Towing Safety (Please Read)

[rizzo]

DH just asked if it were true anywhere. Evidently the answer is yes. I know they use the old style on Ice Road Truckers. I have also seen the redo the rigging when they do not cross the chains or straps on a load. Common sense tells me that you have to cross chains in order to reduce the load moving side-to-side.

A simple test using a couple of children's toys would show exactly what everyone wants to know. Anyone want to rig a couple of toys? Better yet, someone hook up two Deuces and video them.

I was trying to determine who was required to find the set of regulations you found. It looks to me that only FWS employees are required to follow them. ????

 

[camp9]

Thanks, Rizzo!

So, it looks like there is some room for interpretation there.

There is always room for interpretation, and the DOT has the discretion to interpret any way he wants to on a stop, that's why there is always so much confusion.

 

[m16ty]

While at work the other day I saw a tie down that confused me, mostly for the tie points that were used.

The truck was hauling this piece about 150 miles over all sorts of terrain. Is this the correct way to tie a track hoe down?

That's common practice to chain down tracked equipment. Not 100% sure if it's legal but everybody does it (including me).

 

[swbradley1]

I was trying to determine who was required to find the set of regulations you found. It looks to me that only FWS employees are required to follow them. ????

Rizzo, It doesn't matter. I never said that it was required of anyone, including FWS employees.

Here is Doghead's question:
"I've also heard that loadbinders need to be screw type and not cam over/lever type. Is that true anywhere?"

Is it true ANYWHERE?

All I was pointing out is that yes, it is true somewhere. DH did not ask if it specifically applied to him in NY on a Tuesday afternoon. He asked if it applied anywhere.

The answer is yes.

 

[gunboy1656]

That's common practice to chain down tracked equipment. Not 100% sure if it's legal but everybody does it (including me).

To me it does not seem like to secure of a hard point to tie down.

 

[dittle]

To me it does not seem like to secure of a hard point to tie down.

There is a lot of metal to break for those tracks to fail. Its more secure than you would think.

 

[m16ty]

To me it does not seem like to secure of a hard point to tie down.

It's pretty secure. Every once in a while you'll get a machine with a badly worn undercarriage and will cause you problems though.

 

[m16ty]

One problem I've had chaining equipment on a trailer is the slotted chain holes some trailers and rollbacks have. We've got a trailer that has the slotted chain holes for attaching the chain to the trailer. I have broken two chains using these slots. The first one I thought it was just a bad chain link. After the second one I realized there was a problem and investigated further. Come to find out the slot was hard on the chain link and could cause it to break over time. We don't use the slots anymore.

When these chains broke it was just mainly a inconvenience. You need to be sure that if one chain fails you still have enough on it not to loose the load.

 

[HORNETD]

I am curious so please don't take this as criticism. I see what looks like an air line coupling on the front left of the towed vehicle. Is it practical to rig up an air line and use the towed vehicles brakes in addition to the towing vehicles brakes or is there something that makes that impractical or unwise?
--
Tom Horne

 

[73m819]

VERY practical, real easy on the 5ts, a little more involved for a deuce, there is a how to thread for this

 

[HORNETD]

So for the sake of my education what can be done to address the concern about the front end of the tow bar burying itself in the asphalt and causing a truly violent stop. Could you just rig an additional chain around the front notch of the tow bar?

 

[HORNETD]

I know what you're up to.

I'm glad that one of us does???
--
Tom Horne

 

[HORNETD]

In your pic this is not DOT compliant, the new laws require all connections must be inside a rail, protected. When out of control the trailer swips a large pole it will rake all these chain connections off.

I'm sorry but I couldn't follow what you are suggesting. On the premise that the only stupid question is one I'm too chicken to ask do you mean that the tie down point must be inside the outer edge of the bed somehow? I'm asking because I see tie down straps and chains run over the outside of the bed all the time. If you have the time might you be willing to take a picture of a correctly positioned tie down point?

--
Tom Horne

 

[73m819]

So for the sake of my education what can be done to address the concern about the front end of the tow bar burying itself in the asphalt and causing a truly violent stop. Could you just rig an additional chain around the front notch of the tow bar?

Proper rigging will prevent this. if the ring is in the dirt, there is more problems here then just the stop. the first question is why, then it is a down hill run from there

also you need to try posting your questions in ONE post instead of draging them out over a page

 

[lavarok]

I am bumping this thread for tow bar safety. While towing a new M35A2 home yesterday with a M35A2C, I had a nasty jack knife situation. About 10 minutes south of Jacksonville on I-95 a rain storm started up and traffic started to slow ahead of me quickly. I was doing about 45mph and I touched the brakes to start my slow down when my towing truck started to jack knife from the forward momentum of the towed vehicle. Just like the PDF in post 1 talks about.....

I had to get off the road as I knew at that pointing stopping before I met the traffic ahead of me was not going to happen. To prevent further catastrophe, I gave her a little throttle to even back out and eased on to the shoulder.

When my towing vehicle came to rest, the towed vehicle continued to push the rear of my truck down a muddy embankment. At this point my towing truck was side ways pushed up against a light pole and the towed truck was jammed under the bed of the towing truck.

Fortunately the light pole kept me from rolling over and the only major damage to the towing truck is the passenger side fender where it met the pole. A few other scrapes and I need a new mud flap but nothing major. The towed truck didn't fair so well. It will need new fenders, a hood, radiator guard, and a bumper.

I had chains and a tow bar secured properly for this endeavor, but all the planning in the world did not prepare me for the events on Tuesday.

Luckily a third deuce was behind me being drive by chill63. With some maneuvering we were able to detach the destroyed tow bar remnants and pull the towed M35 from under my M35A2C. Once the trucks were separated and reset, we were able to to proceed toward home minus one truck. I have to go back on Friday and drive it home.

The moral of this story is to respect the power and weight of these vehicles. I've towed my share of trucks around Florida using my tow bar and never had a similar situation. However, all it takes is one time to make me think twice about how to avoid a situation like this in the future.

I am thankful to be alive and in one piece. I am also thankful no-one was harmed.

 

[73m819]

very glad you walked away from this

just curious, how many flat tows have you done before this one bit you, looks like the odds finally caught up with you

 

[lavarok]

very glad you walked away from this

just curious, how many flat tows have you done before this one bit you, looks like the odds finally caught up with you

Deuce towing deuce for any real distance, I'd say about 6.

 

[lavarok]

I think the stretch of road I was on is particularly dangerous and slick when it gets wet. Jacksonville news and the sheriffs I talked to reported 8 accidents on the small stretch of road during the brief rain storm on Tuesday. There were several accidents both north and south of the location where I had my incident. Fortunately, I was NOT one of the official 8 nor was the semi that pulled into the ditch about 400 yards south of where I ended up.

While the weather was clearly a contributing factor here, it was a real wake call as to the dangers present when flat towing. In the future, I will probably only consider such an endeavor if i can rig a line between the trucks for pressurizing the brakes in the towed vehicle. I know this is possible with some air packs and others it presents a challenge.

 

[73m819]

Again, glad you are ok, parts can be fixed

do you there might have been a better outcome if the towed trucks brakes was on line

 

[lavarok]

Again, glad you are ok, parts can be fixed

do you there might have been a better outcome if the towed trucks brakes was on line

YES...see my edit above; you must have posted while I was editing.

The PDF in post 1 mentions this as well. Lack of braking in the towed vehicle can and will cause jack knife situations. I'll attest to that!

Everyone and anyone flat towing deuces with deuces needs to be cautious and explore every option to get the towed vehicle brakes online and in sync with the towing vehicle.