Proper Machine tie down PC 240 Komatsu

[Patrick Lickly]

So I told my Trucker to discontinue the practice of just grabbing the pad edges and the trailer top frame and use the manufacturers tie points to minimize our exposure to loss and DOT tickets 100 miles of I-80 in Nevada.
Got a barrage of why's , finally said do it or don't move my machines again.
What do you all say,

Rogers 55 ft triple axil trailer, 2009 Pete 388 Heavy Haul.

 

[Junkyard]

Unless your pads and rails are smooth wore out there’s nothing wrong with using them for securement and I’ve never had a thing said to me by law enforcement. On a beam I would say no pads. On a regular lowboy I see no problem at all with it. Often the anchor points on carbody coupled with tie down options on the trailer may not yield the best angles and securement anyway.

There are exceptions with certain machines and attachments but the run of the mill dozer or track hoe is just fine from pads. That being said if you don’t like it and want it done otherwise that’s cartainly your call to make.

One thing I’m not a fan of is a binder straight from side rail to track pad. I prefer to pull from the pad to the middle of the trailer on each corner, I also grab the pad higher up so as to pull down and in. Short move it’s ok to just use a binder. Longer runs I like the angles better with a short chain and binder at each corner.

 

[AzIron]

Of the 3 tracked machines I know of that were dumped in transport

One was a 25 ton hoe with 3 /8 binders that nailed a concrete barrier and shot it off

Another one belonged to a rat rental outfit and the track chain slipped the idler

And the last one I know anything about was a rookie driver on his first excavator haul story is it was not centered and squared on the trailer

If the driver knows what there doing and the uc is in decent shape you shouldn't have problems

But I get your reason for wanting it done to tie points it's the same reason I use half inch chain and binders on my stuff even tho its overkill you just can't buy peace of mind

 

[Wytruckwrench]

I always figure pretty much what Junkyard says. Prefer to pull in and down if it’s a longer haul. Sometimes have gone around the track frames if the undercarriage looked dodgy.

 

[Mother Deuce]

It is a common sense issue. In a couple decades of owning or operating one myself all of our loads arrived every time safely. Hauling a later model excavator or dozer with good u/c, I had 4 single hook 1/2 inch shorty chains. one end to an eye (don't use a flange rail if you can help it. Buy some more eyes. Hook your eye's long enough that where they cross a flange edge the hook is above the flange so your chain is effectively doubled where the flange edge is making contact with it.) the other end was the top hook of the binder to the grouser. (also 1/2 inch rigging) It you hook the front of the track, you MUST hook the back! that way you are securing the the track from rolling and it is not hanging on the brake of the machine! Old gear or (big new gear) like Northwest 80D shovels that a number of my customers used in the woods with the old style flat pads... never use the tracks. I used to cross chain those across the deck to the car body and cross chain the upper front and rear so it wasn't just hanging on the pin and brakes. Ultimately it is up to you. My trucks had both 1/2 inch and 3/8 rigging. (10 3/8 cargo chains and binders and 6 1/2 inch with ratchet binders) Have enough iron to do the job safely. If you need eyes add them. I had two trailers that I set up especially for 400 class log loaders that had eyes added by my trailer manufacturer (I had them installed by the manufacturer so they shouldered the liability responsibility for the securement points and if it came to court... it just wasn't me glueing eyes to their design.) for securing the boom support and the boom. Don't be the nimrod with the skid steer behind the 1500 pick up with one chain on a car trailer.

 

[RZucker]

Myself... I have never trusted grabbing pads on crawlers. My excavators had large eyes welded on the track frame by the idlers and drives. Cross chained all the way and always pulled against each other front to rear. Booms were always chained down too. Make sure the long reach machines have the "kickstand" in place. A local idiot didn't have time for the kick stand on his long reach machine and broke the eye on the stick cylinder. The guy Howled at me because he was in a hurry and didn't use the stand, swore it wasn't needed. Komatsu got him 9K for that rod.

 

[td25c]

I'm the same way RZ .

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/old-hy-hoe.8220/page-7#post-562016

 

[RZucker]

Yeah, some years back I had a 166 Koerhring with some worn undercarriage and pulled the track rail right off the idler with a screw binder, after that no way am I using the track for a tie down point.
My favorite weld on eye was ship anchor chain links, got a ton or two laying around here.

 

[td25c]

Chain them where you can mash the peddle & don't look back .


Or hop in & drive it to the job with a rubber tire excavator . Mash the peddle ! LOL

 

[RZucker]

Chain them where you can mash the peddle & don't look back .


Or hop in & drive it to the job with a rubber tire excavator . Mash the peddle ! LOL

I love the sound of that Waukesha. Worked on a couple Bucyrus drill rigs with the old 145 engines on propane with a 4" straight exhaust. Those were just chuggers, but sounded good anyway.

 

[td25c]

Truck engine bumps the governor @ 2,800 RPM . What I like about the 404 Waukesha gas burner is she will pull down low & keep on chuggin .

Pretty tight engine , don't use any oil or smoke .

Likes the " GoGo Juice " . LOL !

 

[fast1buzz]

So I told my Trucker to discontinue the practice of just grabbing the pad edges and the trailer top frame and use the manufacturers tie points to minimize our exposure to loss and DOT tickets 100 miles of I-80 in Nevada.
Got a barrage of why's , finally said do it or don't move my machines again.
What do you all say,

Rogers 55 ft triple axil trailer, 2009 Pete 388 Heavy Haul.

Nevada DOT has a different way of looking at securement. I was hauling D7 cable plow had it tied grabbing the pads to the rails officer noticed as he passed me pulled me over. Lucky for me I also had 4 1/2 chains tied to the chain hooks on the machine frame to the D rings on the trailer. He told me I was lucky I had it this way because the binders to the pads didn't count. Would have cost me a fortune in fines if it wasn't for my overkill habit.

 

[John C.]

As I recall in Washington State the tie downs are required to be three times the weight of the item being held. Is that no long true?

 

[Crummy]

As I recall in Washington State the tie downs are required to be three times the weight of the item being held. Is that no long true?

FMCSA regs- 80% forward, 50% rear & side, 20% up [generally]. Section 10 for machines: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulatio...rivers-handbook-cargo-securement-introduction

On grabbing the tracks I'd fight it if I got dinged on that (even though I'm not a fan of using them to secure):

Unrated and Unmarked Anchor Points

FMCSAs cargo securement rules do not require rating and marking of anchor points. While the agency encourages manufacturers to rate and mark anchor points, the new rules do not include a requirement for ratings and markings.

 

[Wes J]

As I recall, the 80% rule is based on breaking strength, not working load limit. Rule I use is WLL must equal half the weight of what you haul. Chains to the machine get 50% of their WLL. Chains that go over the machine and to the other side of the trailer get 100% of WLL. Anything over 10,000 lbs needs 4 chains minimum, preferably at the corners.