Towing Safety (Please Read)

[doghead]

Just my quick thoughts after reading this.

Ideas to improve the towing situation in the future.

Added weight to the towing vehicle(in the bed).
Brake line interconnection.
Slower driving in general and for the road and traffic conditions.(I know it is hard to do)
Consider trailering, instead of tow barring.
Extra tow bar on hand.
Backup plan and extra person available

Glad there was no personal injury in your situation.

Thank you for sharing this here. I'm sure it will raise awareness and hopefully help everyone to make the best actions/decisions possible.

Was the damaged truck yours too?

 

[73m819]

In this case 1 in 7 (14%) odds of something happening is NOT very good odds, and this was a well thought out tow, by someone that KNOWS these trucks that could have had a VERY bad ending, now think of all the GRAB and GO tows. with all the flat tows going on, it is only a matter of time before someone DIES, a SSER or the PUBLIC, and when this happens , watch the affect on the MV hobby, maybe the end of self recovery for a start

 

[HORNETD]

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?

I cannot tell you why but when I was working for California Division of Forestry; which is now the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection; as well as the US Forest Service tying down tractors by their treads was an absolutely forbidden practice. It was a yellow flag item that could cost you your job. Only the Cat Skinners; a prohibited term by the way; or more properly Heavy Fire Equipment Operators (HFEO) were allowed to check the security of them anyway but we all learned that when assisting them we must never use the treads as a tie down point.

--
Tom Horne

 

[73m819]

I cannot tell you why but when I was working for California Division of Forestry; which is now the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection; as well as the US Forest Service tying down tractors by their treads was an absolutely forbidden practice. It was a yellow flag item that could cost you your job. Only the Cat Skinners; a prohibited term by the way; or more properly Heavy Fire Equipment Operators (HFEO) were allowed to check the security of them anyway but we all learned that when assisting them we must never use the treads as a tie down point.

--
Tom Horne

when we moved CRANES, always tracks and hold backs on the car body and got inspected by DOT all the time

 

[HORNETD]

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 dragging them out over a page

I'm sorry about the multiple postings. I was just asking the questions that arose out of each post I had a question about as I came to it. If I waited until I read the entire thread I would loose track of some of the questions that I wanted to ask. I finally figured out that I should use the quote link rather than the quick reply so that people could see the post that prompted the question and better understand my questions.

I'm learning a lot by the way. I wouldn't want to count the number of badly done tailboard briefings that I have stood through were I didn't learn as much as I have from this one thread.

--
Tom Horne

 

[doghead]

What a nice compliment for the site and the people.

I'm very pleased to read your getting alot from this site.(job well done everyone).

 

[lavarok]

Yes, the towed truck was also mine so the loss is my own. My truck and chill63's were supposed to be trucked from JAX to Palm Bay. Our driver bailed last minute and we were in a time crunch to get them removed. I had a quote from another driver at 1.7x the cost of the original quote. We seriously considered spending the extra money but in the end decided to try and get them home ourselves.

Needless to say, any money I would have saved had we been successful is long gone and the money I would have spent at 1.7x the original quote would have been WELL SPENT.

I learned many lessons this week.

 

[Fredo Corleone]

You could use a brake buddy but they hook to the steering wheel

 

[m16ty]

In this case 1 in 7 (14%) odds of something happening is NOT very good odds, and this was a well thought out tow, by someone that KNOWS these trucks that could have had a VERY bad ending, now think of all the GRAB and GO tows. with all the flat tows going on, it is only a matter of time before someone DIES, a SSER or the PUBLIC, and when this happens , watch the affect on the MV hobby, maybe the end of self recovery for a start

I've towed several (more than I care to count) and my odds are about 25% that the towed truck will do something crazy. Not that I've wrecked or anything but some trucks just don't want to tow well. Granted, most of the trucks I've towed were parts trucks so that could have something to do with it. My farthest tow is about 40 miles with most of them just local. Personally, I wouldn't tow a deuce or bigger very far (I'm not even sure I'd want to do another 40 mile trip). A lot of it has to do with the fact that I have a truck and trailer capable of hauling the truck but part of it is I don't like taking the chance.

