A Tale of Caution.
Was at a port a few weeks ago. Standing in line waiting to get checked in with the morning rush. There was a driver with a 53ft step that backed up to the step deck dock. He finds his escavator and drives the escalator up the ramp to the top of the dock and hangs the tracks over the edge. Driver gets out of the escavator, and walks around both sides of the truck with his measuring tape.
I get up to the window and I am checking in. One of the drivers behind me asks another, “Is he gonna reposition the truck?” Yep, you guessed it. Ain’t never seen that done before. He starts driving the escavator on the the deck of the trailer starts buckling under the weight. You long timers in this forum will remember discussing this. Someone asks, “How heavy is that machine?” Another responds, “Probably around 30k.”
Driver finally gets the escavator on, folds the boom as far as he can and puts the boom down in front and near the step. This centers the escavator over the front axle of the trailer spread. I get my stuff from the window, and I run to go help this driver.
Hey guy, how heavy is that machine?
“47000”
(GEEZ! No wonder that trailer is buckling)
Hand, I don’t mean to tell you your business but you are wayyyyyy over axle on the trailer. You need to move the machine to the center of the trailer and spin the boom around to the rear.
“You sure? I will have an overweight permit.”
Yes, I am sure. An overweight permit isn’t going cover how far over axle you are.
I guide him forward, and get him centered.
Alright, hand. Secure your load before trying to spin the boom around. And go really easy on the spin.
Hey guys, don’t do this...do not try to load such a heavy machine on a step. The strongest part of a trailer is the frame, and that’s an incredible amount of weight sitting at the farthest point away from the frame. Do not attempt to spin an escavator boom without securing the load, that load WILL slide off.
What's it like transporting heavy equipment?
Discussion in 'Flatbed Trucking Forum' started by Ddr1992 579, May 17, 2020.
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A customer's machine that requires cleanup before it's moved gets charged for the extra time it took. If the tracks are full of frozen mud or rocks the drivers take pictures of the mess.
If there's a water truck around we'll use it to blast the tracks and the under carriage.Sirscrapntruckalot, cke, MACK E-6 and 4 others Thank this. -
this has turned into a really enjoyable and informative thread
Kawinige01, Sirscrapntruckalot, cke and 7 others Thank this. -
Sirscrapntruckalot, asphaltreptile311, Coffey and 1 other person Thank this.
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cke, D.Tibbitt, TripleSix and 1 other person Thank this.
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The guy I helped at the port, the escavator was 10 wide on an aluminum trailer. The weight was centered out at the rub rail. Flats and steps are not designed to carry that much weight that far off the frame...it’s where they’re the weakest at. When he drove the thing on, you could literally see the crossmembers bend down and the rub rail buckle and deformed under the weight. And then, he tried to spin the boom around...scary to watch a trailer bend and pitch sideways.Sirscrapntruckalot, Coffey, cke and 3 others Thank this. -
@D.Tibbitt , in the picture that @chriskc posted, he has an escavator on aLandoll trailer. That’s a completely different trailer than what I am talking about. If you look at your average flat and step, you will see the big, thick frame with a bunch of crossmembers on top. The Landoll has that extra thick beefy frame section directly underneath the rub rail...like the rgns do. So, it’s actually made to support heavy loads at the rub rail.
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Even with a beefier trailer, @chriskc took precautions when he spun the boom to the rear.
Now, here’s a piece of trivia for you: If instead of the wheel loader, @shawnhhllc had one of those farm tractors with the 10ft wide hubs, could he legally purchase a permit for that load, and why?Sirscrapntruckalot, Coffey, cke and 3 others Thank this.
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