Almost lost a skid on the trailer...

[OhioBurner©]

Usually I buy from a local store, just a few miles away of country roads. Little traffic and I cruise along like a Sunday driver as they say. This year after some phone calls I found out in the next town over they were selling the same pellets for $35 less per ton. Surprising seeing how it's also from the same chain hardware store. I don't like traveling extra with a load if I don't have to, but that is a substantial price savings considering I'll be getting 3 tons in one load at least. And I'm often traveling there to the grocery store anyhow. Just so happens the other weekend my son was going over to his friends house that lives there in town so I made a combo trip to get gas, groceries, pick up my son, and pellets. I threw in some chains and straps since it was a longer trip and starting out in traffic in town.

Well I got the pellets and clear forgot to strap em before I was heading out of the hardware store to get my son. No biggie, its not even .5 miles to where he is staying. Only problem I didn't realize there were speedbumps, like a bunch of them. Not bad ones, but still enough to make the loaded trailer hop a bit even going 10mph (? or less). I should have perhaps come to a complete stop and creep over them, but I'm always self conscious about holding up traffic and this is a heavily used road that cuts between shopping centers, and being that the speed bumps are not very big traffic usually maintains 30+ mph through there. I already had a couple cars backed up.

So I arrive and notice the skid is starting to lean forward a bit. Wow never saw that happen before. I hunt down my son, gather up his stuff and were off again. Oh shoot my memory is so bad I forgot to strap it down again. Well no biggie I need gas I'll just secure it at the gas station since there isn't anywhere to pull over here. Oh, those speed bumps again. Slower this time. Not very far I can actually see the gas station from there. So finally get gas and get out the chains. The load was leaning over a bit worse now, maybe tipped forward about a foot at the top. Now I am getting nervous, thought maybe I'll have to break this pallet down, but I grabbed some chains and secured it best I could and figured I'd pull over after a bit and check on it. With the load secured I drove a bit and checked, and it had pretty much completely fallen over forward, like in the pictures I'll attach. It was still chained, and the heavy shrink wrap at the top seems fairly solid so I kept going and it didn't shift any more that I could tell by the time I got home. Had I not had it chained down though I'm sure it would have shifted around some more and perhaps right over the front of the trailer without stopping.

Moral of the story is always secure load, and even doing 10 mph apparently some bumps can still cause a skid to move big time!

 

[johneh]

AS they say better to be born lucky than good looking ( meaning the tipped over pellets )

 

[rich2500]

I haul my pellets on a trailer, I always strap down the pallet side to side and front to back.
Glad you didn't lose your pellets that would have made a helluva mess

 

[railfanron]

I would check the springs on the trailer. With the load shifting that much I would think the springs took quite a beating.
Ron

 

[mralias]

Is that a 3/4 ton PU with two pallets of 1.3 tons each in same?

 

[Mt Bob]

LOL not gonna comment until more info!

 

[OhioBurner©]

Is that a 3/4 ton PU with two pallets of 1.3 tons each in same?

Not quite, F350, but I'm sure the rear axle is slightly over GAWR with the extra trailer weight.

I haul my pellets on a trailer, I always strap down the pallet side to side and front to back.
Glad you didn't lose your pellets that would have made a helluva mess

Never thought about front to back, but there wouldn't be a spot for me to anchor to in the back (it has a wooden rear gate, btw). I do strap around the front and back of the base of the pallet though, to help prevent the base from sliding, I don't think you can see that in the photos though.

I would check the springs on the trailer. With the load shifting that much I would think the springs took quite a beating.
Ron

Will do but I don't see what the load shifting more forward would do to the springs. The 'shifting' was very slow, wouldn't have done anything, and the more forward load would actually relieve some weight off the springs slightly. I'd think maybe over the bumps there would be a greater chance of axle damage from bottoming out. Not sure if it actually bottomed out or not. There was no visible damage to the axle but I didn't even check the springs, will do.

LOL not gonna comment until more info!

???
I think the moral of the story is not to forget to strap your loads down! Even if the pallet doesn't move, they can still move around, especially when experiencing a bit of freefall after a bump or small hill they turn into loose little rollers insides the bags and can move around, that is something I hadn't thought of before.

 

[alternativeheat]

Pellet bags are slippery little devils. I've tried hauling partial pallets of them, once that original wrapper is cut forget it unless you can shrink wrap them nice and tight. They don't travel well otherwise.

 

[Jack Morrissey]

Usually I buy from a local store, just a few miles away of country roads. Little traffic and I cruise along like a Sunday driver as they say. This year after some phone calls I found out in the next town over they were selling the same pellets for $35 less per ton. Surprising seeing how it's also from the same chain hardware store. I don't like traveling extra with a load if I don't have to, but that is a substantial price savings considering I'll be getting 3 tons in one load at least. And I'm often traveling there to the grocery store anyhow. Just so happens the other weekend my son was going over to his friends house that lives there in town so I made a combo trip to get gas, groceries, pick up my son, and pellets. I threw in some chains and straps since it was a longer trip and starting out in traffic in town.

