Had a chat with a weight Nazi....

[larry_minn]

Well I met one face to face. He had a Chevrolet 3/4 ton gas 4wd (forget year but late 90s) Pulling a 24' GN flatbed with tandem 10K axles. (nice rig) On it he had a couple pallets and a JD 260 skid loader. He estimated skid loader with bucket at 7500lbs.
So I mentioned the topics here about weight/stuff and he 100% agreed that what is on door pilar is max you can haul. "it the only way to be safe" He would NOT listen/even consider anything else so I gave up. Before leaving I asked if he wanted help chaining down his skid loader. (much easier with two) "No thanks....I'm just going 8 miles and it won't move"
I see this guy every now and again so I offered him a couple chains/and a load binder. "No thanks I have chains/binders along but the brakes on the skid loader will keep it from moving"
This guy is so sure that weights important/agrees should be law if you are over by one lb fined but won't secure a 7500lb skid loader from flatbed... HAS the chains/help. All I could do is walk away with a slight prayer that he does not have any trouble.



BUT I figured I had to give it ONE more try. I said that my brother did that with my lawn mower yrs ago. He loaded it on my trailer and I said the straps were in tool box/tie it down. I went to other work and less then hour later he came back with truck/trailer that my mower was on edge of road. He figured it would ride there if brakes set for 3 miles. New fuel tank/fix fenders/steering wheel/etc. Now gent is mad "IF I want to drive without chaining it down I will" So I finally left.

What the heck is wrong with people. It is not like it costs him anything but few minutes. There are easy hook points on skid/trailer. Wonder what the fines would be like if stopped? How could you live with yourself if someone dies because skid loader falls off?
I know darn well all weight Nazis can't be this way. But this guy so firm that as long as below listed weight fine. anything over manufactures wrong but won't secure load. UFTA.

[JimmyDee]

A few years back I remember seeing a med sized John Deer on the side of the road. Paper said someone cut him off and he swerved to avoid hitting the car and his unsecured JD ended up in the ditch. He would have been liable for anything it hit and got a ticket for hauling a unsecured load. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
Jim

[Fordman6]

Some guys just don't use their heads. I knew a driver that lost a Barber Greene paver off his lowboy trailer on the interstate a few years back because he didn't chain it down. Pretty much totaled the $180K paver, lucky nobody got killed. What was he thinkin? He got issued several tickets and it cost him a ton of money, but he's still doing the same thing today. Go figure.

[aceohearts]

I haul flatbed for a living, and I've learned the benefits of taking that extra minute to tie things on well. In California, they'll give you a hefty fine if you have 3 straps where they want you to have 4...

Nowadays I have a hard time even letting the push mower slide around in the closed bed of my pickup...LOL

[Tobin LaBorde]

Just goes to show that if you are within the "specs" of the truck, you could be way more dangerous than overloaded.

So the load statically is not overloaded, but if he has to slam on the brakes hard, and the tractor moves forward, then when it hits the front of the trailer, its all over from the forward momentum.

Personally I would rather see someone overloaded and being safe, then someone that is not overloaded like that.

Tobin

[Super Duty John]

Just because he stated that the door pillar weights are what you can pull don't make him a law abiding person or "Weight Nazi" as you call him.

As I've stated many times in the past, yeah I know, I'm despised for pointing out stated laws..., I could care less what you pull, just don't be surprised when you get the big ticket or find out you're criminally responsible for a vehicular homicide after something finally does happen.

BTW, not you Larry Minn, I'm referring to the people that disregard the law. Like my famous SRW Chevy picture pulling a D-5 bulldozer, I still get hate mail from posting my views on that one [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

[aceohearts]

[ QUOTE ]
Like my famous SRW Chevy picture pulling a D-5 bulldozer,

[/ QUOTE ]

That reminds me....

When my grandparents were still driving truck for a living, they came across an accident scene one day. A heavy haul truck/trailer was pulling a bulldozer (not sure what size/model) and had lost his load. Anyway, the road was shut down for several hours while they were doing cleanup, and my grandpa managed to catch one of the officers on scene long enough to ask what happened.

Seems that traffic was slowing down and the driver was keeping back and slowing down with them when a car cut in front of him and braked suddenly. The truck driver hit his brakes to keep from hitting the car and two things happened. The chains at the rear of the dozer broke or came loose, and the dozer lurched forward. Apparantly someone had left the key in the run position, or the FSS solonoid malfunctioned (may have been an older model with only a battery key...), because when the dozer lurched forward it compression started and then proceeded to drive forward on the trailer and right through the cab of the truck. The throttle was still down so it bound up in the cab and the engine died, but so did the truck driver.

Now I trust my grandpa, so I take his word for the story being true, some of you may not. It still leaves two important lessons to be learned either way. For the driver hauling the load, make SURE it is securely fastened down, and take any and all keys out and carry them in the cab with you. And for the drivers of the cars and pick-ups out there, PLEASE, PLEASE, leave room for the bigger trucks and trailers to stop!

