Please secure loads properly!

[Thecatman]

I'm not making suggestions on how to secure exposed loads in a pick-up or open trailer or on the roof etc but, in the survival guide, in the exudous section, it is mentioned to make sure loads are secure when leaving. This should hold true for arriving and leaving. I know one NHP officer whose pet peeve is improparly secured loads. On August 4, 2009 there was a triple fatality on 395 at Glendale Ave that was caused by a piece of furniture falling out of a pick-up truck. The penalty for losing a load or part of is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up six months in jail, not including any other charges that could be levied. So please lets make sure loads are tied down, straped down or chained correctly.

[theCryptofishist]

I'm an idiot at knots and the like (it wont be an issue, as I'm not driving and I''m pretty damn sure that my ride is competent), but if you know how to do that stuff, you can do a last round of gifting by helping people with that aspect of their loads.
Someone I know tightens his load at rest stops because there's probably slippage; it might be a good idea to check when you hit reno/sparks/truckstop usa.

[Bob]

Look what happened to David Carridine.

[Dork]

It might have just been chance but I saw some horrible examples of this last year during exodus. First was a BMW SUV with a rug sitting on the roof rack not secured in any way. I honked waved, eventually pulled next to her and blared my horn while waving and yelling at her. She ignored me as long as she could but eventually opened her window and said "I really didn't want to open my window but whatever!" and I told her what was happening. Next was a truck and trailer with bag after bag of trash emerging from the front of the trailer and several tie-downs that were flapping around no longer attached at one end. He was a lot nicer and pulled over to attempt a re-pack.

Secure your shit! Tie it down. Pull at it with your hands - if you can move it by hand the wind will surely do it once you're moving. Stop and re-check during one of the inevitable exodus traffic jams. If you're out of rope or don't know how to tie things down properly just ask around for help. Someone will be glad to give you a hand!

[ygmir]

I'm with ya there Dork.....

I saw a gal, with a kiddie pool tied on the very top of a marginal load on a trailer.
the round pool had one piece of twine, across it and was flopping all over.........as soon as it moved, it'd slip right out from under the twine....

I pointed at it and, she gave me the "thumbs up" and smiled nice......I'm sure she thought it was cool........

[gyre]

Some spring or stretch is called for, to secure loads at speed.

I just bought the pickup sized cargo net at harbor freight on sale $10.
Useless most of the time, but occasionally very helpful for hard to contain light loads.
They have several sizes.

[wedeliver]

Some spring or stretch is called for, to secure loads at speed.

I just bought the pickup sized cargo net at harbor freight on sale $10.
Useless most of the time, but occasionally very helpful for hard to contain light loads.
They have several sizes.

If you don't know how to make a truckers comealong with a rope, then get rid of those bungies, get Ratchet Straps for a good tight load.

My opinon is that you want no spring or stretch, you want a load that is tight, cannot move, doesn't flap anywhere. Make your load part of the vehicle, no movement at all, period, end of discussion...

ok, back to the discussion..

[Boijoy]

Bob.

[AntiM]

Some spring or stretch is called for, to secure loads at speed.

I just bought the pickup sized cargo net at harbor freight on sale $10.
Useless most of the time, but occasionally very helpful for hard to contain light loads.
They have several sizes.

Abso-fucking-lutely NOT! You couldn't be more wrong, my friend. No spring or stretch at all, none. Remember I'm married to a flat bed truck driver who hauls structural steel. He can tell you all about securing any kind of load. At great length and in great detail.

Wedeliver is right, you want tight, tight, tight. Bungee cords SUCK and are dangerous. The wind can catch edges, begin to wiggle the load, stretches the bungee and away go your goods. I saw a guy hauling flat wood rounds, I think wine barrel tops, secured by bungees. The wind got in under the edge and lifted, we watched one sail into the windshield of the car behind. Very ugly. Forget tying knots, most people can't get them down tight and right.

YES to ratchet straps, and yes, on sale now at Harbor Freight. Buy an extra set.

Truckers flat black bungees are very stiff and useful for securing the ends of tarps under the ratchet straps. They are not for securing the load itself.

Even ratchet straps loosen. Truckers have a mandatory stop 50 miles from the origin point to check the tie-down. This tells you if you have it right. At every stop, check your load, run your hands over the straps and tug them.

[Boijoy]

BIG fan of the strap type tie downs.. shit, after you use them to keep your stuff secure on the way to the burn.. you can use them to keep you stuff secure AT the burn. I use them to tye down my shade structure because I suck at tying knots.

[ygmir]

and, the fur lined and leather spiked ones are mulit-purpose, as well..........

[Fire_Moose]

ratchet strap tie downs are great. I'm also a big fan of these....

