The Truckers’ Report flatbed Hall of Shame.

There's really specific & extended language in Appendix D about Conestogas. Probably because of the states that were being a pain in the ### about them being too wide.

 

Yes, I take your point but my thought is that the edges of the beam settle into the wood compressing it only so far, and then is good. In that case it is better that it's beams. But it is necessary, because of chain slackening as you say, to keep a constant eye on the mirrors to monitor and rectify that situation.

 

Can you imagine how poorly that must drive with that weight distribution?

And ya gotta love the pile of unused chains behind the step.

 

The problem is, with soft wood, the "only so far" is equal to the entire wood thickness - i beams can completely sever a landscape timber. I have some aged oak that heavy items have cut surprisingly deep into.

 

Nice that is i-10 in Phoenix az. Don't worry he just going down the road!
No speako english senor

 

Can they not cut down through the timber until the flat surface of the beam rests on the wood, thus spreading the load?
I'm sure you know better than me though, it is many years since I did such work and in those far off days we scrabbled around for what ever timber we could pick up and then, if it was any good, kept it in the trailer legs for the next time. We weren't experts on the type of wood it was but I don't remember having any problems such as we have discussed.

In my early days I found many of my own loads round the country. I would be loaded outbound for a local customer and then, when tipped, took a bag of coins into a public phone box and rang around local clearing houses, you probably call them brokers(?). We often searched for steel as it was easy, craned on, craned off and no handball involved, and chose loads which would take us to another steel producing area. We got paid by the hour plus 10% of whatever we found. It was a good, free-wheeling, easy life.

 

Sure, and also your earlier point - once it compresses so much of the wood it stops is also true most of the time. It's just that if you get a soft one, it can just as easily keep going too. My first year I hauled a structural steel load that the shipper loaded with landscape timbers, and it didn't stop settling until after I delivered it.

 

Thanks for flipping the photo. And 65k more steering wheel holders allowed on the road?! Nooooooooooo!

 

Nice to see you back here Spardo, haven't seen ya here in a while.