Hay bales fell and pushing against trailer doors WA to FL load
Posted by randle76542@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 16 comments
Hauling hay in dry van from WA to FL and barely outside of Boise, ID. Usually never strap hay loads which this hay load is the lightest I have ever hauled before (should have known). But the shipper closed the doors after loading so didn’t check the hay. BOL says 350: 3-tie bales. Google says 100-120lbs ea per bale…
Had to tighten loose bolt where you turn the handle on 1 of the 2 poles against the trailer door and can see hay bulging from both side of doors.
Should I be concerned other than doors bursting open hay on the highway or some idiot lightning piece of hay on the side on fire.
Anyone been in this type of situation?
G0DCyCL0nE@reddit
Whatever you do, don't stand in front of the doors and open it... That's a dumb way to die.
NJNeal17@reddit
Obligatory
MarionberryNo3166@reddit
Huh. Today I learned that that song was originally intended for train safety
atomictoaster94J@reddit
I didn’t even know they put hay in dry vans, but they definitely were my least favorite load to haul when I was flatbed
spyder7723@reddit
The small bales have always been super in dry vans and reefers. The giant ones that need a fork lift to pick up still go on flats.
A long time ago when I was still struggling to build a customer base i would go up to Ohio Indiana and ky and buy hay, load it in a dry van and return to Florida with it. I could sake the brakes of Timothy/alfalfa mix for 20 bucks down here and only pay 3.50 a bale for it up there. It was hard ass busting sweaty work but it kept the bills paid when I couldnt find good paying work for the truck.
AMFharley@reddit
You still do this?
Commiefornian@reddit
The big bales can be loaded into a van, if you have a sufficiently powerful forklift to push them in.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jU52EZ6ZniA
Truckingtruckers@reddit
Dry vans are desperate, will take it for cheaper.
azziptac@reddit
All on you OP or whoever loaded it. Spent a few years bringing alfalfa bales from Arizona to Long Beach ports, dry van. They had a strict way of loading you & weighing you, so the company didn't get into trouble. But strapping the load is 100 percent driver responsibility.
buttweasel76@reddit
I didn't know we needed hay from WA....
Interesting
Beekatiebee@reddit
Floor it then slam the brakes, should fix ya right up!
ntech620@reddit
Get it to the destination and when you open the first door be standing well out of the way. Those doors have hundreds if not thousands of lbs of pressure on them.
Waisted-Desert@reddit
From personal experience, straw bales are 60-80lbs. Alfalfa bales are 90-110lbs, all depending on the moisture content.
Your doors should hold. You can try going about 10-15mph and slamming on the brakes. That might shift some weight off the doors. The only time I've seen doors give way is with sudden impact from a heavy object, not just due to weight on them. Definitely try to not get pulled in for an inspection.
But if you want to be safe, contact a wrecker/recover yard to open your doors and fix the load. They'll be able to brace the doors with machinery prior to opening them so they wont swing under pressure and kill someone. You'll probably pay out the ass, but you won't die. The second option is to call the receiver and ask if they've encountered this situation before and if they're experienced in handling it.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
What does your math give you for an average weight per bale? Do you know your empty weight?
While there are general rule of thumb weights for hay it's more complicated than that. There can be massive variations based on moisture content and how tight the baler is set. High moisture hay bales are the ones that can be in danger of spontaneous combustion.
TL;DR is Google weights don't mean much other than for comparison to what you ended up with.
JasperS09@reddit
Yea if I got gobsmacked by a door that ALSO had a McLeod sticker man o man thatd be a hell of a way to go lol
19-Richie-88@reddit
Hay.. it sure is and can become heavy, ooh I know after jumping in that stuff as a kid almost got crushed to death by one of them barrels started rolling towards me.. it was some scary sh to deal with. And Dad he saved me with this forklift on the farm.
Almost 25 years ago.. Thanks for unlocked memory btw, op^