Well I got the pellets and clear forgot to strap em before I was heading out of the hardware store to get my son. No biggie, its not even .5 miles to where he is staying. Only problem I didn't realize there were speedbumps, like a bunch of them. Not bad ones, but still enough to make the loaded trailer hop a bit even going 10mph (? or less). I should have perhaps come to a complete stop and creep over them, but I'm always self conscious about holding up traffic and this is a heavily used road that cuts between shopping centers, and being that the speed bumps are not very big traffic usually maintains 30+ mph through there. I already had a couple cars backed up.

So I arrive and notice the skid is starting to lean forward a bit. Wow never saw that happen before. I hunt down my son, gather up his stuff and were off again. Oh shoot my memory is so bad I forgot to strap it down again. Well no biggie I need gas I'll just secure it at the gas station since there isn't anywhere to pull over here. Oh, those speed bumps again. Slower this time. Not very far I can actually see the gas station from there. So finally get gas and get out the chains. The load was leaning over a bit worse now, maybe tipped forward about a foot at the top. Now I am getting nervous, thought maybe I'll have to break this pallet down, but I grabbed some chains and secured it best I could and figured I'd pull over after a bit and check on it. With the load secured I drove a bit and checked, and it had pretty much completely fallen over forward, like in the pictures I'll attach. It was still chained, and the heavy shrink wrap at the top seems fairly solid so I kept going and it didn't shift any more that I could tell by the time I got home. Had I not had it chained down though I'm sure it would have shifted around some more and perhaps right over the front of the trailer without stopping.

Moral of the story is always secure load, and even doing 10 mph apparently some bumps can still cause a skid to move big time!

View attachment 187512 View attachment 187511

10 mph over speed bumps is not a good idea!! More like a slow crawl over them....

 

[bas157]

Pellet bags are slippery little devils. I've tried hauling partial pallets of them, once that original wrapper is cut forget it unless you can shrink wrap them nice and tight. They don't travel well otherwise.

What if you just cut part of the top of the wrapping away and pulled bags out the top. I would think that might be OK?

 

[adayrider]

I wonder why 2 in truck 1 on trailer? I would of done 1 on truck 2 on trailer even if it overloaded the trailer. If you slid 1 all the way to the front of the trailer it would put a lot of that weight on the truck anyhow. It looks, but hard to see, but looks like you put the one on the trailer ahead of the axle or mostly ahead. You should have put it dead nuts over top the axle. Even with straps and chains, hauling these types of cargo this can happen. If you go front corner to back corner or criss cross with 2 cains will act as a front to back somewhat. But you done good, you got it all home.

 

[psebowhunter]

So you saw what slow speed bumps did to the one in the trailer, what about an unexpected front impact(or hard braking to avoid the same) and you have the two unsecured pallets of pellets coming into the cab with you. Just food for thought when it comes to securing loads. Stuff in the beds of pickups is often forgotten or ignored.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[adayrider]

So you saw what slow speed bumps did to the one in the trailer, what about an unexpected front impact(or hard braking to avoid the same) and you have the two unsecured pallets of pellets coming into the cab with you. Just food for thought when it comes to securing loads. Stuff in the beds of pickups is often forgotten or ignored.

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They look secure to me. Where are they going? Looks like he barely got the tailgate shut. No way they are getting in the cab, that's ridiculous.

 

[psebowhunter]

I think ridiculous is a far stretch. You see how the bags shifted on that pallet on the trailer but the base was still where it was probably put to begin with. Emergency braking or front impact could shift the bags in the bed the same way sending them through the rear window or over the cab. Inertia and momentum can easily cause these problems.

I've been on a lot of Crash scenes in my time and you would be amazed at what inertia and momentum can do to objects when a vehicle crashes.

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[OhioBurner©]

I wonder why 2 in truck 1 on trailer? I would of done 1 on truck 2 on trailer even if it overloaded the trailer. If you slid 1 all the way to the front of the trailer it would put a lot of that weight on the truck anyhow. It looks, but hard to see, but looks like you put the one on the trailer ahead of the axle or mostly ahead. You should have put it dead nuts over top the axle. Even with straps and chains, hauling these types of cargo this can happen. If you go front corner to back corner or criss cross with 2 cains will act as a front to back somewhat. But you done good, you got it all home.

Becuase the truck is rated for it and the trailer is not. That trailer only has 3500# axle and 1750 rated tires iirc but the trailer weighs 1400 lbs empty.

I've been on a lot of Crash scenes in my time and you would be amazed at what inertia and momentum can do to objects when a vehicle crashes.

In a real crash nothing much is going to help in the bed since even if they were chained down 4 tons will rip the anchors right through the sheet metal bed. They are good for securing down something you don't want to blow away in the wind but aren't going to do much to secure 4,000 lbs. Usually I have the rack installed that covers the rear window.