PineRidge
Super Member
Dargo I'm glad that you and the equipment came through the ordeal without scars or worse. I don't haul my Boomer around but if I did after reading this post I would use chains and binders to keep it all together.
Ratcheting tie downs BROKE in transit!
- Thread starter Dargo
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slowzuki
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I'm gonna make a wild guess the straps were at a low angle to keep the tractor from going forward or back.
Something to think about is at a really low angle, when you hit a bump, you have:
5000 lb tractor going up trying to jerk 1500 lb trailer up in the air making the trailer act like it is say, 4500 lb.
Well, at low angles, say 10 degrees, that 4500 lb jerk up on the trailer is now putting 25914 lbs of tension shared between the two front straps and the same on the rear two straps.
That is on top of whatever tension was applied to preload it.
When I haul heavy stuff, I try to use hold down straps at steep angles to take that load, and front to back straps at low angles.
If you just use the hold downs, they end up with the same problem when stopping.
Something to think about is at a really low angle, when you hit a bump, you have:
5000 lb tractor going up trying to jerk 1500 lb trailer up in the air making the trailer act like it is say, 4500 lb.
Well, at low angles, say 10 degrees, that 4500 lb jerk up on the trailer is now putting 25914 lbs of tension shared between the two front straps and the same on the rear two straps.
That is on top of whatever tension was applied to preload it.
When I haul heavy stuff, I try to use hold down straps at steep angles to take that load, and front to back straps at low angles.
If you just use the hold downs, they end up with the same problem when stopping.
OP
Dargo
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Dargo, what caused the tractor to start coming off the back of the trailer?)</font>
billfires, I honestly don't have a clue. I always put my tractor in low range, 4X4 when putting it on the trailer. That way I don't have to use my ramps. Once parked on the trailer, I always leave it in low range 4X4, and set the parking brake. As I mentioned, none of this should have happened; but it did. I posted the experience because if it happened to me, it could happen to someone else.
On the question of whether something flew up from the road and hit a strap, thus starting the situation; I sure don't know. I just figure that if I had used the appropriate strength chains and boomers, it most likely would not have happened. I usually don't feel that I'm particularly lucky. I don't think I'd be so lucky if it happened again. Therefore, this post and my order today for the appropriate securing and tie down equipment for my needs.
billfires, I honestly don't have a clue. I always put my tractor in low range, 4X4 when putting it on the trailer. That way I don't have to use my ramps. Once parked on the trailer, I always leave it in low range 4X4, and set the parking brake. As I mentioned, none of this should have happened; but it did. I posted the experience because if it happened to me, it could happen to someone else.
On the question of whether something flew up from the road and hit a strap, thus starting the situation; I sure don't know. I just figure that if I had used the appropriate strength chains and boomers, it most likely would not have happened. I usually don't feel that I'm particularly lucky. I don't think I'd be so lucky if it happened again. Therefore, this post and my order today for the appropriate securing and tie down equipment for my needs.
Av8r3400
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hazmat
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Dargo,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Thankfully no-one was hurt.
As others have mentioned, the angle of the strap & the amount of pre-tension could have had an influence in the strap failure.
When you say "10,000#" straps, was that the Working Load Limit (WLL) or the min breaking strength?
How much does your tractor weigh (Including FEL, attachments and loaded tires)?
The engineer in me wants to do some "forensic calculations" to see if we can quantify why your straps broke.
Could you tell if they both went at the same time, or was it 1-2?
Can you estimate the angle of the strap - 0 would be horizontal, 90 would be vertical (Side view)? Also estimate the angle off centerline (top view)?
I think running the numbers is important, we want to be sure that your new chains are up to the task.
Did I understand correctly that you can drive your tractor onto the trailer w/o using the ramps?
Thanks for sharing your experience. Thankfully no-one was hurt.
As others have mentioned, the angle of the strap & the amount of pre-tension could have had an influence in the strap failure.
When you say "10,000#" straps, was that the Working Load Limit (WLL) or the min breaking strength?
How much does your tractor weigh (Including FEL, attachments and loaded tires)?
The engineer in me wants to do some "forensic calculations" to see if we can quantify why your straps broke.
Could you tell if they both went at the same time, or was it 1-2?
Can you estimate the angle of the strap - 0 would be horizontal, 90 would be vertical (Side view)? Also estimate the angle off centerline (top view)?
I think running the numbers is important, we want to be sure that your new chains are up to the task.
Did I understand correctly that you can drive your tractor onto the trailer w/o using the ramps?
grandad
Platinum Member
Glad you and your equipment are OK! You are one lucky fellow to get out of that in one piece!
OP
Dargo
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I'll try to answer all questions as best I can. Let's see, I'd say that the front straps were at about a 45 degree angle. The pre-tension typically is about all I care to crank on the ratchets. Tractor with loader, cab, attachment etc. weighs in just under 7000 pounds. The 10k figure listed on the straps, I'm sure, would be the largest number they could publish under perfect circumstances. And, I have no clue if they broke together or separately. I only became aware after the tractor slid back and threw me all over the road and I was trying to hold my bladder. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
slowzuki
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Dargo, 45 degree looking down from the top too, 45 degrees from side view too? This makes the compound angle less than 45...
Both straps may have failed at a similar time or the machine would have shifted sideways.
I'm interested as I will be hauling the same model 3 hours on Friday /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif but that is another post!
I have a pair of big straps from the towing company my fil works for and a bunch of chain and load binders. That sucker ain't coming loose if I can help it!
Both straps may have failed at a similar time or the machine would have shifted sideways.
I'm interested as I will be hauling the same model 3 hours on Friday /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif but that is another post!
I have a pair of big straps from the towing company my fil works for and a bunch of chain and load binders. That sucker ain't coming loose if I can help it!
JoeR
Platinum Member
I always wondered about straps. Nylon gets hot when it is stretched, and this heat can work against the material. I never studied how critical failure occurs in Nylon, but it seems to be catastrophic. I remember when I was in college discussing different metal materials and I was taught that the hardest metal is brittle yet has a higher stress limits; although, when hard metal fails it becomes catastrophic. Softer metals tend to bend and give before complete failure. This point is why I prefer metal chains, since most will stretch and the heat is dissipated across the surface of the metal. The term stretching is not comparable between Nylon and Steel. If a steel chain stretches it does not return to normal, and metal fatigue will begin. In Dargo's situation it seems the Nylon acted like a rubber band and magnified the problem.
Maybe someone can explain this, but I remember tower climbers not using nylon rope since it stretches too much. They considered it unsafe for lifting loads up a tower. If tower climbers don't use it for lifting loads, then there must be a reason, and I would assume the same reason would apply for hauling heaving equipment??
Joe
Maybe someone can explain this, but I remember tower climbers not using nylon rope since it stretches too much. They considered it unsafe for lifting loads up a tower. If tower climbers don't use it for lifting loads, then there must be a reason, and I would assume the same reason would apply for hauling heaving equipment??
Joe
Cliff_Johns
Elite Member
Another issue with straps is that the weight can be unevenly distributed across the fabric. That is, if the strap isn't perfectly square to both attachment points, then the stress can be on just one edge causing it to rip. I would assume that for the measurement rating of the strap that they would keep the weight ballanced across the whole strap.
Cliff
Cliff
