I clocked a wagon on the A14 yesterday driving merrily along with the back doors tied open,the load was over hanging the trailer by about 1ft.
I’ve seen this " method " 3 times in as many months.
I don’t know whether this practice is legal,I’d hazard at a guess,it isn’t.
Anybody know for sure ?
Cheers.
Yep. legal, you can have a metre of overhang at the rear before you have to mark it.
Totally legal. So long as the doors are secure. I think its up to 1 metre is allowed as an overhang from the body. The overhang needs marking by a hi viz panel as well. Up to 2 metre overhang is allowed with a flashing light fixed to the overhang.
Cheers fellas,learn something new every day. 
skids:
Totally legal. So long as the doors are secure. I think its up to 1 metre is allowed as an overhang from the body. The overhang needs marking by a hi viz panel as well. Up to 2 metre overhang is allowed with a flashing light fixed to the overhang.
not a flashing light,just a light
"If a rear overhang exceeds 1m, but is less than 2m, then you must attach a visible marker (it does not have to be a board, a bright hi-vis cloth will suffice, assuming it’s a fair size). If it’s during lighting up times, then it will need to be lit.
If you exceed by 2m, then it needs to be properly signed and lit (Reg 82) during hours of darkness."
James Bateman:
I clocked a wagon on the A14 yesterday driving merrily along with the back doors tied open,the load was over hanging the trailer by about 1ft.
I’ve seen this " method " 3 times in as many months.
I don’t know whether this practice is legal,I’d hazard at a guess,it isn’t.
Anybody know for sure ?
Cheers.
It could so easily have been a Transalliance truck as they did many 14 metre pieces out of Scunthorpe and we also did aluminium sections for Aeroplane wings that were 14 metres.
The only Corus stipulation was a piece of thin polythene taped around the end of the steel which had ripped to shreds by the time we reached the M18
It was a Norfolk Line wagon Wheel Nut.
maybe a load out of brett martin in belfast,sheets of some sort of plastic which can often overhang.
Apart from the overhanging load rules, it could be “Wrong” by the insurance companies. The doors (and curtains) are part of the integral strength of the trailer, and if not secured properly this can be a “Get out” by the insurance Co.
No, the doors and curtains are the “superstructure” and have no bearing on the integrity of the trailer. So long as they are secure, trailer doors can be strapped open, as can both doors and curtains be during times of high winds.
Loads can be longer than the length of the trailer deck provided the rules are followed, these have been explained.
Yes agree, its quite legal. Usual method of securing the doors open is a ratchet strap over the roof.
Whilst we’re on this, in nigh on 20 years of part time driving, i’ve never, thankfully, had to strap the doors open & curtains back due to high winds. Sometimes thought I was going to have to, such as collecting an MT from Holyhead when it was blowing a hooly, but just abated as i coupled up. 
Can someone please explain the best method?
Whenever I try to bunch curtains up, they always seem to stick in the track & don’t want to conform.
Curtains at the back, or at the front?
If at the back and putting a strap around the door and curtain, mid level, how, on your own, do you get the strap to stay where you want it until you start to get some tension?
Just a thought: couldn’t you move curtains forward, open doors fully, move curtains to back and bunch up, then throw a strap (or even two) tight over the lot 
bazza123:
Just a thought: couldn’t you move curtains forward, open doors fully, move curtains to back and bunch up, then throw a strap (or even two) tight over the lot?
No… You wouldn’t be able to get the tops of the curtains (where the runners are) over the top of the doors.
Instead, you pull your curtains back, open your doors fully, tie your curtains to the doors and rear door posts and secure the doors with a strap over the roof. You can use the internal straps to tie your curtains to the doors but ropes are better. However, ‘roping and sheeting’ is a dying art and trucks rarely carry ropes. I doubt there are many drivers nowadays who know how to use ropes…
Bob
I have never tied curtains or roofs back because of inclement weather for the simple reason that whenever you may have to do it, it is either blowing a gale or ■■■■■■■ down.
However if I tie the doors open for a long load. I thread a strap from either the lashing ring in the bed or the chockrail, & over the cant rail and then door, then go around the bottom to the opposite chassis rail, then do the same for the opposite door, the simple reason is that it prevents twisting the frame or breaking the weld on the door pillars. I have seen too many trailers going down the motorway with the door aperture looking like a triple k hat.
Remember the old tilts with the crossed chains to keep the trailer in shape