SO I SEARCHED FOR A THREAD ON THIS AND COULDNT FIND ONE>
I saw a guy on the road today who had no straps or chains on his skid. this lead me to be curiouse as to what is the proper procedure to strap down a skid steer to a trailer? If you can throw some pics in as well. thanks.
I'll put up some pics tomorrow. If I am going far I put a chain and boom on each corner.
Most of the time I run a chain through the front, back up to tighten it, then chain the back and
Tighten it with one ratchet boom. Can load, tie down and get on the road in less than 5 min.
Robert
For my mini I use one chain for each end of the machine with a lever binder. (4 points)
Had a guy help me out on a job who used to work for another company with mini's and he said what I was doing was over-kill compared to what they used to do.
Well the right way is anchoring it at 4 separate points with 4 separate chains and binders. I just use 2 heavy chains and 2 lever binders. BUT.....I have had a chain slide down the bucket causing several inches of slack in the chain, luckily I saw it before anything happen. Not using any tie downs is just lazy, stupid, irresponsible, illegal, and usually a HUGE fine if caught.
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On any excavator you to also tie down the bucket, DOT told us (1) chain on the front of the machine,
(1) on the back and (1) on the bucket of the excavator. But he says on a bobcat you only need (2) chains
It all depends which DOT inspector you talk to, and how his day is going.
For starters, throw the ratchet straps away.....running a strap anywhere near a machine is just asking to get pulled over.
I've always run 1 front and 1 rear for 10k and under, 4 chains and binders for over 10k. Was recently told by a customer that they got nailed by DOT due to a "new" standard, 3 chains/binders under 10k, 4 if over 10k. Not sure if that's a true standard, or just a inspector making up the rules as he goes.
Now, I do a 4 point on every machine. Takes 5 minutes, and I don't have to worry about it. Every inspector seems to interperet the rules differently, and the tickets are to big.
Completely dependent on were you are but Not strapping to down is illegal everywhere.
We run 1 on the back connected through both corners (or a center tie down if there is one available) and another 1 on the front through both corners and run them away from the machine at angles.
Binders should always to on the drivers side of the trailer so you can see if they come loose. Also there should be a wire or clip to prevent to binder from coming undone.
I will use this picture as an example.... just found it on google....
Green tractor has two straps, that's good. But they run perpendicular to the tractor so they aren't bracing the front and back movement at all and this machine will move in a sudden stop. Also I would never use straps, not sure what the exact ruling is, probably had to do with weight but we always use chains and binders on large equipment.
You can see the chains running back at an angle from the skid steer and that's they right way to do it to prevent front and back movement. Also they have one for each corner which is good.
In this case I am not sure how the front of the skid steer is strapped, and you should never travel with the boom up either.
Not the best pic but this is how we do it. 2 chains across the bed and hooked at each corner. 2 ratchet binders, 1 front, one back. Front chain is always run in a way that it secures the attachment as well.
This is the way I like to do it too, one chain across the bed and up to the corners.
Our rules now stipulate a chain or strap on each attachment as well. That's 4 chains min on a backhoe/loader. Or even a small loader with 3pth attachment. I discussed it once with MTO about the floor chain coming over the bucket, it started a debate between the two reps at the show lol.
Last edited by Mr.Markus; 02-17-2012 at 12:40 PM..
This is the way I like to do it too, one chain across the bed and up to the corners.
Our rules now stipulate a chain or strap on each attachment as well. That's 4 chains min on a backhoe/loader. Or even a small loader with 3pth attachment. I discussed it once with MTO about the floor chain coming over the bucket, it started a debate between the two reps at the show lol.
So are we talking an attachment that is attached to the machine or one that is on its own?
If it is attached to the machine, and the machine is fastened securely, then is that attachment for all purposes not part of that machine?
I think when it comes to the green and whites here, they do make up the rules as they go so that doesn't surprise me one bit.
Was in court against them for the first and only time in my life last year and overheard the two MTO guys trying to justify to one another why they wrote me a ticket. Judge disagreed and threw it out.....
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I've always run 1 front and 1 rear for 10k and under, 4 chains and binders for over 10k. Was recently told by a customer that they got nailed by DOT due to a "new" standard, 3 chains/binders under 10k, 4 if over 10k. Not sure if that's a true standard, or just a inspector making up the rules as he goes.
Now, I do a 4 point on every machine. Takes 5 minutes, and I don't have to worry about it. Every inspector seems to interperet the rules differently, and the tickets are to big.
Interesting, never heard of the 3 point rule. Sounds like a made-up ruling if you ask me.
But other than that, you are correct. Under 10K only needs 2 binders\chains. Although, maybe the 3rd comes in for the bucket? Allegedly any attachment is also supposed to be chained as well. Never mind the fact that it is attached to the machine.
So are we talking an attachment that is attached to the machine or one that is on its own?
If it is attached to the machine, and the machine is fastened securely, then is that attachment for all purposes not part of that machine?
I think when it comes to the green and whites here, they do make up the rules as they go so that doesn't surprise me one bit.
Was in court against them for the first and only time in my life last year and overheard the two MTO guys trying to justify to one another why they wrote me a ticket. Judge disagreed and threw it out.....
From my understanding, when it's attached to the machine, the machine counts as 1 attachment point to the trailer, so you need another chain/strap for attachments, including buckets/loaders.
A backhoe/excavator requires 5 chains and binders if going by the letter of the law here in Pa. Also you need to have the proper sized chain and binder for that machine. The DOT guys here will fine you for anything and everything they can think of/make up. You will never get a ticket for having too many chains on something. Also using one long chain in place of two shorter ones isn't legal either, why I'm not sure but that's how it is here. The best way I've found to keep the DOT goon squad away is take the extra time to do things right and look professional. We try to use chain on everything but on some of our light attachments we will use ratchet straps. So far nobody from the goon squad has said anything so I'm good with that.
Michigan requires 4 DOT approved and weight stamped chains on each corner with a approved ratched binder on each corner. If a boom applies you must have at least one chain and binder holding it to the trailer/truck.
As far as I know, it is legal to use 2 chains. They must be individually bound in a manner that keeps each side tight, in the event that the other side comes loose or breaks. 2 chains, 4 binders. This allows the chains to act independently, as if they were 4 not 2.
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