Owner Operator Finding Conestoga Loads

Ohhh no......there is plenty of crap cheap freight out of that place!

 

Couldn’t you just install a rub rail strong enough that the idiots on the forklifts can’t bend it ?

 

There's only one conestoga manufacturer that does that that I know of. You’ll pay through the nose for it too.

 

Really? Have either of you even set eyes on a peice of equipment that you thought a froklift operator couldn't screw up? Because I haven't.

Sometimes, I think it's a contest.

 

No doubt but the video I saw of the rail was impressive. There's a thread here about it somewhere.

 

Unfortunately, the rub rail damage is only one aspect of it. Pipe etc, will be loaded and not all lined up, so you have jutting pieces and those will contact the tarp if it's loaded to set within the trailer area. They come from the side and unless it's an articulated loader, it can't come in and thread the area between pipe stakes and the folded tarp structure. Liability. If they load it from a deck you still have people that can't drive a hi-lo without hitting things. Liability.

Fontaine's rails may be tougher but they aren't standard on all trailers, and maybe all tarp systems may not work on them...so..Liability.

 

Yes, and technically it's really not the rub rail that gets hit and causes the problem. It's actually the rail/channel the wheels roll in for the arms that hold the tarp. When those channels get dented, the wheels can't roll so the conestoga can't close back up. Even Fontaine's proprietary rub rail is meaningless to prevent conestoga damage.

 

Hey now , my tarps aren't dirty greasy and wet. They are dirty filthy and dry !

 

Asking a forklift guy not to bash into something is like asking a dog to stop scratching themselves... I had a guy bash in my trailer sidebox with his wheel, on a telehandler ! No reason to be anywhere near the trailer with that machine. I had to teach him to use the boom. I was on top of the trailer guiding him in , when i noticed how close he was. Did short work of that box. Spent 20 mins with my sledge beating it out just to get the doors closed.

 

I own a conestoga myself. Width and height are concerns at times as far as operating the conestoga. Another problem is length… I hauled a load of rail from a broker few years ago, 40’ long and they only had a forklift no crane. Getting it on would have been easier if he would have just held it in place, and let me back up a couple feet to get it forward enough to close the tail flap.

But you can’t talk horse sense to a jack ass. Took forever him see sawing back and forth trying to work it forward.

Company in Winchester, KY makes plastic tanks / septic tanks, absolutely will not load a conestoga because of the limitations….