Unsecured load

Im aware of the scales having something to say, I used that drink reference to show my reluctance to take on something like that. It would require something extra to get up there and go.

I appreciate the dolly tidbit, now I understand. You put the finger on the one thing I was conceerned about, with those spreads being all the way back there.

 

There are four straps and a chain on the front bunk. In a hard braking situation the trailer brakes are going to be working to slow down the load through the rest of the straps on the trailer. If I rear end something, hard enough to break those poles loose of the front bunk, I guess I deserve to have those poles come through the cab.

 

I was mostly referring to the length and maneuverability not the securement. I've rigged my share of picks mostly when I was in the crane business but even today with our boom truck I seem to always be picking something weird that takes some head scratching.

 

I'm with you on straps, they're for little light stuff. Chains is what I use over 99% of the time, I am in a niche market though.

 

It's nice to see both sides of the discussion. But yes it is going off-track. I prefer chains on steel. It's funny how we all are a bit different, but I enjoy seeing how others approach the same problems.
Edit: And learning how others do it may give you a trick for next time. Said it before but the guys here have so many ways to do stuff it's impressive.

 

GKR is a bit of a rough outfit. Think along lines of CR England. Steve is an absolute outback legend. I've had the pleasure of doing a run with him in a convoy to a station. Took us 17 days to get in and out. That man has some stories!!

I actually got asked the other day if i owned shoes because every time they have seen me i am wearing thongs. (Flip flops as you guys call them)

Looks easier than a train.

Straps are what you use during a good night.

Chains are what you use to keep your Mrs away from that good night....

 

Straps are my go to for securement where straps are appropriate. That is to say, the strap hooks on one side of the trailer, it goes up and over the load, possibly around it, back down to the other side, and into the winch. Straight. The strap doesn't get bunched up going around stuff. For example, I wouldn't think about using a strap in a steel coil the way I use chains. It would go through the rail, and then have to go forward or backward, bunching it up. That's not how a strap is meant to be used. Chains do that without bunching up.

So for coils, it's chains through them. I tend to throw a strap over the top of coils as well, but that's extra, also helps keep my edge protection in place.

Chains are also good in applications where straps can't be used without damage.

I disagree with @johndeere4020 about straps being good only for light stuff. They both have their applications, and the idea that straps don't work on heavy stuff is unscientific bias in my opinion. Physics is physics, and I'll stand by it.

FWIW, I've had loads of steel product that I used both chains and straps on. Where a strap was not perfectly straight across the load, it tends to stay in place in my experience. With chains, if you get them crooked they have a tendency to straighten themselves out, becoming loose in the process. To me this says a lot about that idea that chains hold steel better, I think the straps often "stick" to the load better, providing more friction and more stopping force where it's needed. Chains, on the other hand, are the only way to go when you are putting them in front of a load, or pulling forward or backward on attachment points. The slight stretching of straps makes them less effective in this capacity.

So for me, hauling that piece that you posted, I have used chains where you say they would go, and I'd use straps over the top of the piece. Tarps of course go over it all.