I’ve done some pallet work recently and the internal straps on most wagons aren’t load bearing. Using regular ratchet straps, what is the correct method of securing them? Do you run the strap through the bottom of the pallets from one side to the other or do you go over the top of the pallet and its contents?
It depends on the contents of the pallets! I have carried aircraft engines which require strapped, but it is very much frowned upon to strap them over the top 
, you WILL cause a lot of expensive damage if you do that.
If you’re worried about vosa then just strap from front of trailer to roof post then another strap from roof post to back of trailer.
Unless it’s a load that really needs strapping in a curtainsider but if it’s something on a blue chep stretchwrapped by machine it almost certainly won’t.
We used to often have one or two pallets of bottled water. The only way to strap them - and they really do need strapping - is to put a pallet on top and strap over that.
If it wobbles - strap it
If it’s slippery - strap it
If it’s top heavy - strap it
Always try to get pallets wedged firmly against the headboard and against one another. Most forkies will help shift a load round if need be, though you do get the occasional [zb]
we move mostly fragile plasterboard and celotex products so its a case of throwing a strap over the products but we have these like protectors which are basically 90 degree plastic things.
I drive a flat bed so if its on on 8 ft pallet I put 2 straps on, if i’m on a curtainsider then I will just put one on in the middle.
at JKP i would just use the internal straps but I never felt comfortable just using them.
alcraw62:
It depends on the contents of the pallets! I have carried aircraft engines which require strapped, but it is very much frowned upon to strap them over the top
Makes you wonder why aircraft engines which cost many thousands of pounds aren’t encased into a wooden crate or steel stillage which maybe costs £40 to build.
Have you any photos of aircraft engines you have transported and restrained?
chester:
Makes you wonder why aircraft engines which cost many thousands of pounds aren’t encased into a wooden crate or steel stillage which maybe costs £40 to build.
Have you any photos of aircraft engines you have transported and restrained?
They are on a custom built cradle, rather than a pallet, but they still need to be strapped. The top half of the engine is exposed, so you obviously can’t strap over the top. Straps go through the bottom of the cradle. I was just using engines as an example that strapping freight depends on what it is.
Told by vosa at thorham island during a stop check having asked pallet upto 450 kg you can use roof straps if the load is secured to the pallet (shrink wrap /banding ) pallet over 450kg ratchet strap rated for pallet weight over the top of each pallet to secure it to the floor of the truck . Treat load as a flat bed curtains are only for weather protection .
And the latest advice from DVSA is that if you have XL-rated curtains, they are now deemed as providing adequate restrainst sideways (subject to certain provisos), so you only need to strap the back if the load isn’t up to the doors.
I still maintain that this is just a money spinner for vosa (or whatever they’re called this week).
I’ve carried allsorts of things on curtainsiders without strapping and never had a problem in 19 years of driving, the same most probably goes for majority on here, and you can’t tell me that every trailer that’s loaded with tins of beans, pepsi or dog food etc gets straps thrown over every row of pallets, the extra time and hassle taken would mean most runs being rescheduled and prices going up.
whatever the correct answer its a fact that
all loads are different and require different solutions.
in the Diageo group last year one of there brewerys changed the
method of stacking boxes on pallets making them less stable,
turning the load from no need for straps to must strap.
the real issue is do we get time to strap the load or does
the warehouse do it properly
If you do something whilst driving that creates sufficient force to move a 1000 kgs pallet of goods (beer, tinned food etc) sideways, I’m not sure that a ratchet strap over the pallet will make much difference. A pallet of goods isn’t a single large object, it’s a collection of smaller cases, and surely the strap will only secure the smaller cases that it is in contact with, whilst the others will move anyway. This will destabilise the pallet, causing it to collapse from under the strap. The tighter the strap, the worse it will be, as the pressure of the strap will cause the cases under it to deform and buckle.
sayersy:
. A pallet of goods isn’t a single large object, it’s a collection of smaller cases, and surely the strap will only secure the smaller cases that it is in contact with, whilst the others will move anyway. This will destabilise the pallet, causing it to collapse from under the strap. The tighter the strap, the worse it will be, as the pressure of the strap will cause the cases under it to deform and buckle.
here’s a clue:
see, it’s not always a straightforward exercise to secure a load, sometimes a little time, effort and thought is required.
Own Account Driver:
If you’re worried about vosa then just strap from front of trailer to roof post then another strap from roof post to back of trailer.Unless it’s a load that really needs strapping in a curtainsider but if it’s something on a blue chep stretchwrapped by machine it almost certainly won’t.
We carry bottled water which is wrapped on a machine,on blue`s, it will move even when strapped, ■■■■ stuff!
GORDON 50:
I still maintain that this is just a money spinner for vosa (or whatever they’re called this week).
It costs a lot of money picking up a spilled load off the road, not just to the Highways Agency but everyone who ends up sat in the resulting traffic jam/diversion.
Its not when you’re doing normal trundling down the road you’re securing for, its the unexpected events.
the extra time and hassle taken would mean most runs being rescheduled and prices going up.
That just proves your company isn’t scheduling runs as they’re required to. You must always be given plenty of time to secure a load. Place I’m at if you’re pulling out the yard any earlier than half an hour after starting eyes are focussing on you. When we do runs where we do a trailer swap with scots drivers for the load of chipboard they have, even though its already strapped down and we just swap ratchets and straps there’s an hour put in the run schedule for securing it and to de-strap it at the other end.
If the straps are unstable then strap it. Few mins to secure the load beats a fine anyday. By the look of it VOSA are just falling in line with other countries.
After reading the replies i am wonder,was my instructor on my dcpc coarse the only one in the country to tell us that all pallets on a trailer to be barrel hitch.
Radar, yes the generally accepted method is over the top of the goods on the pallets, and as other have stated, you need to consider what is actually on the pallets, as to how and how many straps you need to use.
You can thread the straps through the bottom of the pallets, but, firstly that is extra ball ache, and who needs that? Secondly, if the goods aren’t fixed to the pallet in some way then the ratchet straps you have painstakingly threaded through the bottom of the pallets aren’t actually securing your load, just the pallets.
You’ll get the hang of it!
the picture on the door of the krone i’m pulling says it’s no go if the angle of the strap is less than 30 degrees so it’s useless strapping only the pallet anyway
hitch:
the real issue is do we get time to strap the load or does
the warehouse do it properly
^^^^^THIS.
At my current place, the answer is NO and NO. Getting really ■■■■■■ off with the double standards at play here. Frequently not enough internal straps, squashed buckles and rave hooks, frayed straps, having to ask for ratchet straps instead of having a box full at the ready on board (i do a fair few backloads and never know what theyre going to be). Whenever a trailer is "ready loaded" it means the forkies have piled the stuff on, pulled and tensioned the non load bearing curtains, and done all the buckles. What the hell use is that if its not been strapped? This is the norm. They want you to take it out like that, but then say its your responsibility to ensure the load is compliant as regards strapping (which of course, it is). Just about ready to jump ship if im honest.