TIE DOWN YOUR LOAD !!!

[Arky217]

I was going about 50 mph on a dual lane highway this morning when a pickup passed by me in the left lane. The pickup was towing a small trailer with a UTV on it.

After it got about 100 feet in front of me, the highway begin to go uphill. Almost as if in slow motion, the UTV begin to roll off the back of the trailer. I braked and pulled over on the shoulder and stopped.

The UTV back tires came off, then the front at which point the right front tire of the UTV blew out. It rolled into the right lane, then onto the shoulder, on into the ditch and finally into a field beyond the ditch, it's front wheels wobbling back and forth all the time.

Unbelievably, it stayed upright the entire time.

How fortunate the truck driver was that there was no other traffic behind us.

I could see no evidence of chains or straps on the trailer. I'm thinking that perhaps he had the UTV's parking brake on only, it that.:confused2:

If I hadn't noticed it until after the UTV had left the trailer, I may have hit it as it crossed the right lane.

Moral of the story: Please strap or preferably chain down your trailer loads !!!

If the load comes off the trailer, it could be someone's life !

 

[aczlan]

My motto (for implements, tractors and other such heavy items) is:

If the load would come loose by turning the trailer upside down and shaking it, the load is not properly tied down

Aaron Z

 

[two_bit_score]

I bet the driver never stopped. What an idiot.

 

[5030]

I bet the driver never stopped. What an idiot.

Probably financed.

 

[two_bit_score]

Probably financed.

Or stolen.

 

[56FordGuy]

"Ah, it's real heavy. It'll set there!"

"I ain't going far."

:laughing:

It's funny, but it's not funny. Secure the load; and bungee cords don't count! :thumbsup:

 

[KennyG]

Last week I saw a pickup (70 mph on the highway) with split firewood stacked about three sticks above the bed rails, with a a spare tire sitting on top of the stack (to hold it down?) No straps, nets, or anything.

 

[BSVLY]

We were driving up Cajon pass in SoCal and right there in the center lane of I-15 were two Skidoos! Drove for another 30 miles and never saw the trailer. Can you imagine when they pulled up to the lake?? " Dude- Where are the jet Skis.............. dude?"

 

[tungularafishcamp]

A good friend has an aluminum flatbed that he nver used to tie his snowmobiles down to just set the parking brake. Couple of winters ago his hill was glaciered up, it was raining, and his studs were worn down so he came back down the hill backwards til the corner which put him in the ditch throwing his sled off into the snowbank. He called me up and I came over with my kubota(had just gotten it to town) and got him out of the ditch and up the hill. Of course he invited me in for coffee, while drinking it I txted my son to come get the sled and put it in our garage. Finished the coffee, went to leave and give him a ride down to his sled and OH NO!!

I let him stew all night then called him the next am to go sledding as the mountains had been getting snow as we got rain. He reminded me about his sled, so I said no problem he can use my wifes, I would be over in a bit. The look on his face when I pulled up with his sled as well as my own on the back of my truck was priceless:laughing:

Guess what, he still doesnt tie down his sled:confused2:

 

[two_bit_score]

That's a great one, Rick!

 

[RobertN]

Was coming down I-5 from Red Bluff to Sacramento some years back, on a rainy Memorial Day weekend. Nothing but fields for miles.

There on the side of the road, was a beautiful custom paint, custom chromed hi-perf motor Jet boat. Litterally, sitting on the shoulder. No trailer, no anything.

I have no idea what happened, but guessed it was not tied down, and slipped off the trailer. No idea if had blocked the highway; whatever had happened was cleared out before I got there. Except for this nice jet boat. Guessing the bottom paint/gel was not as pretty as the top side... It did have a really nice paint job, stripes ect.

We were driving up Cajon pass in SoCal and right there in the center lane of I-15 were two Skidoos! Drove for another 30 miles and never saw the trailer. Can you imagine when they pulled up to the lake?? " Dude- Where are the jet Skis.............. dude?"

 

[RobertN]

We had a friend, who was on busy I-80 between San Francisco and Sacramento, late on evening. the person in front of her lost a mattress. Before she could manuever, it hit her SUV, destroying the windshield. Her and her elderly mother wound up in the hospital; fortunately only minor cuts from flying glass.

The other person fled... Police never were able to track anyone down.

Moral of the story: Please strap or preferably chain down your trailer loads !!!

