Suedehead:
Also, can anybody explain in lay mans terms, how you tie a dolly on a bar, or through a ring/lashing point as opposed to a rope hook.
My wife is looking at me at the moment wondering what I am doing with my hands twisting and turning in the air as I try to work out how to explain it to you. 
I’ll have a go at doing one on my own trailer, which has no hooks, tomorrow and see if I can work out how to demonstrate. Unless someone else comes along with the info beforehand. 
Spardo:
Suedehead:
Also, can anybody explain in lay mans terms, how you tie a dolly on a bar, or through a ring/lashing point as opposed to a rope hook.My wife is looking at me at the moment wondering what I am doing with my hands twisting and turning in the air as I try to work out how to explain it to you.
I’ll have a go at doing one on my own trailer, which has no hooks, tomorrow and see if I can work out how to demonstrate. Unless someone else comes along with the info beforehand.
Suedehead:
Spardo:
Suedehead:
Also, can anybody explain in lay mans terms, how you tie a dolly on a bar, or through a ring/lashing point as opposed to a rope hook.My wife is looking at me at the moment wondering what I am doing with my hands twisting and turning in the air as I try to work out how to explain it to you.
I’ll have a go at doing one on my own trailer, which has no hooks, tomorrow and see if I can work out how to demonstrate. Unless someone else comes along with the info beforehand.
Suedehead David there is some U Tube videos if you google Australian truck drivers half hitch there are several experts I say that with tongue in cheek as all the ones I have seen make it the hard way and not the way pros do it as its much quicker.
Cheers Dig
Suedehead:
Star down under.:
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That B Model’s classic old school. The numberplate is from Queensland, issued early 1960s, the trailer would be 32 or 35’ with a 10’1" spread between the axles. Note the dinki mirrors (pretty flash with a left hand one in those days) and canvas waterbag on the bullbar, it was a long time between shops back in the day.
What is that between the trailer axles in the last pic ?
Also, can anybody explain in lay mans terms, how you tie a dolly on a bar, or through a ring/lashing point as opposed to a rope hook.
Question one, a sweeper; a 10’1"" spread seeed to be the ideal size to flick up any long object, particularly nails, causing punctures on the rearmost axle. They worked well.
Question two, usually our ropes are cut to about 9 metres with 20 or so on a 40 footer. Procedure is clove hitch one end and throw over. On a normal load there’s plenty of rope on the untied side. Pull the rope taut across the load and draw a bight around the tie rail and tie the hitch; lift the end of the rope and tie another hitch; tie off.
Please explain to me, why you blokes find a hungred yards off rope convenient. Do you continually throw the rope back and forth, finishing with a hitch or two?
Star Down Under.
Basically hitch off rope say N/S throw over loop so rope coil still on N/S go to O/S tie hitch then loop onto next hook back to N/S tie hitch then loop to next hook and throw another loop over and repeat. Rope can be joined if necessary and still just thrown over in the continuous loop if this makes sense.
jshepguis:
Star Down Under.
Basically hitch off rope say N/S throw over loop so rope coil still on N/S go to O/S tie hitch then loop onto next hook back to N/S tie hitch then loop to next hook and throw another loop over and repeat. Rope can be joined if necessary and still just thrown over in the continuous loop if this makes sense.
Thanks jshepguis, that’s a lot of walking. 
I tie off all ropes, change sides then tension, but I’m a lazy ■■■■■■■■
Star down under.:
Suedehead:
Star down under.:
12
0
That B Model’s classic old school. The numberplate is from Queensland, issued early 1960s, the trailer would be 32 or 35’ with a 10’1" spread between the axles. Note the dinki mirrors (pretty flash with a left hand one in those days) and canvas waterbag on the bullbar, it was a long time between shops back in the day.
What is that between the trailer axles in the last pic ?
Also, can anybody explain in lay mans terms, how you tie a dolly on a bar, or through a ring/lashing point as opposed to a rope hook.Question one, a sweeper; a 10’1"" spread seeed to be the ideal size to flick up any long object, particularly nails, causing punctures on the rearmost axle. They worked well.
Question two, usually our ropes are cut to about 9 metres with 20 or so on a 40 footer. Procedure is clove hitch one end and throw over. On a normal load there’s plenty of rope on the untied side. Pull the rope taut across the load and draw a bight around the tie rail and tie the hitch; lift the end of the rope and tie another hitch; tie off.
Please explain to me, why you blokes find a hungred yards off rope convenient. Do you continually throw the rope back and forth, finishing with a hitch or two?
I think thats a tool box between the wheels possibly a bit of roadside maintenance good pics though.
