tie down

[lawncare3]

I have seen the lco that I bought my mower from never ties down their equip anymore. The mowers he has are either super surfers or surfers anyways how can he do that w/o them moving or falling off?

Also do I have to tie down my 48" hydro wb? It never seems to move whenever I try moving so, i'm pretty sure it would be fine. I'm not trying to start a piccing match so please help w/o fighting. THANK YOU, Chris

[1grnlwn]

One strap pulling forward on ztr to keep from rolling. Too much time to tie and untie. Besides if I am in a wreck and its bad enough for all of my equipment to fly off, I think I have bigger things to worry about than that stuff on back. Besides with 5000 lbs strapped to the trailer it may want to roll over. Anybody know what happens when your trailer rolls over? Help me truck drivers! YOU roll too.

Mark

[Tim Canavan]

I have Lesco wb's and I always tie down the two in the back of the trailer. The one in the front doesn't move because it is up against the front of the trailer and in 5th gear. (We never use 5th gear).

[Scag48]

It's illegal for me NOT to tie down my stuff. I'm going to make my own version of those wheel chocks made by Greentouch I think it is, I think it's called the EZ-Strap or something. It's a little well that you put the wheel in that is bolted to the trailer floor, and you can set it for you tire size. It will pretty much hold your mower, since it's like a 2-way wheel chock, but it has a strap that goes over the top of the tire to lock it in. Pretty cool.

[lawncare3]

Originally posted by Scag48
It's illegal for me NOT to tie down my stuff. I'm going to make my own version of those wheel chocks made by Greentouch I think it is, I think it's called the EZ-Strap or something. It's a little well that you put the wheel in that is bolted to the trailer floor, and you can set it for you tire size. It will pretty much hold your mower, since it's like a 2-way wheel chock, but it has a strap that goes over the top of the tire to lock it in. Pretty cool.

I know a guy that does that. He uses 2x4's instead and just bolts themn to the floor. He doesen't strap them down but, all you have to do is put eye screys and strap em on.:)

[Soupy]

I use 2 small pieces of 2x4 on each side to hold My chopper in place, my Toro WB is on the front sideways with nothing but the brake.

I used to put the Chopper on sideways too, but it's real tight and I think I was pinching the front tire, because I was getting a lot of flats. I haven't had a flat since I changed (knock on wood).

Soupy

[FrankenScagMachines]

Never with the mowers. They fit on the trailer kind of tight anyway. Think I'm going to make the 2x4 wheel holders though for the push mower (it can roll alittle), tool box, gas cans, and John Deere walk behind. Going to make a rack for the blower also. The Scag doesn't go anywhere and has nowhere to go anyway but I'll make holders for it too. But no I dont' strap things down. Riding lawn tractors I engage parking brake, no problems. My pulling garden tractor- always! I can't let anything happen to it and it has no parking brake and doesn't always stay in gear. So it's the only thing that gets strapped down. Oh if I'm going on a trip, like to Toledo :D then something might get strapped down. Like when I got my JD. So you might want to strap yours down when you move away. Oh and um I thought you sold the 48" Snapper? Saw that on "the other site" a day ago or two.

[PR0 TURF]

We don't tie down anything. On our trailer we usually pull 2 Walkers & a Scag 48". Never had much of a problem...they will sometimes jump & bobble around a bit if your driving a lil too fast or taking sharp corners too quick. The only things we tie down are our push blowers or aerators...things with wheels that don't have parking brakes cause those will fly all over the place. We also tie down our DitchWitch even though that has a brake cause that thing is just too much of a tank to let slide around.

Its just not worth our time to tie the equipment down when most of our stops are about 3-4 minutes away from each other if not less & we're stopping 20+ times a day, if we spent an average of 3 minutes per lawn between strapping the 3 mowers down and un-strapping them...thats an extra hour between 20 stops.

:blob3:

[Lawn277]

Always, you ever seen a 21" pass you on the street?

thanks
Rick

[rodfather]

In NJ, it's the law. We simply run a chain from the mower to part of the handrail or frame of the trailer...takes 2 seconds. Parking brakes on the mowers never seem to work all that great anyway.

[DLCS]

I always put a strap on my Lawn Boy, but rarely tiedown the other equipment. The only exception would be if I was traveling a great distance, but most of my customers are within a few miles.

[grassdaddy]

I had 1 w/b in front of trailer,1 21" In very back,cheap strap broke on w/b goin up killer hill.w/b smashed 21"against tailgate,broke wheel,mangled exhaust up. Now i use good tie downs.:mad:

[doa]

1gnlwn thanks for the truck driver thing I don't think the ball on a bumper hitch would stand turning over the truck but remember two things.


