What tricks do you guys use to keep from sliding off icy and snow covered decks with steel tracks, I've heard of using rubber belting and tires before and I have used both but what does everyone else use when you can't get the trailer inside to dry them off or melt it off.
Being a South Carolinian, the only time I ever tried to load on an icy deck,...I just fell off.
Salt works good little hard on trailer but not as bad as sliding off. Rubber mat when cold gets a little slick too.
We just throw sand on our deck, but then again we only get in about 6 or 7 transports per winter.
sand and salt mix. bring clean shorts and load only on perfectly level ground. Think about it you are riding on 100 ice skates all pointed in the same direction. if your trailer is wide enough install batter boards on the outer edges or down the center if it is not wide enough. Good luck
I've had some issues with steel and wood decks, I used a few pounds of black beauty, really has a lot of tooth to it.
I have slid off more than once.I use salted sand when I can get it,park in the sun when you can and always pick your spots to load and unload.Sand and salt is your friend,even parking the rig after a run can get you stuck as the heat from the tires melt a pocket under them then it freezes and you are stuck.If you have nothing to push with the sand can get you going.Ron G
Keep your trailer cleaned off as much as possible...some people don't believe how a shoveld off pad, trailer, etc will melt off in a bitter cold day(sun needs to be out). Barn lime, sand, salt etc is bout all you can do for things to toss on it. Don't be afraid to use a few extra chains and binders on your load. Trbo
Winter is a mess at times, salt ,ice melt.Even running a trailer in the shop to melt off .Track heaters.have tried everything.Under cover is best , Have used a tarp too
Shovel snow off the deck as soon as possible so the sun can work on the floor throughout the day. An old tarp could be thrown over the floor before a frosty or snowy night. Use a couple of rubber strap just in case the wind comes up. A propane weed torch does a good job of thawing off a frosty or icy floor. We use a 100 gal tank strapped to a hand truck with a 25ft hose. Some mornings we might have 10 or 15 trailers waiting for the torch. That can make for a long winter. And remember a few singed timbers just adds character.
Wow, I'd think for that kind of production, if you had some 110v ac power, one of the Reddy kerosene heaters and a sheet metal elbow to direct it straight down would do a quick job of defrosting stuff, sounds like it makes for some sporty mornings.
fast st Not a bad idea but might be a little difficult to move around. We have 1 torch at the shop and 3 at the plant we load at. Power at the plant is available, just not in the right locations. Some of the guy's come in early to beat the line, so it's not so bad. We keep getting snow and cold like we are right now and most of the contractors will stop digging. Next week may be about the end of our season. That will end the lineup problem.
i use a few concrete blankets, works pretty well. keep trailer clean. etc. sometimes we chain on to the front of the trailer and pull ourselves on.
salt and a shovel works for me...
Ahh, the heater I use for outside defrosting has two rubber tires and weighs only about 110 pounds with a half load of fuel. Its great at thawing equipment outside so you don't have slush falling in your face while welding underneath something as well as preheating the shop to 110 prior to painting on a cool day, have also used it as a preheat/postheat for welding.
Equipment moves in the winter Hi The best set up I have seen is a spare multi plate culvert that you can back under! It keeps the snow off. We use Ice melt and like the song says (chain chain chain) Aretha Franklin – Chain Of Fools
We also carry a pail of ashes out of our wood furnace and toss some of those on just before loading and unlaoding after driving in a cold wet rain or if it sits outside loaded over night to help with traction on a frosty deck, we have even dumped ashes on the tracks and it sticks long enough to make a revolution or two and thats enough to either load or unload, not as gritty as sand but it absorbs the moisture really well, we spread it on the yard when its icy and the gravel is glare ice and we are out of sand, for dumping on duals to help prevent spinning it works better than sand.
Ashes... never though of that one.
I remember one time when I loaded the 70 onto a frosty deck. I didnt think much of it until I started to chain it down and I was able to hitch the machine while tightening with a ratchet binder. I am a lot more careful now! Usually salted sand and tires for me.
if you do it a lot the universal answer was spare clean shorts in the cab! ashes & sand!
oops! Interesting thread!had to load without the luxury of doing it right!got over ramps,sitting on bed of trailer,tracks stationary but machine moving!sideways lol!managed not to damage the 100 grand drill boom attached,blocked main road for a bit,at rush hour!,cops turned up had a laugh and left us to it!didn't need change of shorts!sat for a second thinking 5hit3!then 'right lets get it sorted,QUICK!'this happened couple of weeks ago Cornwall,Southern England,bout -10!take care out there!
I can remember to well loading a Cat D-7 in the snow on icy trailer. Man what a bunch of rushes, must of slid off the trailer 3-4 times. Finally the owner son came over and told me that if it is pretty square don't do anything till on the main deck. It sure felt good to be landed on that trailer. Pretty amazing what just a little snow and ice can make steel do and so darn fast, too. Any body load an excavator on a tilt trailer? Have been thinking about getting one, would like some of your ideas. Thanks for any help!
I just had some fun loading on my tilt deck last Tuesday. I went to pick my excavator up and it was covered with wet snow. Trailer was dry when I left the valley. I was thinking -snowy tracks on dry wood- should be good to go. Wrong! I made it onto the deck and was climbing until I spun out and slid back and sideways. Still upright but a little nervous. I was thinking that it could have turned out very badly! I managed to get back on the bottom of the deck and hooked the bucket over the front of the deck and pulled myself up. Cheap lesson learned!
Sounds like a short ride that ended ok, but could of gone south in a hurry. That darn snow or even wet can be ones down fall. Glad you worked it out and I bet from now on when it is like that, you would rather scratch the front of the trailer a little than go sliding, in your excavator.
Evening. I haul equipment on an Etenyire trailer with a beaver tail. The trailer is 3ft high. The deck is both wood and steel. It is hard in winter to get track equipment on to it it as it does set outside. I use tires. Some guys around here use conveyor belts. I do have the option of a winch which helps if I cannot get up the ramp. Rollers are the most challenging. If it is a track vehicle I use four tires to come up the ramp and then leave them under the track. This is easier than storing them and having to get them out again when I unload. Some guys put sand on the deck but some form of rubber is probably the safer way. If it gets cold, say -10F then tires are more like round bricks but they still will work if the equipment is heavy enough. Hope this helps. Toolmaker
Lay old chains across the deck every 2 to 3 feet. Once the tracks are on the chains whatever you are loading cant slide. Then leave them under your load till delivered. Have to deal with daily all winter!