covering exhaust or stack on equipment ?

Well, this is pure speculation. But I reckon some manufacturer may have built some bad turbo's at one point. And I also reckon that some guys unloading equipment fire them up, give 'em full throttle and put 'em in high range. I reckon a few of them turbo's let go and someone was saavy enough to blame the trucker for not socking the exhaust and take it out of his cargo insurance. That's a hypothesis.

Now, there may be some merit to keeping bugs, dust, and moisture out. And there is certainly merit for covering your tail. I don't buy it, but I sock 'em and take a picture.

 

I've hauled machines from Waterloo and Dubuque and was never asked to cover the stacks. And the one time I hauled a new front loader from Davenport, I asked the shipping clerk if I needed to cover the stack since it was pointing forward, and he told me that they don't allow drivers to cover exhaust?? So I have no idea. I don't haul them much anymore since the rates are way too cheap for RO/RO freight. Too many megas diluting the market and they can operate cheaper than I can I guess.

 

I have been in my operations position for about 15 years. In this time, we hauled about 5 loads per day of farm tractors. NOT ONE exhaust was taped. 5 x 200 business days/yr x 15 = 15000 loads. We have had 0 claims for turbos. We have also hauled thousands of crawlers, backhoes, skidsteers, skidders, loaders, and just about any piece of heavy equipment under 50K lbs. Very few times were taped stacks even requested. 0 turbo failures.

 

We usually don't cover exhaust stacks unless the shipper requires it or we're asked to. If in doubt, we cover.

It takes less time to cover the stack than it does to explain why you didn't.

 

There is also the issue of falling while attempting to cover exhaust. Most exhaust are not easily accessible and would take some crawling on the hood to get to. In most cases the driver would be at least 10 feet off the ground when attempting to tape the stack. A fall from that height could easily be a half million dollar work comp claim. I understand you could have some sort of system with a broom handle/bucket/bungee, etc that would lessen (but not eliminate) the risk. My feeling is that it is the shippers responsibility to prepare the machine for shipping. If they want the exhaust covered, put their guy up there crawling around like a monkey, not mine.

 

Excellent point. But it is another way to blame the trucker. Everyone is looking for an easy way out, CYA!

 

I cover all stacks, except the Lexion's. But then I get to pay the deductible, not the company, so I cover my rear too.

Martin

 

Yep. Like I stated before. I allways cover the stack.
LAst week my wife did it as I was in getting paperwork.
I came out and went to grab the tape and I see it was covered. I'm like I know I did'nt cover the stack.
She in turn real proudly says I did. I kinda got on her about climbing on the lds., but also thanked her.
I do not want her climbing on any ld.
I'm afraid something might happen to her. I know, I can fall just as easy, but it would be me getting hurt. Not her

 

ManCard confirmed.

We take the heat, the bumps and bruises so that the womenfolk don't have to. I salute you.

 

Most turbo's have some sort of waste gate or variable vane stopping airflow through the engine when its not running. But more importantly, as someone pointed out "200 rpm for 20 hours"... Guess what, when you fire up that engine everyday, that turbo spins 20,000 RPM for quite a while with no oil in the top to lube the turbo. A couple hundred RPM (i doubt that that can even happen) will not hurt that turbo. If you are thinking its like a race engine that will seize up in a few seconds with no oil, think again. A turbo has no load on the bearing, it free spins (especially without the engine running), most damage done to bearings as a result of low/no oil pressure is because the layer of oil that is supposed to be between the bearing and the crankshaft is there to absorb the impact on the crank. Obviously there is no impact on the bearing on an idling turbo shaft.
I ran a 421 small block Chevy in a 100 lap race at I-70 speedway in Missouri after spinning a rod bearing in hot laps. I used a stethoscope to pinpoint which bearing it was, removed the spark plug from that hole and ran 50 miles at 6500 RPM. the only oil in that bearing was splashed from the other bearings before it was scavenged back to the dry sump tank because the journals were no longer aligned with the hole in the bearing. The reason it lived is because there was no bearing load on that cylinder.

BTW... I bought a new crank after that.