I am needing to know if I need more than six chains on any of my equipment.

[ianholt150]

Hello Everybody, I Need some advice on how to tie some machinery down. I have Ford 9030 Bi-Directional tractor, A Ford Backhoe, And some other attachments for both. I need to know how to tie it down. Are Cam-Style binders legal in Oregon, Washington, California, And Idaho?

 

[hvy 1ton]

9030 is over 10K so it needs a chain on each corner and because it articulates it either needs the articulation lock installed or opposed chains at the articulation point. If it has a loader you will need a seventh chain for securing that. If you use 20' chains you can use 1 chain front/back and leave slack in the middle and cover the requirements with 5 chains/7 binders. At least for me, ratchet binders are worth the money.

 

[redneckracin]

You couldn't give me a set of boomers anymore. I'll take ratchet binders any day of the week. Never hurts to have spare chains either.

 

[Junkyard]

I seldom see snap binders on a lowboy and in my professional opinion that have no place on one. As far as tie downs go, what size chain are you using? Is it transport grade? As far as chain and binder count I always like to have half again as many binders as I do chains, mainly because they're most likely to break or malfunction plus you can use one long chain with two binders. Several short chains are handy in addition to your full 20 footers. On my big trailer I don't even carry a 20'. It will vary with your needs and uses. To me 5/16 has no place on a lowboy. Minimum 3/8 and I prefer 1/2. I was told a long time ago....chains in the headache rack don't hold a load on the trailer.

That being said, 20 chains on a load in the wrong spots don't do any good either. Biggest force you can apply to a load is a panic stop. Second, almost as important, is a side load like a curve too fast or an evasive maneuver. So think about those forces when you tie one down. Rubber tires loads I like to see more downward pull so as to compress the tires to mitigate some of the bounce. With a tracked machine you have to consider the coefficient of friction between tracks and trailer as well. May not roll but it sure could slide. Steel on steel, mud etc has an affect. I also always have a second set of chains that are purely a stop setup (as in panic). Always cross them if you can and at the same time pull forward and back at each end. Tires on a machine like you mentioned aren't too bad. Plus the weight end to end isn't bad. An RT crane, for example, is a little tougher to get down right because you have the cantilever affect of the boom as well as some big tires with lots of bounce. Sometimes the order you chain it down matters too. Also, depending on weight of load and deflection of trailer when loaded you may want to tie down after it's raised up, assuming an rgn.

So now that I've thrown a ton of info at you, I'd say minimum 5 on the tractor and 6 on the hoe. Each corner and through the middle on tractor, each corner and one on the boom of the hoe as well as on the front bucket. Overkill? Probably but I've hauled loads in excess of 200k payload all over the US and Canada for 15 years and have never lost one or even had a major shift after unforeseen circumstances. In my mind there's no "I'm just going around the corner". I'd be glad to help sort it out.

 

[Ruger_556]

I like cam/over center binders for equipment with tires, anything that doesn't have tires or is just sitting on the deck ratcheting binder hands down. Not those cheesetastik ones with the handle in the middle though, those are awful, I like these http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Flatb...uickbinder-Folding-Handle-Ratchet-Load-Binder

As far as number of chains to use, as many as it takes to equal your machine weight and enough to secure it. Sometimes it's 4 sometimes it's 12... Each corner of the machine and then any attachment/bucket whatever needs its own chain.

 

[ianholt150]

Thank you, Junkyard. I will probably have to do this, as I live on the coast, and my location is 850 ft above sea level, and 1 1/2 mile from the highway, and that means a really steep, windy road to the bottom of the mountain. Once again, thank you!

 

[Junkyard]

You're welcome. Glad I could help!

 

[ianholt150]

One more thing, Junkyard. If you know, Are boomers still legal in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho

 

[Junkyard]

As far as I know snap binders are still legal everywhere. I'm not as quite in the know as I once was. I'd be surprised to see them outlawed, there's a gozillion of those things around. If they are it's a state thing and not federal. I've got hundreds of the damn things laying around. If you're gonna buy ratchet binders there are a few handy ways to get them or build them with sling hooks and whatnot. If I remember I'll snap a few pics of store bought and modified binders.

 

[old-iron-habit]

One more thing, Junkyard. If you know, Are boomers still legal in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho

Snap over binders are legal in every state according to the Interstate DOT rules. Surprisingly enough any chain is legal also. The caveat is that if they are not marked as rated transport chains DOT rates them at the lowest chain rating there is for that size chain. Always good to have the high quality chains.

 

[Shimmy1]

I've never looked it up, but have been told you need 50% more pulling backward than forward. When I tie down my 25 ton excavator, however, I have a half-inch binder from the track to the side-rail at each corner, and that's it. I put a chain over the hoe if I'm going on interstate, but that happens about once a year if I'm lucky. I have been stopped for a paper check with only 4 binders, and the officer never said a word.

 

[Junkyard]

Here's what I use a lot. One is store bought and one I made with an extra hook. Certain places they're darn handy.

 

[hvy 1ton]

Foundry hook on a binder could come in handy.

 

[Junkyard]

It sure does. It allows me to use one chain and two binders on each side of the tracks at the back. Also handy when securing the upper works on the rigs. I don't trust the pins they use to lock, especially the Watson 3100's.

 

[ianholt150]

Thank you so much, guys! Your info has really helped me out.

 

[DMiller]

I moved to ratchet boomers in the late 80's never looked back. I do still have and still use ON OCCASION a cam over old style tooth grabber. Good friend of ours has a front tooth bridge of three teeth due to one, know another guy lost all upper and lower fronts using a pipe on a really tight hook down, hook actually failed on an old chain and the pipe busted him square in the mouth.

 

[ianholt150]

Hey Junkyard, I forgot to include this, but this backhoe is mid-60's so it isn't really heavy, like you might think.

 

[hvy 1ton]

If it's a 4500 you could get away with 4 chains, but anything over 5k i do all four corners whenever possible. 9030 still needs 6-7 tie downs if you don't have an articulation lock for it.

 

[Junkyard]

Corners are still your best bet. It's a function of cargo weight vs tie down capacity but also preventing movement. Rubber tires and a somewhat high center of gravity would make me want four corners and one on the boom just to keep the man happy. I was thinking about doing a walk around of my load today but it's so damn windy idk if you could hear me. Which might not be a bad thing

 

[CM1995]

My 420D with the bucket and forks on one load takes 7 binders and chains. 4 for each corner of the tractor, one over the rear boom/bucket, one to hold the loose bucket on the forks attached to the tractor and one over the loader boom.