Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[Industrial Toys]

Our society is alway just so stupid. Like the POLICE have these Blitzes that inconvenience thousands of people and catch a very few. Just like they should park outside a bar on a Friday night, they should park outside a big box lumber store on a Saturday and hand out fines.

 

[Diggin It]

How rigid are the roofing panels? May want to pick up a few 12 foot 2x's to support that 5-6 foot over hang.

80 lb sacks ?

Yep, the idea of putting something like bags of concrete or softener salt on the front of the trailer as ballast is a good one. And so is the suggestion to put a couple 2x4 (or 2x6, etc) under the steel.

The five rib panels will be stiff enough since there will be 8 strapped together from the mill. There will also be a few mill bent trim pieces in the bundle.

Yes, 80s. And I may grab a couple of pallets from the roofing place to add forward and center load. I need those for firewood anyways and they give them away free.

 

[4570Man]

80 lb sacks ? These little 50 lb sacks are getting common and might need a few more of that weight size.

When the unit cost is the same who would want 80s? It’s hard enough getting a 60 in the cement mixer.

 

[Diggin It]

I usually buy the broken ones, so I get them at half price. Most of them are only slightly damaged, not badly enough to make them hard(er) to handle.

 

[Travelover]

I need to figure out how best to do the next load of roofing though. Length of panels will be 13'6" and there will be 8 of them. At about 2 pounds per foot, the total load should be less than 300 pounds which is well within the 1,000 pound trailer capacity. But there will be about 5-6 feet hanging off the back of the 8 foot trailer. That will also put the weight behind center and lift the tongue. If I pull the stake sides and front, I can shift the load forward a foot or so at the most which might help some, but not a lot.

My plan is to get 3 or 4 bags of concrete (which I need anyways) to stack on top of the metal sheets forward of center to to bring the load back down on the tongue and hitch.

Flagging will handle the marking the extra length off the trailer.


Thoughts?

I had a similar problem. I put a plastic 55 gallon barrel in front, secured it and filled it with water. Trailer was stable.

 

[goeduck]

Any time I've loaded lumber at a big box store has been pretty much the same. They help me get the stuff off the cart on to the trailer, then skeedaddle right quick. They do not stick around to help with any portion of the tie down.

They help load? Must be a regional thing :confused3:

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Many mattresses transported on the roof of a car, and many children conceived in the back seat. You just never know when the accident will happen.

 

[lilranch2001]

No doubt

 

[GLyford]

the 1,000 pound trailer capacity.

Thoughts?

With everything still attached to the tow vehicle, try to pick up the trailer tongue.

Assuming your trailer itself weighs 300 lbs or so, 10% of 1300 would be 130 lbs., or just barely movable on the slack of the hitch and of the hitch bar in the receiver. If the trailer and your estimated 300 lb. load comes to 600, then there should still be about 60 lbs. on the hitch/receiver. So if the tongue feels like it weighs a lot less than that, or worse, if you need to press/step down on the tongue to move it around on the slack, you would need more tongue weight.

This trick doesn't work as well as trailer weights get heavier, so the next step for a heavier trailer I guess would be if you can budge it at all, you need more tongue weight.

I also like the idea several others have mentioned of calibrating the spring rate of your truck to know when the body drops X inches, you have applied Y more pounds at the hitch.

While a tongue scale is probably the best answer, there are ways to make estimates that don't require unhitching.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Interesting everyone initially blamed the trucker, then it came out 19 year old guy lost his mattress on the road and kept going. 2 people die because it came off, he gets charged with criminal negligence causing death.

Amen! I've ran upon mattresses, shovels falling out the back of trucks, and extension ladders while riding my m/c. Believe me - there is nothing funny about getting those kinds of surprises. Each have their own near-death mental flashbacks.

 

[paulfun9]

Not so sure. People are generally stupid. I have sold equipment and not allowed someone to leave without securing it properly, giving them or selling them straps.

