Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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Heavy log hauler Securement 201: gets 'er done with Revisiting stake pockets as anchor points Coronado SD W e offered brief tie-down tips for equipment haulers in the Sep- B urke Purdon, owner of a contract log hauling company in Prince George, British Columbia, has been in busi- tember 2012 Severe Service department. Among those tips was this reference to securing to stake pockets: "When ness since 1970 when he started the small using stake pockets, drop the hook and fleet with one used 1965 Freightliner he chain through the pocket and come back up bought from his father-in-law. Since that first and hook on the top side." purchase, Purdon has expanded, involving the entire family in the business. The company typically hauls in a 125-mile radius of home base, so on most days, his drivers "I never drop a chain into a stake pocket," Wisconsin-based J.D. Bronson wrote. "When you secure a clevis hook this way, you're only using a portion of the full rating of the stake pocket." are home for the night. A typical trip might Bronson offered a preferred method to get include pavement to a graveled resource road, the true strength rating out of stake pockets then into the timber block and back, all in the when used as anchor points. "Loop the entire chain around the stake pocket, and then fasten the clevis same day. Road conditions change with the sea- hook onto the chain itself. If you look at it, we are then looping the stake pocket inside the chain. This sons. In winter, it is icy, with temperatures as low affords the proper rating, as we are using all sides of the stake pocket and welds." as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit and anywhere Rick Vincent, with flatbed carrier Melton Truck Lines, said this method is the one they advise Melton from three to 14 feet of snow. The spring mud operators to use. "The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will not give any clear guidance as dries up in summer and produces rough gravel it relates to this specific topic," Vincent said. "Their definition of 'anchor point' is very gray, and I think roads. rightly so given the variations on equipment." With a typical payload of about 100,000 Given such variations, consult your trailer operators' manual for its stake pocket strength ratings for pounds and a combined weight of 140,000, his specifics. Some do specify different ratings for pockets depending on how they're constructed and trucks are put to the test. Six new Freightliner how the hook is used. Coronado 122SD models are the most recent addition to the fleet, spec'd with 550-hp Cummins engines and tri-drive axles for bigger payloads and improved traction. In addition to a high standard for durability in the truck, Purdon praises the Coronado's look and the daycabs' comfort Monster mixer's light touch W hen Andre Caillier founded A&A Ready Mixed Concrete in 1949, he started with 40 trucks and two batch plants. Today his sons, level, a chief concern in rough riding conditions. Kurt and Randy, own the largest family-owned supplier "I'm 6 feet tall, 330 pounds, and I can get comfort- of ready-mix concrete in California. A&A operates 28 able in that cab," he said. plants, employs 500 people and is responsible for 1,000 The new trucks also mark his first experience vehicles. The company purchases Mack trucks from TEC of with selective catalytic reduction technology. He spec'd outsize DEF tanks to enable six or seven California at La Mirada – originally R and RD models, days' worth of running before a fill-up if needed. now Granites – and most recently tested the Granite Otherwise, the tanks are filled every five days as MHD (medium heavy-duty) built on Mack's rugged Cornerstone chassis with lighter frame rail, part of the regular service schedule. engine and transmission options to maximize payload. The MHD is hundreds of pounds lighter Freightliner Trucks, freightlinertrucks.com than its bigger sibling. "A mixer here needs to be different to carry a decent-sized payload," Cook said. "We need a truck that will last a long time and still meet the weight requirements. The MHD Granite's spec allows us to haul a payload that is better than the other trucks we have in a similar class. Mack has made a more competitive truck for the California market." The company's drivers also like it. "The MHD is quiet and smooth-riding, loaded and unloaded," said Dennis Pyle, a 30-year veteran hauler. "The cab is comfortable, visibility's nice, steering's good. I think it turns tighter than the competition. It looks good. The truck gets the job done." Mack Trucks, macktrucks.com 40 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MARCH 2013 CCJ_0313_SevereService.indd 40 2/20/13 11:03 AM