|
Dennis Benson
11-01-2007 18:17:07
|
|
Re: How Unsafe Are Pickups Pulling Trailers-Any Statistics? in reply to 1206SWMO, 11-01-2007 10:52:15
|
|
| |
I live in an urban area in Michigan, and I'm one of the people picking up scrap. I have a 1975 GMC one ton truck with a service body. Last year I replaced the rusted out service body with a much better service body. I didn't get my rack and compressor back on yet. I pull a 5 by 8 utility trailer that I bought new around 1999. It was factory built. It was supposed to be DOT approved. The tail lights were a couple feet forward of the back of the trailer, and about the height of the axle. After smashing off the plastic lights every week or so I welded some I beam salvaged from a mobile home chassis on the back and put Truck Lite LEDs in them, and haven't had trouble since. It didn't have any side markers or reflectors, so I salvaged more scrap metal and made supports to recess Truck Lite LED side markers. I have all LED lights on the truck, and the reduced current draw got rid of blowing light fuses with the old wire. One of my compartments on the service body is filled with 10,000 pound capacity load straps. I strap the scrap metal down so that the trailer sides start to give a little, and I shake the load until I'm convinced that the load is tight to the trailer. Appliances will start to dent under the straps. I've hauled some pretty wierd looking loads. I just bought some greenhouse racks and bottom heat pipe from a county run greenhouse. I put pallets on the back to make a platform higher than the cab, and strapped them down good. The bottom heat pipes were about 35 feet long and doubled back with a 180 degree elbow. It was considerably longer them my one ton truck, so I brought my trailer to ride along and keep people away from the back of the pipe. The pipe extended about 2 feet behind the trailer and 2 feet in front of the truck. I strapped the pipe down real tight. I drove the speed limit across town with 6 or so loads of pipe that way. A lot of policemen uin a lot of departments saw it, and didn't get a second glance. The pipe didn't shift or swing into other lanes on corners. The pipe did like to flex and wave up and down, but I kept that to a minimum, too by braking and accellerating right. I meet all DOT regulations and have a DOT number. I put 100,000 miles on the truck since I got it in 2001, and the trailer could have almost that many miles. My trailer has had some damage, but I fixed it before it broke along the road. I had to replace the tongue when the original started bending, and I replaced the axle when it started bowing the wrong way. I have a coiled 7 wire lead pluging the lights into the truck. I just replaced the boards again in the bed, and while it was apart I welded some hangers in place to add a second axle for more stability. I don't figure it will add to the capacity because scrap loads are usually light weight, they just look ugly with bicycles, fence, chairs, lawn mowers and what have you all tangled together. It's a pretty big load that weighs 2,000 pounds. I've never reached the capacity of the truck or trailer. I've got the right tarps, too, to prevent loss of trash that might blow off the scrap. I've got the ugliest truck, ugliest trailer, and ugliest driver in town.
|
|
|