1. you can pull more than you can stop.

2. you can stop the truck but not the load on it.
( I.E. it break chains, straps)

but I wouldn't tie them ether

[matitude]

It is illegal here to have an unsecured load, so we always tie down. And around here the weighmaster will pull you over just to inspect.

[bob]

I don't tie my Grasshoppers down. I have 2x4 boards on the trailer floor on each side of the tires. They pretty much stay put.

[1grnlwn]

doa, I can't say that I have seen a lawn guy upside down, but one summer I saw a car w/camper both on there side and a truck pulling some funky rig on its side. If you really think about it you probably aren't going to twist the bumper off. Plus most have receiver set-ups. Besides I am just supporting my lazy habits.

Mark

[noclevername]

Our MTO (ministry of transportation) have really started to clamp down on small commercial carriers. They have a lot of random spot checks. We probably get stopped on average once a month. Doesn't take too long, maybe 10-15 minutes. Check paperwork, lights, signals, security of load and then we're off. But there is the potential for a big fine if you're found lacking. We use 2" rachet straps on welded rings for the bigger equip., all the push mowers go in a rack with bungee cords and same for the trimmers. Even the water jugs have their little carriers. We usually get a comment from the officers how impressed they are with our set-up. Plus a little sucking up never hurt ..... "Good afternoon officer, how are you today?".....:D

[doa]

1grnlwn I understand the lazy habits me to lol . The local law enforcement would definitely disagree. As to UNSECURED LOAD as they call it is a real touchy subject the officer at hand determines this and you prove different (in the court room) that is another pi$$in match though.
The camper you saw was on its side most likely because it was 39' long being pulled by a ford escort and got to whipping back and forth and wrecked then turned over. campers tend to catch more wind and are lighter than the flat bed type you guys use.

[Toroguy]

A poll is not the method to determine whether or not to strap your equipment down. Contact the DMV in either Minnesota or Colorado to determine the legal requirements of hauling a trailer and or equipment.

[lawncare3]

Originally posted by Toroguy
A poll is not the method to determine whether or not to strap your equipment down. Contact the DMV in either Minnesota or Colorado to determine the legal requirements of hauling a trailer and or equipment.

I wasn't doing it for that, I just wanted if I was the only one not going to do it. After reading these stories I went and bought 8 tie downs (4 ratchet , 4 regular)

[Toroguy]

Good Man.

Always make sure the information obtained here is legal in the area you reside or operate in. It differs from place to place.

[1grnlwn]

A poll is to determine what people are doing. Right?

[lawncare3]

Originally posted by 1grnlwn
A poll is to determine what people are doing. Right?

I think so.

[Toroguy]

Originally posted by 1grnlwn
A poll is to determine what people are doing. Right?

What they are doing? Yes. If you should do it and it is illegal, No.

[Toroguy]

Originally posted by 1grnlwn
A poll is to determine what people are doing. Right?

In Minnesota you cannot obtain a Drivers License until you are 16 years old. lawncare3 is only 15 years old, it seems kinda foolish to steer a young kid down the wrong path, based on a poll.

[1grnlwn]

Well I will be completely honest. I don't know if it is legal or not.

Don't care! As long as I feel comfortable with my set-up, I'm fine with that. There are all kinds of laws. Bet you have broken a few, EHH? Appears to be a valid question 56% to 44%. The tie erdowners have a slight lead over the let er flies.

[Toroguy]

Originally posted by 1grnlwn
Well I will be completely honest. I don't know if it is legal or not.

Don't care! As long as I feel comfortable with my set-up, I'm fine with that.

Don't care?

When you visit your Doctor do you care if he even went to school? When the driver of your kids School Bus arrives do you care if he/she is drunk or has a valid license?

I sure hope if they are illegal or hammered from booze, that they at least conducted a poll on the internet.

We should all learn from this and live our lives by popular opinion derived from polls.

[Tadams]

I always secure my walkbehind with a tie-down. It only takes a few seconds and I would be too worried about tearing up the hydros if I didn't. But that's just me- I tie everything down- got into the habbit when I started racing motocross and never stopped.

[1grnlwn]

When you visit your Doctor do you care if he even went to school? When the driver of your kids School Bus arrives do you care if he/she is drunk or has a valid license?

