Just literally strapped these down, do you think it’s overkill or better safe than sorry. Nothing up top is too heavy but you never know. One of the other drivers here said I’m being daft as it won’t move. Personally, being a novice with deckers it sets my mind at ease.
It does not matter what he thinks, you are responsible for that lot, if he wants to be “johnny no straps” then that is up to him, nobody to my knowledge ever got fined for over restraint of a load, only under restraint.
Do you mean you’ve strapped them “down” as you say, or do you mean you just connected the roof straps to the side raves? (as in the pic)
Looks fine to me, but if you want to go to n’th letter of the law, probably wouldn’t satisfy VOSA 100% as the load is not strapped to the deck.
Personally I think you afe definitely right to do what you have done in the pic, otherwise if the upstairs shifts, it could fall out on some bods head when the curtain is opened.
Looks fine to me, try to loop the last set when you get to the back behind the last pallets in case something wants to fall backwards.
I always line up to top deck pallets unless something on the bottom looks particularly likely to lean. Not keen on VOSAs strapping down overkill but if theres straps on a centre rail I pretty much always use them as are quick and easy.
Tell the other bloke to check his legs are wound up fully. 
The straps weren’t long enough to bring the other side across to get a better angle but luckily the rail is about 6 inches inside the curtain so i got a little bit of pressure. Got back to the yard about an hour ago, pallets were fine. The lads loading it are pretty good, will try to box stuff in that’s tall.
If you look around the hubs some drivers strap everything in sight, others don’t even have straps. Regardless of whether or not they actually make much difference, my attitude is that I have at least made every reasonable effort to secure as much as I can. Your choice, but if anything were to fall off you would have no defence if you didn’t at least try!
gardun:
If you look around the hubs some drivers strap everything in sight, others don’t even have straps. Regardless of whether or not they actually make much difference, my attitude is that I have at least made every reasonable effort to secure as much as I can. Your choice, but if anything were to fall off you would have no defence if you didn’t at least try!
Couldn’t agree with this more. As ‘gardun’ said, if you have done all you can what more can you do.
According to VOSA the difference between no load security and inadequate load security is a Prohibition or just advice. I’m sure you’d rather get some advice than a prohibition.
According to the Approved Code of practice those internal straps count as ‘containment’ but not restraint. If the company hasn’t provided anything else - what more can you do. Plus I doubt very much you are allowed onto the top deck to secure anything up there.
double deck trailers should be banned! but back on topic i would agree you have done your bit and its your licence etc so go with what makes you happy.
you’ve done what you can with what you had available.
overkill? i don’t think it’s anywhere near sufficient.
I use deckers everyday and that’s exactly how i strap mine, its the best you can do.
Waste of time in my opinion, but good on you for being conscientious about the load.
It looks nice, but those straps aren’t acting on the load (not your fault). Which is what I wish VOSA and these pallet networks (and maybe even the trailer manufacturers) would realise. I’m quite happy to secure loads, given the time and equipment, but it irritates me carrying out nonsense that has no effect, just so something is “seen to be done”, and the bods in the office can smile smugly as they look out the window at their tidy looking transport empire.
Another example of nonsense at our hub is what they like to call “closed curtain policy” which has you faffing about opening and closing curtains between all the different places you drive (great fun in high winds). As if trundling around the place at 5mph is going to make a pallet fall off, and since you only close the curtain, don’t clip them up, it wouldn’t make a difference anyway if something did. But it looks nice for the bosses in the office so that is all that matters! 
I’m on double deckers night trunking exactly like that, and I wouldn’t bother with those sorts of straps, not because I don’t believe in strapping the load, but because they don’t do anything. The curtain itself is made of those straps with a canvas between. It’s not load bearing (apparently, though I think a curtain is perfectly adequate to support a pile of boxes wrapped on a pallet), neither are those straps. If something heavy falls against them they aren’t going to stop it any more than the curtain will. No doubt we will get a new trailer at some point as they will insist that I use these useless things, but my opinion on their effectiveness stays the same.
I’ve been doing double deckers for over a year, i’ve had less than half a dozen things topple over in that time, and it is always down to bad stacking of the pallet or not enough wrap.
