The Truckers’ Report flatbed Hall of Shame.

Hmm. Interesting. I see cross chains on the undercarriage so it's held somewhat side-to-side that way. Still a big no no the way he has it. Gonna get busted at a weigh station for improper track strapping. I can only imagine that os load ticket!

 

Improper track strapping? That’s not a thing. There is no ticket here. It just his greenhorn showing.

 

May I pose a question to all you flat-bedders of 'a certain age', in other words were operating in the 1970s and earlier?
How did you secure your loads before ratchet straps were invented?

Did you do what we did on this side of the Atlantic, and use long lengths of rope to go over and back again several times tightened on each cross to a rope hook on the trailer using a special drivers' dolly hitch?

With a 40 foot trailer which was the max in those days, depending on the height of the load only 2 or 3 lengths of rope were carried and were sufficient for the whole load. Finished off at the tail, as with the front, with 2 cross overs to stop the load lurching forewards or backwards. Also a 'heel' cross from one side to the other at the base of the load, again front and back.

In Australia they had a different method. many, but shorter, lengths of rope designed to go over just once. No rope hooks, their trailers had/have a long bar under the chock rail so our hitches wouldn't work there. There they had a slightly different version of the hitch which involved passing the end of the rope under the bar to start with, instead of our method of forming a loop and slipping it over the hook.

Either way it was possible, if done correctly, to get the ropes bar tight (sometimes with a double hitch) and the loads thus very secure.

Does any of this ring a bell, or are you all too young to wonder what the hell I am talking about?

 

I'm younger, I definitely know what you're talking about though. Seems like they would have invented the ratcheting strap a long time ago just for safety, but again in those days no one knew what a steering wheel holder was.

 

Maybe this is normal in flatbed land but to a lowly van driver, just doesn’t look right.

I’m sure it’ll raise up once air gets to the bags but seems like it could damage the tires over time.

Picture doesn’t really show but it was pressing into the tire pretty good.

 

In the early 70's (western Canada) we used mostly chains.
Some companies put 1/4" cables on winches on their trailers.
We carried wooden v-boards to put under the chains when needed.
For bagged loads tarps were all that was required.

 

That's a good way to ruin a tire.

 

Never seen anyone do that before. I'd like to see the entire machine and trailer. Looks like the boom isn't down far enough, possibly over height. I don't see many of them being hauled with the boom to the front.

 

Yes, but let me clarify a bit:
I run the equipment as well and have seen track pads break, but the biggest reason is that I witnessed what can happen when you tie only to tracks and not the track frame. Inside the tracks there is play or slack of the track chains if they are adjusted properly. The machine can actually move inside the tracks despite the tracks being well tied down, and any movement is your biggest enemy. Anybody that has loaded out hard material with an excavator can tell you how much they move inside the tracks (it may be only a few inches, but you can dang sure feel it, and imagine a panic stop where the machine has a couple of inches to move before hitting securement). I prefer to have at least four direct ties to the corners from the track frame, and then if I need added WLL going to the tracks is an easy and quick way to get it.

As for the photo, I gotta admit that that is a new one on me. It does not appear as if they have any direct ties at all but did throw a chain over the stick or bucket. That said, there really isn't anything wrong with what they did if they had their direct ties. It's a fair bit of work and uses a lot of chain, but I've seen a lot worse.