Anyone on here do steel?
Ive gone back to steel after a very long lay off and now find we are not allowed to get on the trailer. So all the fastening must be done from the ground. I have the problem that as Im 5`8" I struggle to reach high enough to hook the top warwick hook on. Also if its a lowish load the warwick must surely have to be in the middle!
Im going in on Monday and booking an immediate break so I can watch how others do it, but jeez, it shouldnt be like this.
Any tips?
I did one last week and I left the works, then stopped at a laybye a few miles up the road, climbed up and fastened everything properly, but I thought you had to do this BEFORE going on the Kings Highway.
We either had the chains wrapped around the bed or looped through rings set into the bed so they could be thrown over the steel then ratcheted from the ground at one side
Back in the day I used to have a bit of rope I attached to a chain and threw over then pulled the chain over for things like ‘Bright Steel’, think thats what the slippy stuff was called.
ROG:
thrown over the steel then ratcheted from the ground at one side
Make sure the ratchets are on the near side of the bed, so that IF you have to pull up to re-tension the chains/straps at the side of the road your not putting yourself in mortal danger by standing close to the live traffic. My next door neighbour was killed last year in south wales when he stopped to re-tension the chains, the ratchets where on the off side, he was struck by another truck in the dark killing him
At the back of the trailer and near the legs i put the chain round the whole trailer rather than just over the top and put the tightener underneath between the chock rail and chassis , some loads are impossible though, i have to make all sorts of improvisations on a daily basis just to fasten the stuff on, i feel your pain though, i.m 6ft4 and i struggle sometimes
Thanks all. My problem is NOT chucking the chains over and I know where to put them. My problem is getting the warwicks on and tight…while standing on the ground!
Back in the day we used to climb up, get the warwick between the legs and give it a good old tighten-up, now weve got to reach up well over head high. Im gonna see what other guys do on monday!!
Read as much as possible of the supplied glossy pamphlet, concerning chaining patterns, numbers of required chains, gross weights, lateral forces, speed/inertia ratios…skip the fist page because its all mathematics, including latin symbols, which are not actually used outside research institutions. Place pamphlet in the recycling bin, go outside and just get on with it, because there`s only 24 hrs in a day and someone has to actually move the ■■■■ stuff.
If you have to get up on the trailer just do it when you think no-ones watching.
When I was empty at Hull today I got on the back to collect the timbers up and stack them up the front…WRONG! Got told off for that as well.
Still, better than shop work anyday, and a lot of the curtainsider lads have no work at the moment.
ROG:
thrown over the steel then ratcheted from the ground at one side
Make sure the ratchets are on the near side of the bed, so that IF you have to pull up to re-tension the chains/straps at the side of the road your not putting yourself in mortal danger by standing close to the live traffic. My next door neighbour was killed last year in south wales when he stopped to re-tension the chains, the ratchets where on the off side, he was struck by another truck in the dark killing him
i used to do this no matter what straps chains etc. good tip for any newbies.
for me i would do it how the site say and park up outside and then do it my way!
ROG:
thrown over the steel then ratcheted from the ground at one side
Make sure the ratchets are on the near side of the bed, so that IF you have to pull up to re-tension the chains/straps at the side of the road your not putting yourself in mortal danger by standing close to the live traffic. My next door neighbour was killed last year in south wales when he stopped to re-tension the chains, the ratchets where on the off side, he was struck by another truck in the dark killing him
i used to do this no matter what straps chains etc. good tip for any newbies.
for me i would do it how the site say and park up outside and then do it my way!
The downside to having the binders or ratchets on the inside is that if they do work loose and the load shifts a bit ( we all know it shouldn’t but this is the real world I’m talking about) it will more than likely go with the camber on the road and fall toward the ditch.
If the ratchets or binders are ditch side, then tightening them effectively pulls the load over more.
If they are on the road side, then tightening then can pull the load back over.
Not really an issue with steel but a high load like straw or timber, it can make the difference.
For that reason I always tighten from the drivers side.
Lad I know carries an old spare tyre with him and stands on it. You can still get on the trailer but you have to use those stupid platforms they provide.
TruckProPhil:
Lad I know carries an old spare tyre with him and stands on it. You can still get on the trailer but you have to use those stupid platforms they provide.
you,ve got some balls to come on here with a user name like that, good luck
