Advice on lashing down a carrier

[Jordan Baker]

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.

[David Dunlop]

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.

[RichardT10829]

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..

[kevin powles]

Originally Posted by RichardT10829

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.

[RichardT10829]

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

[Bob McNeill]

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.

[charlie fitton]

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

[Euan McDonald]

Originally Posted by Bob McNeill

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.

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