Hello everybody. I've been lurking on her for a few days, and I finally decided to post. I've been out of trucking for a little more than a year, and since I've been going broke trying to make a go of it in the insurance biz(I have two brothers doing it that said I would have no regrets, they just forgot to mention the $15,000 in debt), I decided to get back to what I love doing. And I do love it, so all the OTR haters can stay away from this post.

I have a new job pulling a flat bed, and I was just trying to get some general advice about tying down loads and tarping, since I haven't done this kind of hauling before. The work aspect of it doesn't bother me, my previous job had me loading a lot of boxes by hand. I just have no idea about the regulations involving securing your load. I also know nothing about the Qualcomm, and I'm curious about that as well.

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

The best advice I can give you is to watch what other drivers are doing to tie down and tarp loads when you are waiting to be loaded. Everybody has a different style of tarping and some work better than others, but trial and error will go a long way there. Many newbies are tempted to tarp and then strap over that, but this is extremely hard on the tarps and isn't a good idea. I do however put a 2 inch strap over the joint of my tarps to prevent seperation.

You can download a document from the DOT about securement requirements. That is a good place to start.

Now I tend to use a 4 inch strap for every 5,000 pounds of product weight, or a chain and binder for every 10,00 pounds of product weight. I use a strap for every 8 feet of wooden items, and 1 strap for every 4 feet on metal items. Every item needs to have 2 straps over it as well.

You also need some sort of securement against the load moving forward or backward. For most items that is just a pair of 2 inch straps in an x pattern accross the front of the load. For sheet metal that is a pair of chains in an x pattern accross the front of them. Other loads may take some creativity.

So for example if I am loading bundles of 8 foot long lumber. A load might be 12 bundles, so that is 6 pairs side by side from the front to the back of my 48' trailer. Each stack will get 2 straps for a total of 12 straps down the trailer. 5,000 pounds per strap times 12 straps means I have 60,000 pounds of securement, and I can only legally haul 48,500. I would also take a pair of 2 inch straps hooked at the front corner running diagonally up the front of the load and down the side.

If I am loading 16 foot lumber a typical load might be 9 bundles, or three stacks of 3, with a pair side by side and one on top. Two straps per bundle would leave more than 8 feet between the straps so I need at least 3. Three straps per bundle would mean 9 altogether, but 9 times 5,000 is only 45,000 pounds so I would add another strap to the front bundle to make 50,000 pounds worth of straps.




You will have to ask your company what they want you to do with the qualcomm, since every company does things differently with those.

 

The best advice I can give you is to watch what other drivers are doing to tie down and tarp loads when you are waiting to be loaded. Everybody has a different style of tarping and some work better than others, but trial and error will go a long way there. Many newbies are tempted to tarp and then strap over that, but this is extremely hard on the tarps and isn't a good idea. I do however put a 2 inch strap over the joint of my tarps to prevent seperation.

You can download a document from the DOT about securement requirements. That is a good place to start.

Now I tend to use a 4 inch strap for every 5,000 pounds of product weight, or a chain and binder for every 10,00 pounds of product weight. I use a strap for every 8 feet of wooden items, and 1 strap for every 4 feet on metal items. Every item needs to have 2 straps over it as well.

You also need some sort of securement against the load moving forward or backward. For most items that is just a pair of 2 inch straps in an x pattern accross the front of the load. For sheet metal that is a pair of chains in an x pattern accross the front of them. Other loads may take some creativity.

So for example if I am loading bundles of 8 foot long lumber. A load might be 12 bundles, so that is 6 pairs side by side from the front to the back of my 48' trailer. Each stack will get 2 straps for a total of 12 straps down the trailer. 5,000 pounds per strap times 12 straps means I have 60,000 pounds of securement, and I can only legally haul 48,500. I would also take a pair of 2 inch straps hooked at the front corner running diagonally up the front of the load and down the side.

If I am loading 16 foot lumber a typical load might be 9 bundles, or three stacks of 3, with a pair side by side and one on top. Two straps per bundle would leave more than 8 feet between the straps so I need at least 3. Three straps per bundle would mean 9 altogether, but 9 times 5,000 is only 45,000 pounds so I would add another strap to the front bundle to make 50,000 pounds worth of straps.




You will have to ask your company what they want you to do with the qualcomm, since every company does things differently with those.

 

Keep your eyes open when driving and check out every flatbed that drives by. Check out anything out of the ordinary when in a truck stop. Ask ANY flatbed driver for help and they will be all over you. Ask the shipper how most others secure their load.