 

[reom35a2fluiter]

he,

witch towbar sit on a deuce and a half.
i found a towbar i have no idea it is for my deuce
do you have any idea?????

 

[73m819]

he,

witch towbar sit on a deuce and a half.
i found a towbar i have no idea it is for my deuce
do you have any idea?????

need this so we can see what you have in order to give you an answer

 

[smashcrashy]

Im about to tow a Ferret with a properly rated hitch, with a properly rated flatbed (with electric brakes) and a F-350 that is rated for the load (GCWR). I'll be using 3/8" chain and binders rated for 9200 lbs on 4 attachment points.

This is my first time towing anything this heavy. Outside of taking it slow and checking the load often for shifting. What other tips should I keep in mind.

 

[swbradley1]

If you have everything setup correctly and the trailer isn't overloaded you should be fine checking on it every now and then.

Do you have the chains crossed? With everything correct that is the only thing left besides driver experience.

 

[smashcrashy]

Chains as far as safety chains, yes.

As far as tie downs, no. Why should the tie downs be crossed (if that is what you meant)?

 

[swbradley1]

Reduces sway side-to-side on the load. If you don't cross them you can't get them tight enough to eliminate the sway.

 

[smashcrashy]

Interesting. I was googling it and found this army doc on cross vs not crossed:
http://www2.tea.army.mil/pubs/nr/deploy/transinstruction/Near-vs-Crossed.pdf

Which they indicate from a force perspective, not crossed is better. But it doesnt address the sway component. I'll have to experiment a bit. The trailer im renting has 6 tie down points with 2 in the middle, maybe I will utilize those as I have mid tie down spots on the ferret as well.

 

[swbradley1]

I help my Brother move his 28,000lb track hoe and he'd laugh me all the way home if the chains were not crossed.

Mock it up on your kitchen table with a board and box and some string. I wish I could demo it for you but it works. It is especially true of anything with a suspension.

 

[swbradley1]

I'm going to print your link out for a closer read but it looks like what I was trying to explain only maybe I may have to re-think my position. (I'll have no luck with my Brother though.)

Thanks

 

[zebedee]

Interesting. I was googling it and found this army doc on cross vs not crossed:
http://www2.tea.army.mil/pubs/nr/deploy/transinstruction/Near-vs-Crossed.pdf

Very interesting - have to file that one along with the FM's and TM's.

Which they indicate from a force perspective, not crossed is better. But it doesnt address the sway component. I'll have to experiment a bit. The trailer im renting has 6 tie down points with 2 in the middle, maybe I will utilize those as I have mid tie down spots on the ferret as well.

HOWEVER - this document and test is for rail transit, with which there are vastly different factors than for a trailer on the highway. Yes the forces may be greater when crossed, but they should no way approach the safe working load or rating of the tie down system.

Subject to any chocking/blocking you may use, also the location of tie down points on the trailer, the tie downs should be directed away from the load, in opposite directions and yes, I would cross them as previously mentioned, to avoid said sway. If you go for more than the four corners, then that's all well and good.

I have also read studies of car haulers that tie down the wheels and not to the chassis - which in long trips causes wheel bearing wear/damage from the bouncing around of the untethered vehicle (damage from continuous bouncing in one isolated spot since the wheels are not revolving)

Don't forget to check that you have nose weight on the trailer, +ve load on the tow hitch, 'cause if you don't, you will sure enough be testing those tie downs when the "tail wags the dog" and flips over the tow vehicle.

Happy trails!

 

[m16ty]

You don't necessarily have to have them crossed (although there's nothing wrong with crossing chains). You just need to make sure the chains are pulling opposite directions side to side and front to back. In other words, the chains need to be pulling against one another.

I always like to cross chains where I can but on some stuff you can't get a attachment point where you can cross the chains.