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.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

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.

How stupid!! Who would unlatch a trailer or flip a binder on someone else's trailer, and why? That's just pure insane, ignorant, stupidity.

 

[Diamondpilot]

How stupid!! Who would unlatch a trailer or flip a binder on someone else's trailer, and why? That's just pure insane, ignorant, stupidity.

People do stupid stuff. I know a guy who flys a Lear Jet. He had to stop in Detroit on his way back from Canada to clear customs. In and out of the airplane in 10 minutes and when he went to take back off towards Indiana both engines blew up as he advanced the power for takeoff. They tore them down and found D Cell Batteries in both. Someone tossed the in the engines in the 10 minutes he was in the customs office. Did 2 million in damage and could have killed him, his co pilot, and 6 passengers.

Chris

 

[Iplayfarmer]

People do stupid stuff. I know a guy who flys a Lear Jet. He had to stop in Detroit on his way back from Canada to clear customs. In and out of the airplane in 10 minutes and when he went to take back off towards Indiana both engines blew up as he advanced the power for takeoff. They tore them down and found D Cell Batteries in both. Someone tossed the in the engines in the 10 minutes he was in the customs office. Did 2 million in damage and could have killed him, his co pilot, and 6 passengers.

Chris

Stupid! Any further comment from me would be inappropriate for this "famliy friendly" forum and I'd likely be banned. I'll just foment in silence and let the thread continue.

 

[lostcause]

People do stupid stuff. I know a guy who flys a Lear Jet. He had to stop in Detroit on his way back from Canada to clear customs. In and out of the airplane in 10 minutes and when he went to take back off towards Indiana both engines blew up as he advanced the power for takeoff. They tore them down and found D Cell Batteries in both. Someone tossed the in the engines in the 10 minutes he was in the customs office. Did 2 million in damage and could have killed him, his co pilot, and 6 passengers.

Chris

i had an old 50's jd420 crawler on my trailer for a couple of nights in a parking lot at a public boat landing. when i next used it, it was running on one cylinder. spark plug removal showed one plug gap totally closed. inside a cylinder were two small steel roll pins. they must have been dropped down the exhaust and filtered their way into the cylinder. they rattled around in there for some time and been caught between the piston and plug, closing the gap. lots of light damage, but it still works years later.

totally unrelated to trailering safety, but more evidence that some people shouldn't be allowed to breed.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

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.

Here is the "official" quick answer sheet from the feds.
Cargo Securement Rules - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

 

[lostcause]

Here is the "official" quick answer sheet from the feds.
Cargo Securement Rules - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

glad that's the quick answer... i'd hate to see the long one.

one point of note... the second line states: "operating in interstate commerce". i haven't read this entire article, but this is often a loophole for the weekend warrior. i had discussions with the state police about my trailer when i built it, and found that i didn't need to comply with certain regulations because it was for private use only. i stand by my other comments about trailering being a gray area for small trailers (non-cross country).

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

I have also had a 8,000# boat come forward on a 2,000# trailer.


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

In my experience, the two transom straps would be the final hope for stopping forward motion in 99.9% of the cases. Normally the boat transom overhangs the rear bunks / rollers etc and the straps (usually connected to the transom eye bolts) have to be hooked at some more forward point on the trailer. The straps may hold the boat from going backwards on acceleration or down from bouncing, but will probably allow several feet of forward motion if the front restraints break - as indicated in your example.

 

[Diamondpilot]

In my experience, the two transom straps would be the final hope for stopping forward motion in 99.9% of the cases. Normally the boat transom overhangs the rear bunks / rollers etc and the straps (usually connected to the transom eye bolts) have to be hooked at some more forward point on the trailer. The straps may hold the boat from going backwards on acceleration or down from bouncing, but will probably allow several feet of forward motion if the front restraints break - as indicated in your example.

You are 100% correct. The straps were slack and like I said the only thing that keep 8,000# of boat out of the bed of my Ford Truck was the fact that the outdrive hit the rear most trailer cross member.

Chris

 

[wvpolekat]

I guess if one was so inclined, you could fab a way to put a padlock on your binder(s). Similar to using bailing wire.

I usually put a padlock on the coupler of bumper pull trailers, ALWAYS put one on the 5th wheel.

 

[buck12]

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.

I had someone pull the pin on tilt bed trailer in a store parking lot. When I got on the highway to speed the trailer tilted scaring the heck out of me. I know the pin was in the trailer before I entered the store because two men helped me unload a heavy load that would have tilted the trailer with such weight on the rear of the trailer. Some people are mean some are stupid some are both.