There is also a book called "Cargo Securement" by J.J. Keller you can order online.

Also look for license plates from Maine. They have no life up their so they practice securing there home made campers to their Ford pickups on their time off. They are very knowledgeable.

 

Since I have not seen anything about it, when I pulled flatbed, I always tried to carry anywhere from a half dozen to a dozen 4 X 4's, about the length of the bed (8 feet). If I was hauling a load of small pipe, angle-iron, or things like flat or round stock, I would stack enough of them RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE LOAD to form a bulkhead there. One on top of the other, then a loop of chain around each end, and a binder across the middle so that it would tighten them down to the bed. The loops are pulled together and that pulls them down to the bed. When you're done, you should be able to exert any amount of force you can on them and not have them even twitch. I don't really know of any better way to keep small dimension steel in bundles from shifting without that. The idea is NOT TO ALLOW the steel to GET UP ANY INERTIA if you have to hit the brakes. Do not allow it to get a start. You may have to put some of them down to set the load on, but keep enough for that bulkhead. I have successfully stacked them as much as 2 feet high.

I also know of a driver that died near Sterling, IL because a woman in her Cadillac didn't think she had to stop for a stop sign. The driver hit the brakes to avoid hitting her, and the steel angle-iron came out of the center of the bundles. It went THROUGH the head-ache rack, the back of the sleeper, through the seat, through the driver, and through the dash. The driver was killed instantly. (Source of this information was IL DOT, while I was being given a level 3... which I passed.)

At times, those 4 X 4's may be a hassle, but how much hassle is your life worth?

 

YUP!!!! So true in so many different ways.

E=MC2 The amount of energy is the mass times the velocity of light squared. Get rid of the velocity by a headboard and you have decreased the energy exponentially.

 

Well, when you have bundles of small dimension steel, banded, it doesn't seem to matter how tight they make the banding, the pieces in the center can be moved quite easily. If you have something from 10 to 40 feet long, that's a lot of force in a small area if you allow it to go more than 6 inches. I've had a couple of pieces, 20 foot, that were able to move about 2 feet, and embedded themselves about 3 inches into oak 4 X 4's. Now, let them move 8 feet to an aluminum head-ache rack.

 

You may want to get yourself some pieces of carpet or pampers to use underneath your straps. It sometimes doesn't take much to cut through your straps, especially with some types of steel. Duct tape also helps to keep your padding in place. Some rubber matting or belting is also helpful. You can put it underneath some types of steel and pallets to help keep them from moving. This is especially helpful when you have an aluminum deck. Much of securement is common sense. You can pick up a book about securement in many truck stops. Look in the section where they sell log books. When I secure a load, especially steel, I always use at least one more strap or chain than the rules require. Remember, you can NEVER have too much securement. I ALWAYS check my chains and straps EVERY TIME I stop. They can work a little loose as the load settles. Keep an eye on your load as you drive. You should be able to see it in your mirrors. Be alert to any changes in where your load sits. It is good to stay a little cautious. You NEVER want to be 100% comfortable with some loads. I have seen too many serious accidents that could have been prevented had they taken a few more minutes to properly secure their load. It is much easier to prevent a load from moving than to stop it once it starts to move. Never allow anyone to rush you when you are trying to secure a load. Take your time and DON'T move your truck until you are comfortable with the way you have it secured. If I run across something different I always ask the shipper how they want it secured. Some freight has certain places they want a load secured. For instance, some air conditioners may have slots or certain areas where you need to secure it to prevent damage to the product. Sometimes the shipper will prefer you use straps rather than chains. I usually prefer using chains on steel, but there are some types you can safely use straps as long as you protect the straps from the steel. If you lease to a carrier they should provide you some guidance in this area. I know CRST Malone has a few pages in their book they give drivers and owner operators to use as a guide in how to properly secure their load. It can be a good, quick reference, even for those who have been pulling flats for some time. One other thing.

 

Your state's CDL manual should have info regarding load securement, have it with you. What training did your company's safety department give you? BOL

 

I am surprised that your carrier hasn't gone over some of these issues with you. A qualcomm is much like the keyboard of a computer. You can usually do some abbreviating rather than typing the entire words out. For instance rather than typing out "EMPTY" you may type "MT". There are some keys which can be used for specific things such as "LOADED", etc., If I remember correctly, carriers pay by the character so they prefer to keep typing to a minimum. The qualcomm has a number of features including GPS tracking.