I used to have 2 water bags hanging off the bar one for water the other had slit in the top so a couple of cans of coke could be kept cool other times butter wrapped in newspaper and kept in the water in the bag would keep for 3 or 4 days.
I.m with you SDU and don’t forget if the first section with a hitch needs retightening you have to undo them all to retension and where do you keep 100 feet of coiled rope answer on the floor in the passenger side of the cab with half a dozen others as trailer tool boxes are rarely seen on UK company trailers 
Dig
No toolboxes!! They cant carry much gear then. I had four boxes on my lead (flat top days), one for tools and spares, one for tucker-box, b-b-q, gas bottles, cooking utensils, cutlery, crockery, chair etc, two for dogs and chains x 11, steel angles x 40, hand winches x 30, ropes x 30ish, tarps x 2, cheater bars lived on the J brackets.
Dog trailers only needed two toolboxes with tarps, ropes, chains etc…
Thank you for explaining the method of securing to a tie bar. Didnt realise that you carried several lengths of shorter rope, as i couldnt get my head around what you did with the excess rope after the dolly is tied off.
Hope this makes sense, i think i know what i mean 
I thought that I could rely on Dig and SDU to jump in and relieve me of the task of going out on a frosty morning and freezing my fingers off, that nostalgia I can well do without.
I’ve had a brief look at a couple of videos and I agree with Dig, not exactly what I would have done but I do part company on my preference for the British way of doing things. Perhaps it’s just what you are brought up on and learn first and I suppose that walking backwards and forwards round the trailer was just the way things were done, but I know that I prefer to cart around 3 big ropes (which can easily be tidily hung outside the cab Dig ) than loads of little ones that become very inconvenient when suddenly faced with a high load, and very wasteful with a very low one. And there are ways of tightening intervening ropes without undoing half the trailer.
As you said David, the preference probably comes down to the initial learning. All moot now, ropes are no longer a recognised method of load security.
Star down under.:
As you said David, the preference probably comes down to the initial learning. All moot now, ropes are no longer a recognised method of load security.
And a good thing too, the agonising winter salt filled crevices in my hands have long since healed.
But, like the draughty and freezing cabs that many of us now look upon with rose tinted nostalgia, they have passed into history and all that is left is the fond memory of the freedom of the open road that I experienced in my first few years in this industry.
With a short rope its just as easy, when we would normally twist the bottom loop of the dolly and draw the hanging end of rope through the dolly loop and forming a bigger loop which then goes around the hook and pull down to tension, for a ring or bar just pull all the rope through the dolly bottom loop push the loose end of rope through the eye or around the bar, end of rope back through the dolly bottom loop and tension as before. Not so good with a long rope obviously. Must say tying a hitch around a bar after pulling hard on a rope over the load wouldn’t satisfy many UK drivers especially when you need some real tension and a double dolly can be used, unless I’m missing something here. Our ropes would be about 150ft long and a couple of short lengths handy for tying down rolled sheets or timbers (battens) or something only a couple of throws of rope would need, anybody anything different to that? Franky.
Frankydobo:
With a short rope its just as easy, when we would normally twist the bottom loop of the dolly and draw the hanging end of rope through the dolly loop and forming a bigger loop which then goes around the hook and pull down to tension, for a ring or bar just pull all the rope through the dolly bottom loop push the loose end of rope through the eye or around the bar, end of rope back through the dolly bottom loop and tension as before. Not so good with a long rope obviously. Must say tying a hitch around a bar after pulling hard on a rope over the load wouldn’t satisfy many UK drivers especially when you need some real tension and a double dolly can be used, unless I’m missing something here. Our ropes would be about 150ft long and a couple of short lengths handy for tying down rolled sheets or timbers (battens) or something only a couple of throws of rope would need, anybody anythin am g different to that? Franky.
Thanks for that. Just when i was beginning to comprehend the concept, i read your post and as of now, i am confused again 
Let me have a go at this…
…working with a 40’ trailer, or any length of loaded trailer that’s equipped with conventional rope hooks whether it be a double decked load, or single decked, ,… once the back and front sheets are in place and secured, take three long ropes, it doesn’t matter how long they are as the length of the rope is irrelevant. But first off, rope across the headboard, then the back end , in order to secure the sheets.
My next step would be to throw a loop over the In the middle, where the sheets meet, to prevent them from sliding. Then, after making a cross, front and back, it’s just a simple matter of throwing rope loops over and working inwards towards the middle from both ends simultaneously.
