Proper trailering

[Kernopelli]

I wish I had pics and a first hand account but my son came home Saturday and said he had witnessed a crash involving a truck hauling a fairly large tractor. He said the truck was approaching a light and when he got on the brakes hard the tractor slid forward on the trailer and apparently put enough tongue weight on the truck that it eliminated any steering and braking power he had left. The truck veered off the road and smashed into a pole, totalling the truck and tractor....occupants appeared unhurt. He couldn't tell if the tractor was unsecured to start with or under secured and failed with a little forward momentum.

My son is 16 and I don't let him trailer the tractor yet. Honestly, sometimes I think he should take things more seriously...he wants to go ninety to nothing and get things done. He does have a mowing business and a fair amount of experience securing loads and pulling a trailer though and I have warned him repeatedly about the dangers and physics involved with heavier loads. He was half sick and half excited to explain what happened and to see it first hand. A good lesson for my son and an unfortunate one for the goof who could have killed an innocent motorist, himself or his passenger.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Any load, especially a wheeled one can hold a lot of potential energy. It was a lesson I learned early on flying for Fedex. I had a load that was not secured properly and when I went to take off it slid backwards. The issue was I now had to land the plane with a load I knew was going to come back forward as I braked.

I have also had a 8,000# boat come forward on a 2,000# trailer. It was a standard bunk style trailer but some idiot pulled out infront of me and I had to get on the brakes hard. It broke the winch post which was 3/8" thick 4x3 tubing right off at the weld. The only thing that keep the boat out of the bed of my truck was the out-drive hit the rear most trailer cross member. The boat was secured with a 2" 10,000# strap at the bow, 2 more at the transom, and a safety chain at the bow but all did no good when metal breaks.

Chris

 

[bota7800]

Any load, especially a wheeled one can hold a lot of potential energy. It was a lesson I learned early on flying for Fedex. I had a load that was not secured properly and when I went to take off it slid backwards. The issue was I now had to land the plane with a load I knew was going to come back forward as I braked.



Chris

OT:

I would have been concerned about aft CG. Was this in a 208?

 

[Reg]

I wish I had pics and a first hand account but my son came home Saturday and said he had witnessed a crash involving a truck hauling a fairly large tractor. He said the truck was approaching a light and when he got on the brakes hard the tractor slid forward on the trailer and apparently put enough tongue weight on the truck that it eliminated any steering and braking power he had left. The truck veered off the road and smashed into a pole, totalling the truck and tractor....occupants appeared unhurt. He couldn't tell if the tractor was unsecured to start with or under secured and failed with a little forward momentum.

My son is 16 and I don't let him trailer the tractor yet. Honestly, sometimes I think he should take things more seriously...he wants to go ninety to nothing and get things done. He does have a mowing business and a fair amount of experience securing loads and pulling a trailer though and I have warned him repeatedly about the dangers and physics involved with heavier loads. He was half sick and half excited to explain what happened and to see it first hand. A good lesson for my son and an unfortunate one for the goof who could have killed an innocent motorist, himself or his passenger.

I have seen a couple of cases where people thought they only needed to chain a tractor on to prevent it from sliding off the BACK of the trailer - Duhh.

 

[Diamondpilot]

OT:

I would have been concerned about aft CG. Was this in a 208?

Yes, it was. C208B Grand Caravan. It got my attention. Man, that was 14 years ago. I am getting old.

Chris

 

[QRTRHRS]

I could not begin to tell you how old I was, maybe 12-13 maybe younger. A friend and I were riding our bikes when we came upon an accident involving someone pulling a dirt track car.

No one was hurt. I don't recall if I heard what had actually happened but someone may have pulled out in front of the rig. The pickup was upright but the trailer was on it's side with the car still fastened on. The pickup driver was none to happy as he and some other people worked to right the trailer. All the while with a close by homeowner whinning about the hapless man wrecking in front of his house.

Never forget those images.

 

[Kernopelli]

.........the trailer was on it's side with the car still fastened on.

Now there's a man that knows how to secure a load! :thumbsup:

 

[Iplayfarmer]

So, what is the rule of thumb for tying down a load? I've always considered the load safe if each strap is rated to hold the full weight of the load. I.e. every strap on a 2,000 pound load needs to be rated to hold the full 2,000 pounds.

Of course the tie down points have to hold up too.

I remember from back in my CDL days to check the load every 150 miles. I typically check within the first few miles of a trip and retighten as necessary after the load has had a chance to shift.

 

[VitaBene]

So, what is the rule of thumb for tying down a load? I've always considered the load safe if each strap is rated to hold the full weight of the load. I.e. every strap on a 2,000 pound load needs to be rated to hold the full 2,000 pounds.

Of course the tie down points have to hold up too.

I remember from back in my CDL days to check the load every 150 miles. I typically check within the first few miles of a trip and retighten as necessary after the load has had a chance to shift.

I think those are good rules of thumb.

I haul motorcycles to bikeweeks (my fun job, you know the one that pays little!) and perform a walk around (lights, bearing heat, etc) and load check each time I fuel up. Fuel stops are anywhere from 200- 250 mile apart.

 

[wvpolekat]

I also check my load whenever I stop for fuel or whatever.

I have heard stories of people flipping binders or unlatching trailers and such at rest stops, restraunts and such.