[larry_minn]

Hey I pulled a D6 cat trailer with my 3/4 ton. Course all I had on it was a 110hp tractor. The tractor had WIDE set tires and that was trailer the gent had so I used it. I hate having tires hanging part way over side.
I am amazed a cat dozer would compression start? As I have never operated one (other then when I was 10 and sat in guys lap/pulled lever he told me to) I can't say. (course that one started by a pony engine on side. Gas)
Really what should I believe. My insurance agent, DOT, Mn State Patrol? Or some faceless gent on internet?
I will continue to haul what I need to. (keep in mind it is not as often as it likely sounds here) The major concern is IDIOTS in their suv/car/van(and now days pickup) who cut folks off because they are too important to follow traffic.
I truly miss the days when a pickup was NOT a status symbol. A car is better for most folks 95% of time or more. Lower center of gravity, better on ice (even over a 4wd a front wheel drive is better) rain/wind cars hold road better. Better milage/comfort/etc. But everyone seems to think they MUST have a pickup and the larger the better.

[DIYracing]

What an idiot not securing his load.

When I was younger I was visiting relative in Red Key, Indiana (Near Muncie). My cousin and I, driving in an ElCamino, were on our way back to my aunts hose and coming up on an intersection on top of a hill where we were hit on the front left corner by a truck who failed to yeld right of way. They truck was pulling a trailer with a bobcat type loader. We went between a telephone pole and to the right of a tree. The tuck went between a guide wire and the left of the tree.

The bobcat not secured to the trailer went over are truck and tumbling down the road about 100 feet. I can only think God that thing did not not strike the cab of our vehicle.


I see people all the time securing race cars with 1, or two straps. Not me I always use 4 and "x" them to keep the car from moving side to side.

[larry_minn]

I hauled two cars from FL to MN. One on U-haul trailer/other my enclosed trailer. Both times extra straps that when tightened squated tires down. Cars were where they started out being. (I did loose one strap on U-haul as it was against a slight edge that I MENT to put some duct tape over to dull.) [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Lost the ratchet of a 1600lb strap. 4 1600 in addition to wheel straps U-haul uses. (ok it was PENSKE but you get the idea) [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] No brakes on that trailer but truck held it no problem. (compact car so likely was under limit)

[F100cleveland]

When the dozer rolls forward from brakeing or impact the tracks catch the top of tractor drive wheels. I've seen pictures of this and the forward rotation of the tires propel the dozer ahead and over the cab of the truck. Not a place to be if you have'nt secured your load properly.

[86GLHS]

Just a warning to you guys towing in MN, be very carefull of the DOT.

A couple weeks back while my 99 PSD was having electrical issues (190K miles) I decided to pull my 15K gross dump trailer with my wifes Excursion. In a 35 mile drive the fourth of five different DOT vehicles pulled over on the side of the road got me. Luckily I was going to the job and only had about 1,000 lb's of roofing materials in the trailer.

The officer gave me warnings for,
1. No city on vehcile magnets
2. No fire exting.
3. No warning triangles
4. No health card
5. No break away brakes on trailer (the two wires going to the box were disconected, he thought the battery was shot!)

The officer was rather nice to me and let me go with just warning typed from vehcicle computer.

He checked every light on the truck and trailer and asked for my drivers license, title card, and insurance, all I had on me was my drivers license.

Now on my plan is to move my dump trailer on the weekends and after 5PM during the week!!!

[BarrySmith]

People talk about going by the door sticker, but Dodge trucks don't have GCVWR on the door or any where on the truck. If you are carring a load in the bed of your truck and your truck is over your GVWR you're busted. If you have a GN or 5th wheel trailer attached to your vehicle you are a combination vehicle and go by tire rating and/or axle weight rating, so long as your tongue weight does not go over your GVWR. If the rating is on the door sticker it's law if not it's a suggestion.

[toalpi]

[ QUOTE ]
Dodge trucks don't have GCVWR on the door or any where on the truck. If the rating is on the door sticker it's law if not it's a suggestion.

[/ QUOTE ] Thank you for clarifying that. Now IF I see GCVWRS or SGCVWR, I'll know what the "S" stands for. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] Some people do not like or want to comply with the manufacturers GCVWR. These people think that they know more than the manufacturer. They think that they know more about towing. They think that they know more about driving. They think that they can make up their own numbers. They think that everybody else on the road is an idiot or a nazi. They think that the rules and laws don't apply to them. They think that they should be able to determine what is safe by trial and error. They think that they will be able to handle "the load" because they have done it many times before. Joe Tow Hard can not be reasoned with.

[Dr.Evil]

Don't be so hard on Barry. He's right. In fact, My '96 F-250 doesn't have the gross combination weight rating on the door sticker either, in fact, it's not even listed ANYWHERE in the Owner's manual. I know it's rated 16,000# gross truck, trailer, & Cargo but I got that from the sales brochure so I don't know if I trust it or not.