Advice on lashing down a carrier
 

I am about to transport my BGC and jeep on a tilt tray/sliding tray and require advice on the best way to secure a Bren Gun Carrier to the deck of the truck.
Have not had to do this before with a restored BGC.
Pics may also help me and others.

I think for the front a chain through bow shackles utilising the front tow/tie down lugs.
Not sure about the rear???

Loading Wednesday night

Hi Darrin I've been thinking the same lately click below Euan looks like he has it correct . When my tilt- tray moved my carrier home , the truck driver just chained to the two front tow eyes and chained to the rear tow hitch . When I followed behind in my car I could see the carrier hull moving up and down and the chains snapping under tension . On one of my wheels you can see where a tight chain has worn into the cast rim where 60 or 70 years ago it was chained down maybe on a railway car , just like the chain is on Euan front wheel in the photo below . Dale

http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/at...4&d=1422753317

Personally, for the back of the Canadian carrier I go from the corner of the trailer to underneath the axle, up over the diff, and back under the axle to the other corner. However, to be legal in these parts you are supposed to have two separate chains on the back, so in that case I would criss cross chains from the corner to the opposite side of the diff. All chains get tightened with a trap.

For the front I go from each of the corners to the front adjuster wheel. Expect them to loosen a little if a spoke prevents the chain from being attached to the closest part of the wheel. After a mile or two of movement, I'll pull over and check the chains, then again after about an hour.

I don't like tying to the front tow brackets. I find they tend to bend downwards.

By far the easiest method I one I learned from Charlie Fitton. Use the winch to pull the carrier almost all the way up onto the deck. Tilt the deck back up. Use two axle hooks and hook them on the axle housing of the carrier. At the back of the truck deck there is usually spots in the deck to have the chain "hook" into. Then using the winch pull the nose of the carrier down. This does two things. #1 is that it will tighten the rear chains right up and #2 it pulls the nose down taking a lot of bounce out from the suspension. Then use two chains and cross chain the front. Use the two tow lugs and binders on the chains and you are ready to go.

Interesting thread. How would carriers have been secured on a railway flat car for transportation? Perhaps the same process could apply to modern tilt decks.

Lash through the wheels and bogeys, not the towing eyes... This allows the body of the carrier to Bob and bounce without working strops and chains loose..

Chain the bogies-wheels down the carrier hull can then still move freely.

^^^^^^^^ that's what I said dude :)

Tiedown
 

With our modern straps and ratchets you don,t get the damage that chains do. Steel on steel means you must cross chain, as already mentioned. Only chain under carriage, OR chock under body with timber to stop body bounce.

lashing your carrier into submission.
 

The method that I use:

Position the carrier correctly on the truck/trailer bed. an inch or two to the rear.

Chain from the rear corner of the trailer/truck bed, over the axle, diagonally over the diff, over the opposite axle (almost a spiral) then to the opposite side of the bed. take as much slack out as you can.

Chains diagonally from the tow rings to the opposite side of the bed.

Tension with (bearclaws, ratchets, turnbuckles...) to pretension the suspension.

Off the parking brake, veh in neutral.

Re-tension as necessary. Wire all bearclaws, bungee any spare chain out of the way. MoT takes a dim view of chains dragging down the highway, and I don't like the noise.

I keep in mind the following...

The tow hook WILL pull out of the stacey tow. (remember the carrier towing the 6lbr in Ottawa a few years back?).

Any sideways movement could do unpleasant things to the steering cam, bearings and linkages.

Any movement to and fro is hard on drive line components.

Then again - it ain't my carrier.

f

Just a suggestion here, but did anyone read the book and see what the factory reccommended???
I know most if not all military manuals feature a section on transportatio n of said vehicle. :p

Darren,

Robin Mawson has a specially built trailer for his carrier. (I know, I built it).

The front is tied down diagonally through the tow eyes. You don't have to strain the crap out of them to bend anything.
The rear axle has a chain around each side to prevent forward movement and just loads the suspension downward.

This set up has travelled thousands of kilometres over many years. Hasn't moved an inch.

Pulls it with a C30 that has been hotted up. Can maintain a good 80kph all day.

American manuals do that, but not so much the Canadian manuals.

State laws
 

Darrin, you may find that all tracked vehicle must use chains and dogs as law.

this is how I secured the BGC
 

Well the Avalon air show has been & gone, I now have some good pics of how the BGC was lashed/secured to the tilt tray.

4 chains in each corner, going from the wheel to the tray tie down.
used rubber tube to protect the wheels & paint from damage from the chains.
Left the winch cable attached to a chain between the 2 front hull tie down/recovery points; with a slight load just to stop any hull movement and rock. That also kept law enforcement happy as it looked more secure.

I've always tied to the rear axle and front idlers with four chains and boomers. I don't take up all the slack in the suspension, but enough that it doesn't bounce. Chaining the bogies requires far too much chain on my one trailer (it is 21' long). I have a shorter trailer that needs a wheel bearing and some other work, it may work there if I get it fixed...one day.

first time I towed my carrier to a show I used 5 ton ratchet straps, one on each corner which was great until one of the straps rubbed through and the front of the carrier started to slew off the side of the trailer, luckily I spotted it and pulled over in time.
I now use chains !

rick