Man you sure have a flare for the dramatic. Do you sell insurance? Pretty far stretch from un-tied equipment on a trailer with 2 ft sides to drunk driving, don't you think? 1st of all do you know the laws in Illinois? I would not advise anyone to model themselves after anyone on this site. You should always decide what is best for your own situation.

We should all learn from this and live our lives by popular opinion derived from polls.

Uh, where do you think your laws come from anyway? It starts by popular opinion and then they are twisted by people who think they alone know what is best for everyone.

Last stream!

Mark

[dougaustreim]

Its the law. Here the fine is $100.00 That's per item. Not only that the tie down strap has to be considered strong enough to secure the load being transported. Recently some one here was stopped with 18 big rolls of sod unstrapped $1800.00.

Doug
Austreim landscaping

[Toroguy]

Originally posted by 1grnlwn
Do you sell insurance? Pretty far stretch from un-tied equipment on a trailer with 2 ft sides to drunk driving, don't you think? 1st of all do you know the laws in Illinois?

No Insurance sales here.

A 600 pound lawn mower flying off a trailer and impacting a person or persons, although unlikely, is as lethal as a drunk driver. Not at all overly dramatic, just pointing out a similarity. Now throw in the age of the "boy" with the unsecured load.

I do not know the laws in Illinois, which is why in an earlier post in this thread I indicated to the thread originator that laws differ from place to place, and he should check the laws in the area he operates.

When you indicated earlier in your post that you didn't know the law and didn't care, I perceived it as a reckless way to think. I'm not here to pass judgement on you, just posting how I see it. How I see it doesn't make it right or wrong, it is opinion that works for me and is legal in my area.

[Barkleymut]

Going one MPH over the speed limit is illegal. Ever done that? Spitting is illegal, ever done that? Having one light out anywhere on your trailer, even if you don't know it is illegal. We all take calculated risks every day. A mower flying off of a trailer could certainly cause a great deal of harm, but what are the chances? If I thought I would get in 2 massive wrecks a year then yes I would certainly tie down the mowers. But being the worlds greatest driver, I am at virtually no risk of being in an accident.:D

[crawdad]

Originally posted by Barkleymut
Going one MPH over the speed limit is illegal. Ever done that? Spitting is illegal, ever done that? Having one light out anywhere on your trailer, even if you don't know it is illegal. We all take calculated risks every day. A mower flying off of a trailer could certainly cause a great deal of harm, but what are the chances? If I thought I would get in 2 massive wrecks a year then yes I would certainly tie down the mowers. But being the worlds greatest driver, I am at virtually no risk of being in an accident.:D
Spitting's still legal here. But we tie our stuff down. Well, some of us do, and some of us ain't even got tailgates, much less tie-downs.
Crawdad

[Navig8r]

Gee..... I don't know the law on tie downs here.... but I always tie everything down....... If I'm ever in a situation where I need to try to avoid a collision, the last thing I need to worry about is if the mowers are going to shift, or leave the trailer!

I also think that the last thing I want behind me in a collision is an unsecured 1000 lb+ ZTR, among other things.......

Had a friend who never tied down the transom on his 22' boat....Just relied on the bow hook....he swerved to avoid a deer, went off the road and skimmed past a few trees..... wrecked a fender, bumper, and hood on the truck, but totalled the boat because it came off the trailer and found a tree broadside......... OUCH!

I've seen tie downs do their job in an accident..... had a friend turn a Bronco and a 2-place snowmobile trailer completely around on the interstate on black ice...... basically slid to left side of road, bounced off snow bank towards right side of road, then the whole rig spun around 180 degrees and went straight backwards off the road approx 20 ft into the snowbank. Sleds were tied down, and nothing moved. The gas can tied between them even stayed put.

Oh yeah, I also certainly wouldn't wnat to kill someone else because one of my machines came off my trailer because I couldn't spare 2 minutes..... (or less)
:eek:

[dougaustreim]

I can't beleive some of the people who participate in this site. Thread after thread bashing the lowballer, and other fancy titles for unwanted competion. All this talk about being professional etc, and then we brag about being so irresponsible that we won't secure our equipment when transporting it on the highway.

It is one thing to be too lazy to tie down properly, but to brag about it to 10,000 of your peers and to any one from the public that wants to take a look. No wonder the green industry doesn't get any respect from the general public.

Doug
Austreim Landscaping

[turfcare]

I always tie down everything. It is not worth the risk of something flying off and maybe injuring another person. It only takes a few seconds anyway. Better safe than sorry.

[MY PUPPY]

It is illegal in mass. not to tie down your equipment I always
tie down they will pull you over.