i havent done any heavy hauling loads that have crawler tracks.

any tips on chaining down a piece of heavy equipment with crawler tracks?

FIRE AWAY!!

 

Under the regs I don't think it's any different than wheels. One tip however is your tiedowns need to have a WLL greater than 5000 or they don't count in Canada. Even if the aggregate WLL is greater than the load, if you use 5/16 chain you essentially have no tiedowns!

 

i see a few loads with crawler tracks in my area.

i run G80 1/2 and 5/8 chains

i should be good.

its time to start learning on how to haul/tiedown different heavy equipment

thanks

 

I use 1/2" chain, 5/16s" chain isn't worth hauling around for most things. The total working load of all the tiedowns used must equal at least half the dead weight of the machine. According to our local DOT guys, if you hook from the track pad(or some other part) to the tiedown on the trailer the chain is good for half its rated capacity. If you hook on one side of the trailer and go over the track frame, and hook the chain to the other side of the trailer, the chain is good for 100 percent of its rated capacity. Doesn't make sense to Me, they said that's how the rules are written. Most of the time your tiedown capacity is limited to whatever the binders are rated for. To be legal, the binders used must be marked with their rated capacity. Chains must have the links stamped with the grade rating, unstamped chains will be rated at the lowest figure for that size chain link.

 

Craziest thing I ever had explained to me but it is true!

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Cargo Securement Rules - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

 

i understand the wll but what do u mean by 100 percent rated capacity on the cross track frame?

100 percent of the load (dead weight) when u go one side to the other on the trailer?

 

100 percent of the chain's rated capacity when it goes from one side to the other, over the track frame, frame rail or whatever it is holding down.

 

gotcha

 

The way the rule is actually written is goofy. First you take half the total weight, then for "indirect tiedowns" (going from one side of trailer frame, through or over freight, to the other side) gets half credit while indirect (from trailer frame to unit you're hauling) gets full credit.

Basically with indirect you only need half the rating. Two 5000 wll straps can tie down 5000 X 4 = 20,000 lbs.

But two 5000 wll chains going directly to the unit would only be 10,000 lbs.

However with wheeled or tracked vehicles you need or should use the direct method. Also dont forget to tie down any hydraulic equipment.

 

a G80 5/8 x 10 feet chain is rated at 18500 lbs. indirect i would get the full 18500 lbs and direct i would get half (9250lbs)

if my track dozer weight was 50,000 lbs gross and i was using the direct tiedown method i would need 4 G80 5/8 chains with a cross pattern at a 45 degree angle?

4 x 9250 = 37,000 way over the wll of 25,000 lbs

then one 4 or 3 inch strap for every 10 feet for hydraulics and or accessories with a indirect way to reduce bounce.

sound about right??