New to car hauling with dually in Denver Colorado

A note about those "Lasso" type wheel straps. (All the pictures before this post) If your going to haul new cars from the depot, they usually forbid those type of straps. They forbid chains as well. ALL They normally allow these days is 3 point over the tires straps. You usually have to sign a paper saying you understand this and will comply. Some depots inspect the load as you leave to be sure your actually in compliance. (They ALL do a VIN check to be sure your taking the correct vehicle...lol)

Below is a sample pic I snagged off the net. The closer to the tire that you attach the end and center hooks the better. The very best way to do it is with all 4 wheels and you do not want all 4 ratchets pulling in the same direction. 2 pull forward, 2 pull to the rear. This way you will have almost no fore/aft rocking of the car at all.

In case of a roll over or trailer tip over wreck this is also the most secure way to keep the vehicle actually on the trailer. (They say, even better than chains). A car flying through the air and impacting something (Like another moving vehicle with people in in) can cause a lot of damage. Damage that you, the transporter will be directly responsible for.

 

Thanks for the heads up about the depot and lasso straps. We never have any issues when we pull out of the ports and dealers out west here.

My company doesn't run wedge trailers with a preferated deck but if we did we'd probably use the same style strap that's in your picture.

 

I thought about buying a wedge in thinking even though it's made for cars couldn't some one chain things down say like crane parts or things like that?

 

On Sloped runners with a open center. It wouldn't be a good idea. Besides the forklift loading something on a sloped trailer would need roatating forks to set it down. I don't see very many shippers willing to risk it.

 

True but what do you think about a forest river trailer

 

Yes and no.. It can (And certainly has) been done but it is a pain in the butt. With the slant of the deck it is near impossible for a forklift operator to load and unload pallets. At the crashed car auctions they load cars with a huge forklift (Looks more like a huge front end loader with forks than a traditional forklift) with really long forks (guessing 10-12, maybe 15 feet long)? But that is way different than a normal forklift and a pallet. Something like crane parts that could be sling loaded (using a big forklift, boom truck or crane) would not be all that bad but care must be taken when planning the lift to insure that when setting it down on the slanted deck the lift straps/chains do not slide on the lifted part which will shift the load and could cause it to fall. Same when picking it off the slant. Your going to have to compensate for the angle so that when you sit it on the ground it sits flat or risk shifting of the sling, dropping the load..

Another problem is that your going to be so busy looking for cars and learning to use the car based load boards and so forth that your not going to have much time left over to look for those alternative loads. Unless of course you happen to know somebody that occasionally needs crane parts moved and they just call you.

Lastly, you don't really want to use your car straps for securing other random cargo. They are not made for it, it can damage them and they will not do as good of a job as using the correct straps or chains. This means that your going to need to carry additional straps, chains, binders, chokers....

That said, I have on occasion had an empty spot and by chance had an odd load of... whatever come my way. I have on occasion moved some stuff that was never really intended to be moved on a car hauler. But in doing so I am very picky in what I'll even consider and have passed on much more than I have taken. If 2 people can lift it you can probably figure out a way to safely secure it to your trailer. But is it really going to be worth your time to mess with that? Most of the time I have done it was for something of my personal use or for a friend.

Last consideration is your insurance and registration. Most likely if your hauling cars your insurance will not cover general cargo, only cars/trucks/motorcycles.. might or might not cover a trailer, RV, boat on a trailer? This insurance business can be VERY particular and you don't want to be hauling something your not covered for when you have a problem, (Like a crash or a load falls off trailer causing damage to someone/something) because, well need I really explain?

Now on the other hand, if you get a flatbed trailer with some decent ramps you can easily haul all sorts of stuff, including cars if you feel the need.

In my tiny mind it pretty much comes down to this: If your going to haul cars, then get a trailer designed to haul cars and go haul cars. Spend your time finding cars and making contacts in the car moving world. Leave the oddball stuff to those properly equipped to do so.

On the other hand, if you want to haul the oddball stuff, get a trailer designed for that (Like a flat bed) and an assortment of straps, chains, binders, chokers and so forth and add in some car straps so you can on the odd occasion you just need to make some gas money to get to your next "Real load" you can haul a couple cars. One of the biggest obstacles I see for guys doing this is they frequently do not have decent car loading ramps and often have issues with clearance, traction or the ramps are way overkill (And REALLY HEAVY) for what is needed to load cars so they have to do a lot of extra work to load a car.

1 last bit of general information you might find useful. A 5th wheel type hitch is only about 100 times easier to hook and unhook from your truck than a gooseneck is. It is also much stronger and unlike a gooseneck, safety chains are not required. Note that if your using electric brakes you'll still need to maintain a functional emergency break away brake activation system. If your going to mount a 5th wheel (Or gooseneck) hitch in the bed of a truck, especially for commercial use, make 100% sure it is FRAME MOUNTED. I have seen plenty of bed only mounted hitches in use and they always end up being a problem. A personal note, I do not like the most of the traditional RV type 5th wheel hitches, especially the ones that slide back and forth. If your going to be a professional truck driver, (even in a dually pick up) get and use the correct professional, not recreational, equipment. In the long run it will pay for itself in safety, durability and peace of mind.

Hope this is helpful...

 

A what? Have a link?

In any case, I would probably refer you to my previous post just above... but I am curious to see this Forrest River trailer and what makes it different/special..

 

I'm just just talking the basic forest river / shipshe

 

My apologies, I think I have heard of shipshe but can't picture one so no idea what they look like. Never heard or of Forrest River.

Of course I.am NOT the be all end all trailer expert so the fact that I'm not familiar with them means little.

However if you can get a link to the equipment your talking about I'll try to offer whatever info might be useful.

 

http://www.shipshetrailers.com/53-x-102-electric-brake-with-package-set-up-to-haul-rvs/
This would be the trailer I have been looking at