[gyre]

I'm being misunderstood.
Maybe I'm using the wrong word.

There is flex.
I use truck rated USA made ratchet straps where I can.
Do not use the harbor freight crap except for light loads.

On a load of steel, like the quarter inch plate we hauled recently, the straps do indeed flex.
Tight is not good enough.
You start at tight and keep going, and the straps stretch.
This gives you a margin when the steel and frame bends on the road.
In our case, we also had to prevent shifting, so we also tightened till the rack flexed.
It is designed to permit that, in this case.
So the strap flexes from tight to less tight, never loose.

The issue is with lightweight goods and heavy straps.
Then the heavy straps act as a rigid material.
I recently bought some lightweight straps just for this reason.
Good usa made light straps cost more than heavy trucker straps.

When I load fragile materials and strap them down, several things may occur-
The load is crushed.
The frame of the trailer bends before the straps stretch tight enough.
The load and the trailer bends, but not the straps.

This leaves bad choices.
Damaging the load and trailer and/or having the straps not be tight enough and slip.

There is a place for the net.
It is more about containing odd loose loads.
It is not a tie down.
Compare it to a trucker's tarp over a load.

You need good tie down points and good usa made straps.
Bungee cords can be useful supplements to proper tiedowns, to maintain aerodynamics and prevent flapping, etc.

We carried a bike on a car with bungees, but the bike was on a rack and the bungees merely prevented it from shifting.

Maybe I am still expressing it poorly.
Get Larry on here to explain it.

USA made 2" rated straps 21', I've paid $14 at home depot.
Worst price I've seen is $21.
Truck supply places, obviously an option.
DO NOT BUY CHINESE OR UNRATED.
No reason to.
You won't save any money.

My light straps are imported from somewhere.
About $5 each on sale.
Got some trick ones that retract too.

[gyre]

There is a very heavy duty type of bungee that is adjustable.
It uses a rubber hose and steel ends with a spiral that traps the hose.
You set the length each time to have the tension just right.

I think I saw a cheapo version of this too.
The good one is very strong.

[AntiM]

Larry doesn't use straps for the steel he hauls, he uses chains which are tightened with a ... binder bar thingy. He throws 50 pound chains, and how many per load is determined by a DOT rule involving the length of the beams. The straps he uses are for drywall loads They avoid crushing it with specially made edge protectors. These are big ass straps, wouldn't be feasible on a small utility trailer like ours. The hooks are too fucking big!

Under a ton or so, the cheap crap straps work just fine. Heavy loads such as mutant vehicles may need heavier straps. We're talking trash bags and tents here, not structural steel.

Flex is one thing, but for most of the regular folks on this board and normal trailer loads, "tight" is a good enough description. Larry says as taut as possible without crushing what is being secured.

If anyone has questions about securing any load, PM me for MyLarry's cell phone number.

[wedeliver]

We used to say, snug it up. Don't break anything but it should be very "snug"

And thats why you stop after a few miles, cause with you "snuging" the load it will compress and you will need to tighten your tie-downs. then check every stop and you should be good.

[gyre]

Larry doesn't use straps for the steel he hauls, he uses chains which are tightened with a ... binder bar thingy. He throws 50 pound chains, and how many per load is determined by a DOT rule involving the length of the beams. The straps he uses are for drywall loads They avoid crushing it with specially made edge protectors. These are big ass straps, wouldn't be feasible on a small utility trailer like ours. The hooks are too fucking big!

Under a ton or so, the cheap crap straps work just fine. Heavy loads such as mutant vehicles may need heavier straps. We're talking trash bags and tents here, not structural steel.

Flex is one thing, but for most of the regular folks on this board and normal trailer loads, "tight" is a good enough description. Larry says as taut as possible without crushing what is being secured.

If anyone has questions about securing any load, PM me for MyLarry's cell phone number.

I'm not disagreeing.
The flex starts at tight, goes to tighter.
But yes, always snug.
The issue is the big straps can loosen up on a lighter load.
Tents, boxes, light crap.
It is something to be aware of with some loads.
In those cases, a decent thinner strap can do better.
I find few in the mid-range though.

I do think if you spend more than $7 on a strap, you should get the usa truck rated ones, if you can use them.
The usa spec mid size ones I've found have been $20 up or more versus under $20 for the heavy standard ones.
Sometimes I put something compressible under the strap so it will be snug on something weak but rigid.
That works with the heavy straps, if you can tension it properly.

And of course he uses chain (which by the way is required to have some give under tension, for the same reasons ) for the size loads he does.
That is why the lifting and tiedown chain is unsuitable for security use.
Our last steel load was only a few thousand pounds, but it was on a ranger.
You don't want any razor edged steel flying down the highway.

