Fuel container on catwalk is it legal?

Ive seen this before... company uses drivers up buy paying them high, well making them do whatever the company wants... legal or not... pretty soon the drivers record is destroyed, and out of a job. All the sudden those bigs bucks they were useing to keep the driver quiet aren't doing any good...

 

What I would do is get a mounting bracket like you see on the back of jeeps and such. Then bolt it to the rack if you have one or securely fasten on the cat walk. Make sure it does not stick out and make sure you can not move the gas can when secured in the bracket. Don't bother with placard or labels because you don't need them. And if people ask where's your placard ask them to show you the regulation.

 

Actually no, 4 inch flammables like for a gas bottle on 3 sides with a BOL in the paperwork listing the 5 gallons. Isn't that an Arco transport in you avatar? And your not accustomed to ridicules knee jerking regs by over bearing truck managers.

And yes, I did most everything the plant said and no, wouldn't go 100. There are limits to my hypocrisy and my love of the dollar.

 

No that wasn't the case...in fact just the opposite . No boot legging there, strictly by the book and that's what he was paying for, no hammering, no BS, no torn up trucks.

 

Here is the long and short of it.

Each fuel container on your truck has to have dot certification on it. As per that certification the container will have either specifically spaced bolt holes or metal straps per feet to support that container. Each bolt hole must be filled and attached to the FRAME or dot approved mounting bracket for fuel container/tank that is MOUNTED to your truck.

Fact if the liquid you are hauling is in large enough quantities in a DOT reg to be considered a hazardous substance it must be placarded according to that regulation. You going to a fuel pump and putting fuel into a properly mounted DOT approved and properly mount Fuel TANK does not convert that container into a hazmat load.

You guys talking about putting hazmat placards on a vehicle obviously are not hazmat certified. If you don't know for a fact, because it is spelled out a certified shipper who must ensure hazmat is loaded into an approved container be it a bulk tanker, rail car, or tote Each container must be labeled according to its type in order to comply with regulations. An example we are familiar with is a fuel tanker has hazmat placards on all 4 sides even if they just dropped their load into a tank the residue is enough to require it to continue to bear placards.

Adding a random placards to a vehicle if you are not certified to ensure it is a proper CERTIFIED CONTAINER for hazmat is illegal. Huge fines will follow if your caught.

Anything on your catwalk is considered an encumbrance and can be ticketed. Anything held down and secured with a bungee strap because those do not have a weight rating is also illegal.

So to secure a hand carried fuel tote/can to the area between your trailer and cab you must have DOT approved device to hold it in place. A work box with sides built within regs and have a securable top is acceptable whether it is mounted alongside the frame or like many of your flatbed brothers do with the enclosed "headache rack" they are Each built with a certain thickness of metal with a closing device capable or resisting opening of X amount of pound of force. Where X is judged by what the box is designed to contain. So if your wondering what that means. You can NOT mount a random plastic box to your catwalk with extra large washers and call it good the sides and lid are not rated for the cargo it's containing.

Also remember anything mounted where your airlines can touch it including the catwalk is also a DOT violation. If your airlines drag across the top of whatever you mount there add an approved air line suspension device these are the spring poles or long plastic wrapped spring that come off the back of the cab. Your airlines should never touch anything else except these devices which are also DOT regulated to perform a certain way. Joe stuffy welder can't make you one at random and it be qualified. They are designed to proved a specific amount of resistance without pulling a connector loose and must themselves rip apart if they are overstressed.

And as far as straps go if it doesn't have a visible weight rating on it from the manufacturer it's not DOT approved. So if it's to dirty or faded to read it lost it's certification at that point. Remember you must strap to more than 50% of the weight of the item so a full gas can if it dot approved with a strap on it but underrated has just earned you 2 tickets one for an unapproved container on the catwalk and another for unsecured cargo.

You want to put extra fuel for a generator etc in your truck. Put it in a box on your truck. Everything not in a workbox on your trailer has to have a BOL for it in the cargo area.

 

The power of resurrection is strong in this one. Should rename this thread Lazarus as it’s been dead for almost 10 years

 

Not to mention a lot of inaccurate info

 

No one knows what you need to be legal there. Not even the people that make the laws.
They make it up as they go and change it when they feel like it, backtrack when it doesn't work for them, ... all because they are the Great Country of CA that can dictate conditions to the world.

And it is really funny. CA and Trump have only that one thing in common.

 

Not dead; just dormant until the right stimulus kicks in.
Just like a good virus.