It isn’t quantum physics, and there isn’t a great deal of walking to be done actually, you just do three or four hitches on one side, then three or four on the other, with possibly an Aberdeen spider on the back end to use up the last bit of rope ( or show off a bit ) and you’re good to go.
The only time I’ve worked with cut ropes was on the Chep pallet job, when we cut the ropes into 40’ lengths in order to secure the 20 high stacks of pallets. ( A nylon strap was used front and back incidentally).
I’m not attempting to to teach my grandmother to ■■■■ eggs here by the way , it’s just that there may be the odd transient visitor looking in that may find my methods illuminating.
Moving on to the problem of roping to a horizontal bar. I only ever encountered this situation when reloading Lancashire flats for Irish Sea Ferries to go back to Garston dock.
The condition of these Paddy flats could probably best be described as being, well, careworn at best, but more frequently, abysmal…On the odd occasion, I’ve even been refused a backload, due to the fact that a fair percentage of the floor timbers on the abortions were either broken, or missing,…or both.
But getting back to these horizontal bars…Throw your loop over the load…pass the loop under the bar…bring the loop back up as far as you can reach, then place the loop over the vertical section of the rope…grab the vertical rope that is now lying under the aforementioned loop and pull it through.
Pull about a yard of rope through, then proceed to form a conventional hitch using the rope that you now hold in your right hand, ( I’m assuming that you’re right handed of course ).
You’ll then tension the rope with the loose end that’s already passing under the bar.
It all sounds complicated but it’s a piece of ■■■■ really when you’ve done it a couple of times, but I’ll have to leave it there, as there’s smoke coming under the door and a smell of burning pizza coming from the next room.
Well would Dennis approve of this sheeted load, Of course Fly or Drip sheets as I new them when they were first introduced in the 50s, 
Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Well would Dennis approve of this sheeted load, Of course Fly or Drip sheets as I new them when they were first introduced in the 50s,
When they finally let you leave the yard after you had been shown how to re sheet that load properly Larry where did you book your digs ? And can I wish You and your Family a Happy New Year ! Regards and Cheers Dennis .
Thank you Dennis, I was shown how to sheet & rope just like all good drivers like me & your good self, Of course I did get better at it as time went on, I wont go into the details when after standing for hours on end at Liverpool Docks in the freezing cold waiting to tip, The rushing to another Scouce ■■■■■■■■ to get loaded with my return load, Then when loaded you had to pull outside to sheet up at 6,00pm at night . Regardless of the weather conditions, But Im still here, & As daft as I am I would if I could do it all again, But I would certainly chin a lot of nasty people that I had to put up with in my younger days, I hope there is some of these R Soles looking at this thread, All the best to you & yours for 2021, Regards Larry.
Suedehead, Thanks for that. Just when i was beginning to comprehend the concept, i read your post and as of now, i am confused again
Maybe this will help to understand what I described, quite simple really used it many times to put tension over something that wasn’t a vehicle or trailer and no hook to use, as I said though only less of a hassle with a short rope. Franky.
This was sent to me by Dig, so thanks to him, a video I have already seen, and below it are my comments on it. 
Yes, I saw that one when prompted the other day. I suppose my final outcome was much the same but with minor differences of achieving it. Firstly I didn’t start with a round turn and 2 half hitches but with my favourite knot for many situations, a bowline. But it is a measure of my upbringing with hooks and mending ropes whose original eyes have been lost. Also in the Merchant Navy because a bowline can always be undone easily even when soaking wet and as the safest knot if you are ever incapacitated and in need of rescue. With your, almost, dying breath if you can pass a loose end around your back under the armpits and finish with a bowline in front of your chest, you can be pulled to safety even if losing conciousness.
As for the rest, I grabbed the down rope with my right hand and pulled it upwards to make the first of 2 loops with a twist, as I would with a British hook hitch. I would then put the second loop in because I found that, unlike with the British hitch, only one tended to dip over and release.
But I will always prefer the British way. One arguement often put forward for bars rather than hooks does not hold water imo. If a crossover was required between hooks it is a simple matter to spread the anchor loop between 2 at any point. But the greatest disadvantage of the Aussie system is twofold. It is inconvenient with much higher loads and, with lower ones produces a lot of wasted rope needing to be neatly squirrelled away each time. Of course that criticism is invalid outside of general haulage if all your loads are identical and thus allowing for designer ropes.
I taught my drivers at Toray the Aussie system because 99% of our loads did not have to be secured other than with the vertical bars I designed with curtainsided bodies, but, in case a ‘rogue’ load ever came along I had ring bolts let into the deck, hence the Aussie hitches.
