the agency sent me to dhl today. I was given a curtain sider and when I checked my load, I went off to try and find some ratchet straps to secure the pallets with. the supervisor looked at me like I’d got 2 heads, I was told there was no straps available and that I didn’t need them anyway because it had load bearing curtains fitted.
I ended up taking it anyhow, but it was against my better judgment. my question is, is there somewhere on the curtains that tells you that they are load bearing curtains? there were no internal straps either, that would probably have put my mind at rest, I’ve been pooing myself all morning in case I get a pull of vosa.
the other dhl drivers are taking the trucks out without straps, so I’m probably worrying about nothing
Sounds like a load of balls to me you need to strap every pallet or its a big fine per pallet I would have told them to stick it where the sun don’t shine
Hopefully this works…first time I’ve tried putting a link on here!!
In a nutshell:
Positive fit
We now accept XL-rated vehicles as providing 50% of the total maximum vehicle load to the side. So you would not need to use additional lashing or other load security solutions, as long as you have loaded the goods with a positive fit:
load from the headboard, filling the length of the load bed up to the bulkhead, which must be in good condition
the gap between each side of the load and the curtains must be 80 millimetres or less
the load must be secured to the rear if it is not retained by the trailer body or rear doors
But if you have not loaded your XL-rated vehicle to these positive fit standards, you must treat it in the same way as a normal curtain-sided vehicle and use other appropriate methods to secure the load, such as lashings.
Beware multi-drop
XL-rated vehicles involved in multi drop operations may well start the journey meeting positive fit requirements. But as the load diminishes, the driver must either fill any gaps to maintain the positive fit, or use additional securing measures.
It is unusual to have XL rated curtainsiders in UK but not impossible.
There will be a yellow sticker/plate with EN12642XL on it but that doesn’t mean those curtains will just hold any old thing in. You normally need a coefficient of friction of 0.3 or greater and no gaps in the load.
shep532:
It is unusual to have XL rated curtainsiders in UK but not impossible.
Not any more. The place I’m at is currently in the process of replacing all its several hundred trailers and the 400+ new ones we’ve got to date are all XL rated curtains. APC parcels have changed all their trailers over to XL, the first ones they did were coming out of the hub this time last year, and most pallet/parcel networks are in the process of doing so as well. It’ll be the small firms who take the longest to get around to it so I am of no doubt that DHL could’ve given him a trailer with XL rated curtains.
jbaz73:
the agency sent me to dhl today. I was given a curtain sider and when I checked my load, I went off to try and find some ratchet straps to secure the pallets with. the supervisor looked at me like I’d got 2 heads, I was told there was no straps available and that I didn’t need them anyway because it had load bearing curtains fitted.
I ended up taking it anyhow, but it was against my better judgment. my question is, is there somewhere on the curtains that tells you that they are load bearing curtains? there were no internal straps either, that would probably have put my mind at rest, I’ve been pooing myself all morning in case I get a pull of vosa.
the other dhl drivers are taking the trucks out without straps, so I’m probably worrying about nothing
So, was that 26 pallets @ 1000kgs each or 150kgs each, cant see how anyone on here can pass judgement without knowing.
Absolutely no need for ratchet straps the requirements are secure that’s why some trailers have a 2 teir curtain , 1 is a net on the inside to prevent movement
Thanks all for the replies, confirms what I thought. looks like it was a one day gig anyway, off to barnstaple with a load of sofas tomorrow, but if I go back to dhl in future it’s straps or no go.
That advice was different to the one VOSA gave to me after fining me £100 for insecure load, they said it doesnt matter if you have load bearing curtains or not ( maybe the rules have changed since last year ) but they told me to strap every 2 pallets…and that was with three quarter of a ton bags of china clay, on pallets, and i brought it from the south of France without a problem, got pulled on the A23 vosa station.
that’s quite interesting. i am yet to see a company that straps its pallet load, given the lorry is almost fully loaded. Not that i have seen many, but those i have done just tell me “we have no straps mate, it is gonna be ok, we do it this way every day”
Priest:
that’s quite interesting. i am yet to see a company that straps its pallet load, given the lorry is almost fully loaded. Not that i have seen many, but those i have done just tell me “we have no straps mate, it is gonna be ok, we do it this way every day”
that’s why i prefer box trailers now
The posts on here have a fair bit of detachment from reality. It’s the same at our place it’s a backdoor tip job on to bays and I’ve yet to see a driver arrive with pallets, in a curtainsider, have to undo any straps.
D.H.L. double deckers (the ones i have used) have a ratchet straps held up with a bungee system in the roof which sort of works and requires both side to be as tight as possable to work properly not easy when trying to hold the tension and crank the ratchet handle also inner side nets
also all the new double deck curtain siders have load bearing curtains with inner nets right to the top
shep532:
It is unusual to have XL rated curtainsiders in UK but not impossible.
Not any more. The place I’m at is currently in the process of replacing all its several hundred trailers and the 400+ new ones we’ve got to date are all XL rated curtains. APC parcels have changed all their trailers over to XL, the first ones they did were coming out of the hub this time last year, and most pallet/parcel networks are in the process of doing so as well. It’ll be the small firms who take the longest to get around to it so I am of no doubt that DHL could’ve given him a trailer with XL rated curtains.
I stand corrected then as you may be better informed than me but I pay close attention when out on the roads and at various haulier premises and see little evidence of this. You are quite right though that the bigger players are likely to be the ones investing the extra cash and the smaller ones not. Many hauliers at the smaller end run old trailer fleets.
I would also agree that DHL more than likely did give him an XL rated trailer but it really isn’t that straight forward as “They are load bearing curtains”. Apart from I think if a driver asks for certain safety equipment - it should be provided.
Own Account Driver:
The posts on here have a fair bit of detachment from reality. It’s the same at our place it’s a backdoor tip job on to bays and I’ve yet to see a driver arrive with pallets, in a curtainsider, have to undo any straps.
The reality is that the Highways Agency say they had to close a road 22,000 times last year due to load security issues - that’s 60 times a day at an average of 20 minutes per closure. That is only the ones that get reported - there are thousands of incidents that go unreported.
There are thousands of needless accidents ranging from slight injury to permanent life changing and even death that are a direct result of shifting loads be these during loading/unloading or out on the roads etc. If we also include damaged stock, refused deliveries etc load securing (or lack of) is costing the industry a fortune.
Still … if we’ve always done it like that it must be OK
It might have helped us to understand more of the OP had given us an idea what type of load it was, and which DHL depot it was, as different DHL depots have different contracts. As I know the Bawtry depot are reasonably strict of strapping of loads, especially the use of internal straps / curtains. As some loads are 52+ pallets.
