Understanding cargo securement

the first 2 pictures are just showing you what the working load limit is of each type of securement device... in flatbed you're gonna be using 4 inch straps. those are going to have a WLL of around 5k...what this means is one strap is going to secure 5k worth of freight .... the laws say you have to secure half the weight of the freight.. so if we have a load thats 1 piece and 10 feet long and weighs 40k pounds... we need 4 straps to be legal. make sense?

 

A lot of good suggestion and tips here, but first things first. BREATHE.
The stuff you printed out, is called reference material. You check that when in doubt about the size of strap and it's weight rating. The fact you have that and are looking at it, is good. What you need to understand is how to use it. Book learning is just to get things into your head for you to ask questions about. I know a lot of people think asking questions in a classroom setting is painful to them, but many times, it's because they're scared of looking stupid and the only stupid question is the one not asked. Your classroom instructor may tell you, "We'll see that when we get out there, but right now, you need to get the formulas in your head", which is legitimate. Once you see and touch, the head stuff starts to make sense. See? It takes time and unlike was suggested here...you are supposed to read that DOT book and be at least familiar with where you need to look up things in it. I always start with the Index..seems to tell me where to go for what I want, as well as the Table of Contents. Who knew.

Remember, this is a journey, not a destination. Some things will come in time. You may never load some of the things you learn about, but when you do, you know where to look. Ask where you load how it gets done, people will try to help you, but in the end you have to know by way of those regs, what you have to actually do. Some folks will show you their way, versus the right or legal way. All input is useful, even if it's just to be rejected.
When I drive, I still have my training manuals with me, as well as those regulations and the JJ Keller books, just for refresher, or because I haven't done something before. Like D.Tibbitt suggests, ask, that's why we're here. Look up and use videos. I just posted one here the other day that gives an explanation of some of what's confusing you and breaks it down into an understandable set of steps and conditions to be considered. I'll post it for you again to check out, but it does show you that the name of the game here is understanding the requirements and superceding them when possible.

 

yes . you need 1 strap for every 10 feet of freight.. then if you dont have a bulkhead you need another strap up front, called a penalty strap..... so lets say you have a load thats 40ft long and no bulkhead. you will need 5 straps to be legal... obvious its always a good idea to throw more straps then needed.

 

that would be called a headache rack.. this is a bulkhead. the piece at the front of the trailer to block the freight. if you dont have one of these on your trailer then you will have to throw an extra strap up front.

you can also build a bulkhead out of your dunnage on a short height load.

 

Just for an exercise, why not try looking up bulkhead in the index of the DOT Green book, in the Index at the back of the book and then read all the sections that it points out. "Bars on the windows" doesn't really give a good picture of what you think you're describing versus what someone else thinks they hear you saying.