[gyre]

Under a ton or so, the cheap crap straps work just fine. Heavy loads such as mutant vehicles may need heavier straps.

Proper tiedown of a vehicle is a special case.
You not only need to keep the vehicle on the trailer, you usually need to damp the motion on the suspension.
Many disconnect the shocks.
Depends on the trailer.

There are many places that specialize in transport.
There are special fittings.
Use their advice.

For the highway, I use chains.
Saved my ass too.
My co-driver spun the car and trailer on the thruway.
So much force the grille flew off and there was paint left on the styrofoam packing (between the car and trailer).
Never could find the grille.
No other damage.

I woke up facing the wrong way on the freeway.
Took me a long time to sleep again.

[wedeliver]

Under a ton or so, the cheap crap straps work just fine. Heavy loads such as mutant vehicles may need heavier straps.

Proper tiedown of a vehicle is a special case.
You not only need to keep the vehicle on the trailer, you usually need to damp the motion on the suspension.
Many disconnect the shocks.
Depends on the trailer.

There are many places that specialize in transport.
There are special fittings.
Use their advice.

For the highway, I use chains.
Saved my ass too.
My co-driver spun the car and trailer on the thruway.
So much force the grille flew off and there was paint left on the styrofoam packing (between the car and trailer).
Never could find the grille.
No other damage.

I woke up facing the wrong way on the freeway.
Took me a long time to sleep again.

Gyre, your statement above.. "Many disconnect the shocks" is not something I have ever heard before. Tow trucks, flat bed haulers just "chain 'em down".

In general, all cargo must be immobilized or secured; cargo placed beside each other must be in contact to prevent shifting; cargo that can roll must have wedges, chocks, or cradles; and the minimum-rated strength of tie down devices must equal 50 percent of the weight of the article or group of articles it is intended to secure.

[gyre]

Usually an issue on long trips.
Depends on the roads, trailer, shocks, etc.
At minimum it is a wear issue.
But even good aluminum shocks have overheated.
I wouldn't worry about it on a short, slow trip.

[gyre]

To clarify, most wrecker drivers use whatever approach is easiest.

For racing, it is common to transport cars by strapping the wheels down very rigidly.
This allows the suspension to operate and reduce vibration on the car.
Recently many have noticed very hot or wrecked shocks and other wear and tear.
So some disconnect shocks or damp the movement of the vehicle to one degree or another.
And roads aren't getting better.

Transporter suspensions vary radically, as do car weights and suspensions.
But this seems to be an issue even with seemingly ideal conditions.

It's amazing how much work suspensions do on today's roads.
I towed a trailer without a suspension and it could jink the entire front end of the truck I was driving to one side or another.
A good suspension on a trailer can allow you to tow more than you could otherwise handle too.

[Thecatman]

...if you know how to do that stuff, you can do a last round of gifting by helping people with that aspect of their loads.

I just might take you up on your gifting suggestion.
I'm glad to see everybody who commented is thinking about saftey. I wholeheartedly agree with AntiM and wedeliver that an exposed load needs to be TIGHT. Some of the ratchet straps like the one wedeliver posted can come loose from their anchor point because of road and traffic conditions which can cause some seemingly ireleavant shifting in the load. This is a reason to stop and check it every 100 or so miles as well as checking your mirrors while driving to make sure a rope or strap did'nt come loose and is blowing along side your vehicle. This could spell disaster if it catches a tire. It could pull the load off the vehicle and if it has a metal hook, could slice the tire open. At the very least it will probably put some unwanted scrathes and dings in your paint.
At any rate, lets all be safe and have a fun week.

[ygmir]

...if you know how to do that stuff, you can do a last round of gifting by helping people with that aspect of their loads.

I just might take you up on your gifting suggestion.
I'm glad to see everybody who commented is thinking about saftey. I wholeheartedly agree with AntiM and wedeliver that an exposed load needs to be TIGHT. Some of the ratchet straps like the one wedeliver posted can come loose from their anchor point because of road and traffic conditions which can cause some seemingly ireleavant shifting in the load. This is a reason to stop and check it every 100 or so miles as well as checking your mirrors while driving to make sure a rope or strap did'nt come loose and is blowing along side your vehicle. This could spell disaster if it catches a tire. It could pull the load off the vehicle and if it has a metal hook, could slice the tire open. At the very least it will probably put some unwanted scrathes and dings in your paint.
At any rate, lets all be safe and have a fun week.

I'd join in on that........

"dept. of load bondage"?........

the possibilities are endless.........

[Thecatman]

"dept. of load bondage"?...... I can't belive somebody would think of something like that.

A new theme camp