Everyone has seen a heavy hauler with loads secured by chains, but few ever consider the standards and best practices that go into ensuring equipment and other items to ensure they ride safely. Those same safety measures are equally important for you when transporting items ranging from furniture and rented equipment to building supplies.

Moving any heavy load is a major endeavor and drivers that don’t adhere to established best practices is courting disaster. Commercial haulers have very specific state and national regulations governing how cargo is to be secured.

As a private individual, you also have rules that apply when hauling cargo. If you fail to follow the law, you can be held liable, prosecuted, pay stiff fines, and sentenced to significant jail time.

Unsecured loads injure more than 3,500 people each year in Florida and cause billions in healthcare costs and property damage. Accidents also occur due to debris on roadways caused by shifting loads.

Commercial drivers understand the importance of securing loads against movement due to winds, bumpy roads and other hazards such as railroad tracks. You can utilize the same basic standards as commercial drivers to ensure loads are safe and secure.

Blocking

Loads should be blocked in the front, back and sides to avoid sliding and shifting. Blocking should fit snuggly against the cargo. The same procedure is equally applicable for open and enclosed trailers.

Tie-Downs

When shifting occurs, it affects the handling of the tow vehicle. Open and flat trailers should employ chains, ropes, straps, or devices on which tension can be adjusted that are strong enough to withstand the weight of the cargo being hauled to prevent movement – typically 1.5 times the weight of the cargo. The restraints should go over the cargo and attach to the trailer on both sides.

Covers

Covering a load, also known as tarping, on open trailers protects other drives from the potential danger of a spill and serves as protection for the cargo. Be sure to look in the rear-view mirror from time to time to ensure covers haven’t come loose. A cover flapping in the wind can easily be torn off. It has the potential to fly off and cover the windshield of other vehicles.

Overloading

Never exceed the weight specifications of the trailer or tow vehicle. The vehicle will be more difficult to handle, it increases the risk of cargo movement, and presents a danger to other motorists. Always ensure that loads are properly balanced.

With over a decade of transporting and Heavy Haul experience, we ensure your heavy equipment is transported safely. Our skilled logistics team understands it’s mission-critical to get your load where it needs to be on time, every time and will make it our main focus when shipping for you.

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