If it had a 3 ball hitch it would have been dragging like the picture earlier, is that a safety feature?

I didn't even think to look if it was strapped down.

 

[PhysAssist]

Most flat deck tow trucks just use the winch to hold the front of their load in place. Don't know if it is electric or hydraulic, or if that would make a difference, but they usual just haul it up, level the deck, put chains on the back, then draw it tight with the front winch, then take off. Basically the same thing this guys seems to have done, although he is using only one chain doubled back for the rear of the trailer and certainly lower gauge cable and equipment.

I saw something similar to what you described- a LARGE JD mower facing backwards on the flatbed, front chained down using a chain looped into the bed's integrated hold-downs and large J-hooks clamped onto the front mower deck, and held in tension by the winch pulling on the rear of the mower- so far so good, right?

BUT, the winch is only connected to the mower by a looped nylon tow-strap, with the winch hook pulling on the loop, and the ends either hooked or tied to the mower's rear axle.


PS: I was driving, so no pictures...

 

[TMGT]

Other then not having a secondary chain on the front what was the problem?
There are a lot of soft tie downs out there that are rated for holding equipment.

 

[Sysop]

Gotta know your winch. Commercial winches are rated to hold a load, but consumer grade winches are not. You'll rip the guts out of a standard consumer grade winch putting a load on it then bouncing down the highway.

 

[TMGT]

Gotta know your winch. Commercial winches are rated to hold a load, but consumer grade winches are not. You'll rip the guts out of a standard consumer grade winch putting a load on it then bouncing down the highway.

It's not so much the winch I worry about but the wire rope, had too many give up while making a pull. I also didn't like putting the bouncing load on the winch going down the road, ever priced out a replacment hyd. winch!

I don't trust winch cables for tie downs.

 

[4570Man]

The cable on my rollback winch is 1/2 inch. A quick google search says it’s breaking strength is 21,000 pounds. You could lift the whole truck loaded 2 tons past GVW with that. Find something else to worry about. You don’t see busted hydraulic winches laying around every day and virtually every tow truck does that. I think that’s also in the find something else to worry about category.

 

[TMGT]

The cable on my rollback winch is 1/2 inch. A quick google search says it’s breaking strength is 21,000 pounds. You could lift the whole truck loaded 2 tons past GVW with that. Find something else to worry about. You don’t see busted hydraulic winches laying around every day and virtually every tow truck does that. I think that’s also in the find something else to worry about category.

And a working load of ~4800lbs for 6x19 fc which is the standard rope for rollbacks, that's when new and most are far from new. As for broken/damaged hyd. winches, I've seen enough that it's worth taking the extra 5min to properly secure the vehicle.

Also it is the law to have another tie down other then the winch line in all the states I operated in and every one I know of.

Just because other people do it and get away with it doesn't make it right or safe.

If I needed the winch to offload I would typically tie down the front and slack off the winch cable without removing while in transport. I was a small company and couldn't afford the cost and down time of broken equiment, or the ticket for an improperly secured load.

 

[Dftodd]

Here's something I noticed over the weekend. Thought this was an isolated case, but after driving 500 miles that day, and passing 6 other moving trucks towing a car with the same set up, I realized this is the normal for them.

Nothing on the back of the vehicle. Front end has two ratchet straps made to bind car tires that went over the top of the tire.

Thinking it's an uneducated business practice since the rear of the trailer is missing spots for tie downs.

All they have is a 1/4" check chain on this one. Others that I passed didn't have anything on the back.

 

[aczlan]

Here's something I noticed over the weekend. Thought this was an isolated case, but after driving 500 miles that day, and passing 6 other moving trucks towing a car with the same set up, I realized this is the normal for them.

Nothing on the back of the vehicle. Front end has two ratchet straps made to bind car tires that went over the top of the tire.

Thinking it's an uneducated business practice since the rear of the trailer is missing spots for tie downs.

All they have is a 1/4" check chain on this one. Others that I passed didn't have anything on the back.View attachment 559327

That is how Uhaul has their trailers setup. I suspect that its due to loads under 10k only needing 2 tie downs, but I agree that it seems foolish.

Aaron Z