Cargo Securement

It always surprises me how many people have never heard of the half twist trick. I was taught that long ago and always do that whenever I have something strapped down. I always get a kick out of the occasional guy that will tell someone they did a lousy job strappping because there's a twist in the strap.

For those that don't know, by putting a half twist in, the wind does not get a good bite on the strap and make it "work" in the wind. If the strap is straight, it vibrates in the wind t a horrendous rate and that wears out the thrap quickly. take a look at straight straps sometime driving down the road and you will see the effect.

 

Got a quick question......I have read a few threads about load securement on various sites. There is always debate on one thing or another.

One of those debates is whether the straps should be on the inside or outside of the rub rail. Most, not all, say on the inside. I see the OP has them on the outside.

I would think (thinking is dangerous for me ) that the inside makes more sense. What are advantages/disadvantages to have it in or out???

 

Actually, inside or outside the rub rail is of little consequence to me. Lets make the assumption that something does happen and the truck turns over. In theory, something could cut the strap right at the point where it is contacting the rub rail, so inside would seem to be a slight bit better. But those same forces could easily tear or bend the rub rail, damage the hook on the end of the strap, or cut the strap 2 foot above the rub rail. And in any of those cases, the strap is disconnected and no longer restraining the load. There could be some slight theoretical advantage to one way or another, but the safest move is to not turn the truck over in the forst place. Once an accident starts, trying to anticipate the forces involved is an almost impossible task.

 

Either my dad or my uncle taught me to put the "half twist" on a tiedown strap when I was a kid.

During my first and only time pulling flatbeds as a truck driver, I had to go out with a trainer to get familiar with flatbeds. He had never heard of this method, and refused to allow it on "his" loads. Then again, there was many things he was clueless about. But, he was the trainer.

 

I don't recall TMC specifically teaching the half twist but it was definitely mentioned at some point in orientation during a conversation. I don't believe my trainer used it with any of the high loads we carried.

Concerning the location of the straps it was required by TMC that the straps were to be inside the rub rails for the reason stated above. The only exception was if the trailer was 96" wide and the load made it impossible to go inside the rail.

 

At TMC we were told to "belly strap" loads such as you pictured. Some loads like Griffin pipe had specific instructions to belly strap. When the first tier was loaded I would throw two straps over it but not secure them so as not to slow down the fork lift operator. When the top tier was loaded three more straps were thrown over the top and then all would be secured. TMC required us to alternate the straps so that every other one was on the opposite side of the trailer. They claim it equalizes the pull so that the load isn't being pulled toward the winch side.