The not allowed part is what could cause some concern. I have seen this play out really bad a couple times! Myself having had concerns in the past I strongly recommended they not do something, and use more straps or suggest a better method. I have even driven one guy to a local store to buy real straps but I strongly suggest loosing the word ALLOW as with some people you may find yourself in a real bad position if trying to assert authority you don稚 have over thier actions.

 

[LouNY]

With everything still attached to the tow vehicle, try to pick up the trailer tongue.

Assuming your trailer itself weighs 300 lbs or so, 10% of 1300 would be 130 lbs., or just barely movable on the slack of the hitch and of the hitch bar in the receiver. If the trailer and your estimated 300 lb. load comes to 600, then there should still be about 60 lbs. on the hitch/receiver. So if the tongue feels like it weighs a lot less than that, or worse, if you need to press/step down on the tongue to move it around on the slack, you would need more tongue weight.

This trick doesn't work as well as trailer weights get heavier, so the next step for a heavier trailer I guess would be if you can budge it at all, you need more tongue weight.

I also like the idea several others have mentioned of calibrating the spring rate of your truck to know when the body drops X inches, you have applied Y more pounds at the hitch.

While a tongue scale is probably the best answer, there are ways to make estimates that don't require unhitching.

Or you can get fancy and have a tongue weight reading always available;
Hitch Scale | etrailer.com

 

[Code54]

I personally have a weight safe hitch on my truck. Soon as the trailer is attached I can look at the scale and get a good idea of my tongue weight. Very quick and easy and take some of the guess work out of the equation.

 

[cqaigy2]

As far as the big box store employees giving advice on loading and securing. Not surprisingly, some would have useful comments, some not so much, some haven't a clue. Just like some of them know the electrical very well and other plumbing. We are lucky, in that the store hear will help load, if you tell them where to put it, but won't secure.

 

[duramaxsky]

I personally have a weight safe hitch on my truck. Soon as the trailer is attached I can look at the scale and get a good idea of my tongue weight. Very quick and easy and take some of the guess work out of the equation.

That's what I have as well. My truck has auto air bags so it always sits at the same height. When I picked up my 2025R I put the bucket on the forks. I grabbed a 1" watchstrap out of my truck to secure the bucket to the forks. My sales rep immediately told me he can't let me leave with the tractor tied down with those. He knows i am a truck driver and seemed a little shocked. I got that strap from the truck. My big ratchet straps are in the trailer tool box. But just for fun I said why not? They are rated for 1500 each. It would be enough combined. He started telling me how the total of the straps has to be more and started explain why until I started laughing and told hit was just for the bucket.

 

[Diggin It]

They help load? Must be a regional thing :confused3:

Yeah, I've had as many as three at a time loading. That was when I bought one of the cull packs (weird lumber, had a thread on it, nobody noticed) they brought to the trailer on a forklift. Took all three to help get it off the forklift.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I did not get a pic but was passed today by a Jeep Cherokee with 2, count'em, mattresses held on with about a dozen bungees.
It looked solid but I am glad he was going the opposite direction from me

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Worse I had was a drywall cart fell of a truck ahead of me, came bouncing down the middle of a 2 lane road at me. 1 car ahead of me went right, I crossed into left lane to miss it.

 

[dougtrr2]

I picked up an item at a large furniture store. I chose to secure it with my heavy duty 1" ratchet straps. I had to sign a waiver release since I didn't allow them to tie it down with their string. I talked with the young gentleman and found that they DO NOT get any training on securing loads or how to tie knots. Kind of a crazy world we live in.

I did work at a big box store. I was helping a young lady load her truck in a manner that would qualify for this thread. I was trying to gently encourage her to do it differently and my reservation must have shown on my face. She looked at me and said "You have the same look on your face that my Dad gets when he thinks I am doing in wrong."

Doug in SW IA

 

[Industrial Toys]

Did you tell her that she might still get a participation award for trying? Might have made everything OK.