Been reading up a little about correct manner of load restraining, bit confused as a new driver … Using a rigid curtainsider I used the hanging straps but have been reading elsewhere I should be using ratchet straps over the pallets as well.
Can anyone clarify for me ? All my pallet drops are at most 40 mins away.
Don’t want to risk anyone’s life or break the law.
Just a bit of a baptism of fire last week having never driven with a load.
It depends on the specification of the body and the curtains, and the weights of pallets involved, and how they fit within the body of the truck. The distance you are carrying them makes no difference, other than the greater the distance, the greater the chance of getting caught with an incorrectly restrained load.
Have a look at the DVSA site on load security.
One thing I can promise you, is you will never be fined at the side of the road for having too many straps on your load…
So would I work on the premise that heavier the load then the roof mounted straps are not enough ?
gov.uk/government/publicati … r-guidance
Have a look at this. Its a lot of ■■■■, padding, and fairly unfriendly reading material, but I believe you will find your answers in section 6.
Dazza1shot:
So would I work on the premise that heavier the load then the roof mounted straps are not enough ?
Yes. Pallets less than 400kgs, the roof straps are ok. But anything heavier is ratchet strap time in the eyes of the DVSA…
Dazza1shot:
So would I work on the premise that heavier the load then the roof mounted straps are not enough ?
Ratchet straps all the way unless it’s child car seats then I use roof ones as if you crush the boxes they have to be destroyed due to ISO rules
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Thanks guys, CPC couse basically loaf of ■■■■ shows how to use a ratchet strap and such but not really hands on on when and weight of loads to use them on.
Thank God for this place
Yes CPC be it mods 2 & 4 or the periodic 7 hour courses, are far too generic and nowhere near flexible or targeted enough.
Do you have other drivers at the places you work? Watch them, take the good bits they do, and add it to the stuff you have learned along the way.
Yes I do mate the lads where sound the other day and very helpful, never had a pallet over 400kg so probably why they just showed me the roof mounted ones,
I’ll be sure to ask the weight of the heavier pallets to be sure.
You got the right attitude, never stop asking questions and wanting to learn.
F-reds:
You got the right attitude, never stop asking questions and wanting to learn.
Was an unrealised childhood dream to drive a truck (yes currently I am limited to an oversized van) but after a 16 year career detour in the same job I am finally here, I always live with question everything and be your own biggest critic and you should never go wrong.
I know I have a lot to learn but living the dream so far and loving every minute of it.
I’ve only ever driven an over sized van. I don’t cry myself to sleep about my inadequate license, well not every night anyways 
F-reds:
I’ve only ever driven an over sized van. I don’t cry myself to sleep about my inadequate license, well not every night anyways
To be fair mate fir know I’m happy with my capabilities, the Mrs tells me size us not everything
All our trailers are these XL jobbies so its a strap over the back if its not up to the doors then crack on. When I was on the rigids, some stuff was left loose, some had internals holding them upright and others had ratchets. You drive to suit the load you are carrying. If you have stuff on that is delicate then you drive accordingly.
How you secure stuff is down to you since its your arse on the line if you’re stopped. The more experience you gain, the better you’ll become at judging what needs strapping and what doesn’t.
As for what to use, as a rule of thumb I never used the internals for anything other than keeping pallets upright so thats a strap down the front and across the back of said pallet. For paper reels, they always got strapped with ratchets. Pallets of paper had the back set strapped if the short side of said pallets was facing out the sides of the bed. If the long side was facing out the side then everyone got strapped with ratchets. Pallets of easily damaged items were secured with just the internals using the front and back method. No point using a ratchet because if you put any tension on them even with corner protectors you’ll crush them. Pallets of wine for example were just strapped across the back with the front up against the bulkhead or another set of pallets, the way they were loaded meant unless I rolled it they were more likely to fall backwards instead of out the curtains.
As for the weight, it should be listed on the paperwork and if you can get at them, somewhere on the pallets. If you are present for loading then you can judge roughly how heavy something is by watching the reaction of the trucks suspension and body roll. If the truck reacts violently to the pallet being “placed” (dropped) onto the bed then you know its a heavy one.
Most curtainsiders these days are load bearing curtains and only require the back 2 pallets to be strapped but that being said it’s up to the driver if he wants to strap the lot down as it’s your responsibility after all… Just use your judgement and drive to what your carrying
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Berty:
Most curtainsiders these days are load bearing curtains and only require the back 2 pallets to be strapped but that being said it’s up to the driver if he wants to strap the lot down as it’s your responsibility after all… Just use your judgement and drive to what your carryingSent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I’m only a few months into the job myself but no way would I rely on load bearing curtains, we carry a whole milk of stuff from light boxes to ibc’s, packs of timber or concrete products. Would you really trust a load bearing curtain to hold some of that?
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Whole mix of stuff even lol.
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wrighty1:
Berty:
Most curtainsiders these days are load bearing curtains and only require the back 2 pallets to be strapped but that being said it’s up to the driver if he wants to strap the lot down as it’s your responsibility after all… Just use your judgement and drive to what your carryingSent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I’m only a few months into the job myself but no way would I rely on load bearing curtains, we carry a whole milk of stuff from light boxes to ibc’s, packs of timber or concrete products. Would you really trust a load bearing curtain to hold some of that?
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Well in your case you would strap them down…
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Was driving a 26 tonne job today had load bearing curtains and also the roof straps used both just to be sure.
On this topic, I’ve been driving for 8 weeks now on curtain side rigid and NONE of the drivers strap their gear down with ratchets (mainly rolls of carpets which can be chocked but full pallets of screed at 700kg plus a pallet) .
I’ve tried using the internals but their good for nothing. Spoke to the boss who says the internal straps are enough and won’t provide ratchet straps.
Really worried about getting pulled one day off vosa and having an inadequately restrained load… Maybe I’m just being over cautious though as I say the other 18-20 drivers don’t strap down, some don’t even check their load before leaving in the morning.