Here is a story I found elsewhere on the web but it is of interest to people here,I would like your opinions please. Trailer takes excavator over the top! This tractor and trailer which was carrying a 12 ton Caterpillar excavator took a tumble whilst swerving to avoid a learner driver last week according to regular Digger blog reader Justin Worswick. A lot of contractors in the West Country where I live use this method to move machines around locally but I have often wondered just how safe and stable these tractor and trailer combinations are ? In this incident the trailer ended up on a wall after taking out a lamp post! The machine had to be cut free from the chains holding it onto the trailer. I would be very interested to hear readers views on the safety aspects of these tractor and trailer combinations when deployed to move heavy equipment. This is a reply post COMMENTS (1) Ray Bird: Dont qoute me exactly on these weights but think max gross weight for tractor trailer/load combi is 23T, 12T machine, good chieftain trailer like that 3-4T and 150Hp tractor 9Tish and you're on iffy ground as to wether you shoud be doing it, throw into the equation the white vs red debate and the issues of tacho's for haulage work and surely an artics gotta be a better bet. Same as always though, well chosen properly maintained kit would make a job like this as safe as using a lorry, i.e correct trailer suspension, air brakes, failsafe brakes and the right weight unit up front, but as soon as it becomes badly maintained it becomes dangerous. from the looks of that trailer hitch it looks as though it came away from the tractor when it turned over as the ring is still intact suggesting it simply became unhitched (normally due to wear on the tractor hitch claw and locking plate) 2 things should have happened ** all was well and good, either the ring would have sheared (rare unless worn but will happen)or it should have taken the tractor over with it or at the very least lifted the back end clear of the ground. Posted by Ray Bird | September 17, 2009 9:23 PM Posted on September 17, 2009 21:23
not a fan of pintle hooks.... the slamming and banging everytime you start and stop... I suppose if the weight was on the back of the trailer it would be better... That's kinda like turning when riding a tricycle... too sharp and your butt is on the ground
I'm happy but surprised to see it chained to the trailer, I have seen many many contractors in Ireland move equipment like that but never even consider chaining their excavators to the trailers... In fact you get funny looks if you ask about chains and the dot guys don't enforce this either..(I'm talking about the farm tractor/trailer combo} I think it stems from the idea that the tractor is a slower moving device than a lorry:beatsme
Clear case of Driver error. But there could be other contributing factors. Very high center of gravity. Not enough tow vehicle (Tail wagging the dog). Looks like once they lost control the load just had it's way with them They really had it chained down well.
We don't really know what happened to tip it, the guy could have been cut off and had to pull at 90* turn to avoid pancaking a car. Even a 30 wheel semi will tip over if you have to knife it like that. How many container trucks have you seen tipped over on ramps because they cornered too fast? Either way he gets a +1 in my books for properly securing his load! When you have to cut the chains off because the trailer is still attached and is now on top of your load you know it was chained right
those pintle hithces are dangerous to use i can carry our deere 200 on ours behind our tandem but they are verry tippy and it puts to much weight on the tandems no matter where or how u load it and it takes all the weight of the steering tires its ok for short hauls but id rather use a lowboy
I was following a drop deck equipment float carrying an excavator one day. It was a typical excavator, something in the 25 tonne range. Nothing out of the ordinary. He stopped at a stop sign, I stopped behind him. He proceeded to turn right around the corner, when out of the blue, the excavator slid off the trailer. There it was perched half on the highway. Driver must have felt like an ass. Another time I came across this massive accident on the the 403 (Canadian Interstate). There were cars scattered all over the grass along the side of the highway. Cars piled all over the place. And smashed all to h**l. It was a total disaster. The cars were barely recognizable. I was thinking there had to be a huge number of deaths involved, it was alarming. Then i got to the front of the line and saw what happened. A truck hauling crushed cars slid off the road and rolled over. Hence the carnage. Nobody was hurt i don't imagine. It was funny in the end.
i always said after a certain size that your no longer holding the load to the trailer as much as your holding the trailer to the load.
speed 5o kph tractors and inexperianced drivers here is another that was not chained on as they thought it would not move only going a short distance :beatsme