If you are sensible with corners, as you should be with a decker (although they do corner a lot better than they ‘feel’). Then most of the force on pallets is forward or backwards. So those straps again do nothing for that.
There has been a lot of noise lately about VOSA’s so called crackdown on load security, but so far all i’ve heard is noise, hot air and MMTM stories, and seen very little action. But it has got people in a flap about it, so I guess, mission accomplished for VOSA.
Saying to yourself “I have made every reasonable effort” is just burying your head in the sand to try and remove yourself from responsibility, the same thing everyone else is doing. You’ve got a brain, think for yourself. If you can see those straps do nothing, why waste your time with them.
If something looks dodgy, and isn’t crushable, or has wheels, or is already tipping, then i’ll strap it in the conventional way with a standard 5 tonne ratchet strap.
I also buy the guys who load me christmas presents and try and let them know I appreciate what they do, as loading it properly is 90% of it. They do a good job, and i’m grateful.
C10HOO:
The straps weren’t long enough to bring the other side across to get a better angle but luckily the rail is about 6 inches inside the curtain so i got a little bit of pressure. Got back to the yard about an hour ago, pallets were fine. The lads loading it are pretty good, will try to box stuff in that’s tall.
And that is the problem using skyhooks. They are not fit for purpose. All those straps are really securing, is the roof to the floor and stopping the second deck sliding off.
double deck trailers should be banned! but back on topic i would agree you have done your bit and its your licence etc so go with what makes you happy.
All those pieces on that trailer will go in a box van, they are not as secure like that and the curtains will give if you lay it on its side.
The best piece of securing equipment on that trailer is the heated shrinkwrap
What’s never made sense to me, with the design, of these curtainside double-deck pallet hub trailers is having the deck for taller pallets on the bottom. My experience has always been tall height pallets are generally lighter goods and short pallets the heavy stuff.
war1974:
double deck trailers should be banned! but back on topic i would agree you have done your bit and its your licence etc so go with what makes you happy.
Let’s say you had a 14’ taut, and you had some 9’ items in there, how would you get straps OVER them? remembering the trailer floor will be approx 5’ off the deck, so the 9’ items would be inches away if not touching the roof?
You’d just use the internal straps as pictured, same with deckers.
I just think that when VOSA goes daft, we should all stop using tauts and use containers, country would grind to a halt, can’t hold as many pallets, have to be delivered in order etc.
Personally, I’d think an argument about ‘load security’ could be battled up until something falls off, if it doesn’t fall off, it must be secure surely?
Own Account Driver:
What’s never made sense to me, with the design, of these curtainside double-deck pallet hub trailers is having the deck for taller pallets on the bottom. My experience has always been tall height pallets are generally lighter goods and short pallets the heavy stuff.
Yeah, but physics dictates keeping high stuff as low as possible, put high stuff on top, turn a corner, the forces are more on it…
A few places I’m working now have ‘netting’ inside which has extra straps too, so it goes load - netting - curtain. Still no downwards security, but the netting and webbing and then curtain provide a lot of strength, even if something heavy falls against the netting, by time it’s got to the curtain, it’s slowed down = less force. Sharp objects would still go through though in the traditional way
waynedl:
Own Account Driver:
What’s never made sense to me, with the design, of these curtainside double-deck pallet hub trailers is having the deck for taller pallets on the bottom. My experience has always been tall height pallets are generally lighter goods and short pallets the heavy stuff.Yeah, but physics dictates keeping high stuff as low as possible, put high stuff on top, turn a corner, the forces are more on it…
A few places I’m working now have ‘netting’ inside which has extra straps too, so it goes load - netting - curtain. Still no downwards security, but the netting and webbing and then curtain provide a lot of strength, even if something heavy falls against the netting, by time it’s got to the curtain, it’s slowed down = less force. Sharp objects would still go through though in the traditional way
We’ve got moving decks on our double deckers and I always load short heavy on the bottom and then lower the deck down as far as possible and load tall light pallets on tops not had any trouble with stuff on the top shifting.