If the load comes off the trailer, it could be someone's life !

 

[Fixemall]

I was coming down the I-190 today and a pickup in front of me had pallets stacked at least three feet higher than the cab with no restraints to hold them down, I also observed a state trooper go past us both and not give a second look...

 

[johnrex62]

I still have clear recollection of watching a pickup truck with a bed half full of 3/4 inch plywood floating about 10 inches off the floor as it traveled down IH35 one morning. I am sure it was full when they started as there were several sheets scattered along the side of the road before we caught and passed them that had to have been in the truck at one time.

My boss once lost a ladder out of the bed of his truck at 80mph one morning and did not realize it until he got out to unload. No bumps, one string tie-down (still tied to the headache rack) yet it escaped somehow.

 

[Combustix]

Wa state enacted a law after a fatal accident and another critically injured after debris came off the back of a pick up and trailer. A utv in he grill at 50 would be ugly. Always tie down

 

[Diamondpilot]

I was heading south on I-75 a few years ago pulling a big boat, about 18,000# with my F-350. I was between Lexington KY and Knoxville TN when I got passed by a guy in a Toyota Tundra with 2x10's laying across the bed rails and a Polaris UTV sitting on top of it. It was crazy top heavy, he was going 85 mph, and he had it tied down with 2 of the cheap 1" red ratchet straps. One over the front brush guard going to each side tubular running board step and one off the rear hooded to the hitch of the UTV and the other end hooked to the safety chain loop of of the truck hitch.

Anyway, he blew by me and got up about a mile when I saw a large cloud of dust then all the traffic started to check up. Got up there and the UTV was in the median and the the truck was sitting up the road 1/4 of a mile. I can only guess that his aggressive driving, lack of proper tie downs, high CG, and just plain being a idiot caused it to launch off the truck and completely destroy the UTV and tear the heck out of one side and tailgate of the truck.

Chris

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I was coming down the I-190 today and a pickup in front of me had pallets stacked at least three feet higher than the cab with no restraints to hold them down, I also observed a state trooper go past us both and not give a second look...

Thats because it was sprinkling today. They don't like getting out if they will get wet. Now if the sun is out then be careful as they like to pull people over on the nice days.

 

[amigauser]

Thats because it was sprinkling today. They don't like getting out if they will get wet. Now if the sun is out then be careful as they like to pull people over on the nice days.

Funny you say that as I went to school in Rochester NY and I used to make the drive a few times a year between Connecticut (were I am from) and the college in Rochester. I loved making that trip on rainy days as the law officers rarely wanted to write tickets in the rain . Of course that was in the days before laser speed guns so a good radar detector worked wonders. The MA pike and NY thruway are great roads to travel at high speed.

 

[deepNdirt]

Its not just things being hauled by trailers, some people think that hauling things in the back of a truck with sides that it cannot fall out of it,

Many years ago a man hauling a washing machine Lost it from the back of his truck while on the interstate, another vehicle struck the appliance and killed an occupant of the vehicle, there were no evidence that the appliance had been tied down and secured, the person driving the truck had a drawn out trial and was charged and convected with involuntary man slaughter, a life could have been saved with the use of even a small nylon rope...... Ironically now some years later our state hwy's looks like hazards waiting to happen,
Gator treads a debris all up/down the roadway, Seems we no longer have funds alloted for DOT to routinely make a sweep on the roadways to remove debris as once did, How ever if you call in to report something being in the roadway they will try to dispatch someone out to remove it...... If my mind is remembering correctly not too long ago there was a bad accident when a driver hit one of these tire treads, I cannot remember if reading the outcome, or who if anyone was liable in this incident,

and yes everyone should be sure to secure their load before driving away,
in fact would be a good idea to check it again after driven a few miles just to be sure the load hasn't settled or shifted and loosen the chains/straps/ropes,
I have made habit to do this :thumbsup:

 

[Skyco]

Guy at work bought a new freezer and lost it out of the back of his pickup taking it home....otherwise intelligent guy, just amazes me sometimes what people think or don't think:laughing:

Now that I think about it he had some large big rig tires/wheels in his truck bed one day..I asked him how he got them in the bed since they were very heavy...he said he let the air out first-
- that dropped the weight by a hundred lbs or so since they had 100 lbs of air in them....and sadly he was serious, I tried to explain yes air had weight, maybe a couple of lbs of added weight in the tire but certainly not lbs=psi...