"OH SHIFT" Steel Load securement?

There's more than one side to load securment. Top and BOTTOM. Slippery soft treated pine should not be used for dunnage.

 

We used to stack them like that all the time, you can fly individual sheets.

 

We've done it before but safety guys didn't want to see us do it. They can slip out of the pelican hooks and the other hooks we fabricated to stay locked into the center joints were not certified hooks so we couldn't use them either.

 

A donage short stack sitting against it held by chain.
Cross X across nose of load to arrest forward movement
One half x to cross back section to keep load tight against X on nose of load.
Belly wrap with rubber edge protection.
Just a few add-ons

 

3 good straps, properly placed, over 3 good oak 4x4s, properly placed, would have held the load better. Not saying that would be legal or how to do it but it would have held.
All this talk of throwing extra tie downs "just to be sure". Why not be sure?
You want to understand load securment? Look at how you hold something.
Containment. You cup it in your hands to hold a handful of bolts it's contained. Like a dump truck or boxing somthing in on a flat.
Physical connection. You can grab ahold of an object to hold it still. Like if you had a toy car on a table. it would be much easier to keep from moving if you grabbed ahold of it by the bumpers vs trying to hold straight down on it. With a physical connection you don't need have your load securment as tight. You are relying on the strength of the angle to keep it restrained.
Friction. This is where we live as flat bedders. If you pick a pencil up between your pointer and thumb what hold there? What keeps it from sliding out? Friction! By increasing pressure you are increasing friction. Think of your dunage as your thumb and straps as your pointer finger. Where do you want them placed? One over the other as close as reasonable. One is not much good without the other. Think about your "thumb" placement when loading. Placing long steel on soft, slick 4xs is like trying to hold down that toy car with just down pressure. You're not going to hold it still it will roll, steel will slide.

When strapping straight over an object what you are doing is creating down pressure as to increase friction. Friction on what? Your 4x4s/trailer. Straps are there to increase friction high enough to overcome g forces.

 

Anything long and slick, as in beams, pipe, and such, are missiles aimed right at the driver. The overall best is a bulkhead, with the load against it. It requires many times less force to hold a object from moving than it takes to stop it once it starts moving. You've got to take precautions on anything heavy that is secured indirectly.

I guess headache racks offer a little protection over the thin metal of the cab but they are more for looks and a place to store chains than they are for actually stopping a load.

 

Agreed.

This problem could have been solved by the driver throwing a couple extra chains. An X across the front of the stack and the same at the rear.

You can keep most anything from moving with a single chain or a bulkhead made from wood and chained in place.

Once the load starts moving you are done. Momentum will keep it moving.

The driver in the video is lucky it wasn't a load of pipe. Many drivers have lost their lives from things like this.

Headache racks are doing nothing when something that weighs 40K lbs or more hits them at speed. At best it might deflect it from the driver. Steel bars or pipe will go through like butter though.

 

They were mighty proud of that wrecker when they got it..."only rotator in the area" is what their radio ads said. Glad to see they have plenty of work for it.

 

I love watching Ron's videos! Guy is very knowledgeable and seems genuine.

 

I like the forehead camera he uses while driving.