Tie Boss

[02Sled]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 11:50 AM, crispy said:

Be smart and secure your load sensibly. If you can move it at all by hand with a couple of big dudes shoving it? Reassess and upgrade your tie downs. Check your wheel bearings annually and keep the tires pumped up. Also if you have a flat backed enclosure and snow blowing around the back covers the lic plate? You get ticketed for that

For a long time I just used the ski clamp down bars that go into the C channel and can be aligned anywhere along that line. Then coming down the 400 in nice weather I hit some black ice. The truck and trailer started snaking and at one point was headed toward a rock face. I thought I was done but the braking system worked. I could feel little pulses on single wheels. Gotta love computer systems. It straightened out. When I checked the sleds the fronts had stayed rock solid. The back ends had swung side to side with the trailer. Now I use ratchet straps on the back. There are tie down rings that use the C channel to secure them to the trailer.

[crispy]

In the early days we only used the ski bar and let the back ride free. We did that for about a season because the roads were much worse back then and not cleared as well plus tires were not nearly what they are today so we often had machines shifting around and in the late 70's when we were buying brand new expensive machines for the first time? Tying down was a lot more about protecting our investment than it was about road safety.

 

That is still what drives me today to overly secure loads. In the truck or on the trailer I try and force it to move and wont leave until the items are solidly mounted. Cant say all my straps or ropes have a sticker on them though. Sad to think stickers and labels supersede sensibilities