Re: Chained ???????

Posted by 720Deere on September 21, 2005 at 16:20:43 from (70.17.233.40):

In Reply to: Re: Chained ??????? posted by the tractor vet on September 21, 2005 at 15:49:21:

Every guy with a pickup and trailer thinks he is a big trucker, but they don't want to follow the rules. Chances are in the states that I have travelled, you are more likely to be messed with in a pickup w/ trailer than a semi. The DOT cops are cracking down on the "weekend truckers" that gross 30,000 with a 3/4 ton pickup and gooseneck trailer. They are far more dangerous than the worst rigs on the road.

Too many times I have seen guys pull into shows with only two chains and maybe one binder on a tractor and the tractor is bouncing up and down with plenty of slack in the chains. Luckily their big turbo diesel pickups don't have enough brakes to cause a serious shift in the load. The guys that I've been around with rollbacks and semis usually have their stuff chained down right. MD DOT has gotten wise to the pickups. Our cops will pull over just about any pickup that they see towing a skidsteer. Most of these guys do not have the required Class A license or the combination tags required for their load. They usually get them for trailer brakes out of adjustment, non-functioning breakaway, dead breakaway battery, lack of proper safety chains for the trailer, etc. The minimum fine seems to be over $1000! If your load is secured properly, they are less likely to look for other things to pick on you for.

You can read the law and interpret it any way that you feel comfortable, but when the time comes the only opinion that counts is "the man". Just as the tractor vet posted, they dictate how the laws are enforced and they usually lean to the more stringent enterpretation. Chains and binders are cheaper than the fines that they will give you.

As to cleaning tracks, I have always wondered how some of the guys I see get away with it. I see D8s packed with mud flying down the highway on a trailer and I cringe. I wouldn't get 2 miles and I would either get busted or would bust a windshield. The other thing they pick on us for is leaving the chains in a pile in the middle of the floor. I have even seen them gripe about chains and binders laying in a boxed in area between the frame rails. We have set all our trailers up with satisfactory securements for the chains and binders.

If you think that chains and binders are expensive for a 5000 lb tractor, try buying 1/2" grade 100 chain and binders to secure a 75000 lb excavator. Still cheaper than the fines or worse yet a lost load.

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