Hey Gman... I started to do the samething but my last company safety guy said that the rub rail wasn't a valid anchor point since it was aluminum. My new point of anchor was to be under the the deck, onto the steel framing. I should have asked what if the trailer was all aluminum. The other thing he said was this is the rub rail not the load securement rail and DOT doesn't like to see straps on the outside of the rub rail per some rule of law in the book that I can't remember right now....

I'll have to watch for skateboards as I'm riding the "DOG" on friday and saturday. Off to Arrow in Oaklahoma for orientation on monday.

Yeah, I usually tried to come down to the I-beam under the trailer, without going over top of the rub rail, unless my straps weren't long enough. Some trailers, I could hook them under the bed, but some, I couldn't (such as the 53 ft. stepdecks Swift operates), in which case, I wouldn't have much choice but to go around the rub rail.

I understand (from an MD Trooper), that a driver with a load of hay had the hook come loose from the frame rail under the bed. I was told that the wind took the strap over the load, and down into the opposing lane of travel. It went through the windshield of a 4-wheeler and killed the driver.

That securement is one of the main reasons I'm not pulling flatbed anymore. A slight breeze, a couple of wiggles of the strap, and the hook is UNHOOKED. It can catch on the bottom corner, and when you start to tighten it down, it suddenly slips off, and goes up in the air. When it comes down, it's addressed "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN". I've got a 3 inch scar on the top of my head from one. I've also seen the bottom edge of the frame bent and cracked, and even with a piece broken out.

When it happened to me, I had DOT standing about ten feet from me, and I don't remember everything I said, but I'll bet he still does.

Strapping down bales of hay is probably going to be quite tricky. Can you imagine how easily it could loosen up as you go down the road? I'd certainly be hesitant to accept such a job, anyhow.

We never use rub rails for tiedowns. All our straps have chains on the end so we can go around the spools or through the pockets. The only thing we can attach to the rubrail is bugees for our tarps.

try strapping rolls of chain link fence, lots of fun, you can stop every hour and get another click or two on the winch per strap. Problem is that the rolls of chainlink are not only easy to compress but the rolls actually start to tighten themselves,in other words roll themselves back up from the pressure of the straps meaning they get smaller.

Never done that - don't want to.

Most of what I've done has required chains, or, if it did require straps, it was something considerably more firm, such as lumber. The only strap-down load which I really had an issue with were those aluminum coils from Alcoa, and that was really more because I was worried about damaging the coils (the people at Alcoa make them sound about as brittle as glass) than I was in my abilities to strap a load down.

FYI.......Ask any D.O.T. in America or Canada, and they will tell you it is illegal to use the rub rail as an anchor point, look it up in the load securement manual, it's there in black and white. I've been a trainer for a number of years and find it incredible that so many flat bed drivers would not know this....lol. And hey, as far as hauling hay is concerned, I gotta say it's one of the tickiest loads I've ever hauled. You can't tie it down too tight or you will cut through the bales, and if you tie it too loose you lose yer load, interesting problem huh?

Most TMC trucks come equipped with a letter from the manufacturer of the Benson aluminum trailers to the DOT stating that the rub rail is the ONLY point that is engineered for strap attachment. The threat is implied that if a DOT officer requires attaching the hook differently then THEY will be responsible for the ensuing accident.

I don't like coils either. Throwing 8 straps over a coil eye up is pretty hard, dang straps like to slide off. I can't remember which strap is on the bottom and I always have to go back on the deck and look ops: .

How many drivers nail there dunnage or v-boards to the deck around the pallet to keep it from moving?

If i remember correctly we have to build a cage around the pallet to keep it from sliding off the pallet, another DOT rule.