Advice for Hauling Steel Coil

Discussion in 'Flatbed Trucking Forum' started by jldilley, Jan 29, 2014.

  1. ReeferOhio

    ReeferOhio Medium Load Member

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    I haul from Nucor Crawfordsville, Ind. I like hauling out of there laid back compared to some of the mills. If it's a band that runs through the center of the coil not around those break all the time. Good luck!
     
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  3. Dhagool

    Dhagool Bobtail Member

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    Not on a trailer that belongs to me.
     
  4. csw1818

    csw1818 Medium Load Member

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    If your hauling suicide add one for safety and add one to save your ?&!
    Shotgun cross chains and 4 c chains grade 70 two straps across the top with a moving blanket that's 70,000 lbs of securment on a 45,000 lbs coil. And ALWAYS DO YOUR LOAD CHECK and I don't mean get out there and look at everything I mean actually tighten everything back down still only take a couple of minutes and could save your career your life and someone else's life
     
  5. Nickelson

    Nickelson Bobtail Member

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    These hook plates for coils on my conastoga
     
  6. Nickelson

    Nickelson Bobtail Member

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    Never messed w a conastoga hauling coils.it goes n to floor track.
     
  7. Vaso.L

    Vaso.L Light Load Member

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    South Holland,IL
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    so if you put 70k lbs of load securement on a 45k coil,can it break loose if you brake hard?
     
  8. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    White County, Arkansas
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    We took coils up to 52000 on the center of the deck. Where the marker light was. Trailer was usually pretripped to every weld verified visually in place and without flaws.

    Securement was tossed onto those shotgun coils until you run out of chains and straps. Then tarped. Turned out to be around 24 feet more or less and 8 something high. The worst problem with driving those is finding the speed at which they wont tip at but fast enough that the bank of the flyover ramp wont naturally dump it and you over the railing to fall onto the highway below.

    I did not handle too many of those thankfully. There was a mill in Hammond or Gary area up near SE Chicago that shipped those.

    Most of my coil is usually aluminum out of Logan for Busch in Williamsburg. Otherwise it's coils off ships or barges going to say whirlpool in Louisville etc (Washing machines etc.)

    Ive been out of it for quite a while. I don't miss it. The training and experience has not faded away, lets put it that way. Coils are relatively idiot proof.
     
  9. kylefitzy

    kylefitzy Road Train Member

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    With just braking? Not likely unless your trailer fails where the chains are secured. 100k worth of securement don’t mean squat when you rip the rubrail off the trailer.
     
    beastr123 Thanks this.
  10. JonJon78

    JonJon78 Road Train Member

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    What was the name of the mill that shipped these huge coils?
     
  11. brsims

    brsims Road Train Member

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    Meadville, PA
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    Nucor Crawfordsville typically loads "suicide", or eye crosswise. Raw steel coils, dirt cheap freight.

    Thow chains. Then throw another. Heck, throw one more just to be sure! A 45,000 pounder is a killer waiting to cut loose, and that coil hates you personally and wants you dead. Bind that sonuvagun down so hard even God can't get it to move!

    On a lighter note, coils are (in my opinion) some of the easiest loads to haul once you get used to them. As has been said before, WATCH YOUR FOLLOWING DISTANCE. A 45,000 lb. could takes a bit more to stop than an equivalent dry van or reefer load. That whole load sits on a 4x8 section of your deck, and the only thing holding it place is the chain securement points on your trailer. She's tall, she's tippy, and she's angry.

    Be careful on your turns. That's a lot of weight in a relatively small area, and she WILL torque and twist your trailer in very unhappy ways.

    Make danged sure your trailer has a "coil package". That gives you extra reinforcement in the coil center area of your trailer. Otherwise, your trailer isn't going to last long as a steel hauler. Steel haul pounds the heck out of equipment, so you need sturdier equipment to handle the punishment.

    Raw steel gets trapped during the winter no matter what. Can't get the road salt and brine and crap on the steel. In the warmer months, you can sometimes get away without tarping, that is up to the customer.

    Also be careful of coil heat. Those raw steel bugger hit your deck HOT! Always have your PPE on, especially your long sleeves. I've gotten a nasty burn or two, and a few slices on my arms from steel.

    In the end, I enjoy steel haul. freight is relatively easy, lanes are easy to learn, and the money is not great but steady. I've been hauling steel for six going on to seven years now, have yet to lose a coil or get a load claim.

    Finally, steel does NOT reward the stupid or the lazy. Get your system down, and do it the RIGHT way each and every time.
     
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