Frozen Coal - How is this possible?

There's always one in every company.

 

Do you have bed heaters? I have seen guys running their exhuast on a flex pipe into the beds. Special made that way. To keep the trl warm not stick

 

i had a load of cib's(cast iron borings) freeze up last year.got it about 1/2 up,was watching it not shoot out,and then my trailer was leaning waaayyyyy to the right as witnessed in my mirror.seemed like an eternity before i got it back down. a year later and i think that i am still puckered up from that one load.anyway,had to go back to the shipper,a day's ride,and they used a crane magnet to get that load out after busting it up.

coal haulers unload at the same plant and i will watch them a little closer to see if they have a frozen load.regardless,i imagine that you will remember that load if it was leaning on you.

 

I picked up a load of pumice in Chesapeake Va. one time and it stuck to one side of the bed. It was leaning and when I finally got it straight it still was not good enough. When it started to come out it still turned truck and trailer over. It was not a fun ride it was a 38 foot frameless dump. Will never forget that ride.

 

Just curious. Did you run over any wet roads. I used to haul a lot of coal. One of the worst experiences I had with coal freezing was when I ran on a snow covered road after it had been salted. Water spraying under the trailer in freezing temps will cause the load to freeze. Also coal loaded out of stockpiles holds heat and will freeze in the trailer as it cools . A load should not be left on a trailer overnight if it can be avoided.

 

Well, you may have some drivers pissed at you, but I sure wouldn't let them run me off the job. I see you have 7 years experience, but obviously you are still a rookie at what you are doing on this particular job. It takes time to learn all the ins and outs.

You have a local job, and a good company to work for, I'd say two things to you. "Stay with it, and keep your eyes open."
If you seriously believe that someone is messing with your truck, make sure to be very, very thorough on your pretrip. But I'm far more inclined to think you are being paranoid about that.

I've never hauled coal, but any aggregate substance can clot up and stick. It's a whole lot of fun when you're hauling hot mix. . .

 

Yes coal will freeze in your bed. Even hauling road salt it will freeze. From the looks of your picture the coal could have had some moisture in it. Was your floor clean before loading it? By clean I mean no snow or ice. I have bed liner in my truck and if you load on top of snow or ice it will stick. I also looks to me like the loader loaded you from the drivers side. Seems sometimes when the loader loads from one side the material sometimes will stick easier on the opposite side.

 

The plastic liners will help the most. Buy there is always the load that sticks or freezes in the trailer. Its just part of the education you get when running dumps.