Rollovers

With West Side the rule was half the posted speed limit or less when pulling the paper rolls, got a few dirty looks when people would pass me.

I do always try to be at or below the limit posted on the on and off ramps. And everywhere else, for that matter but especially ramps

Grumpy, just a word of advise. Those speed limits on off ramps are for automobiles under ideal conditions. You may want to reconsider that practice. It is usually recommended to cut the posted speed in half for tractor trailers. Just my $.02

Crap, I did it to Bobcat again. We seem to be on the same page today!

I do always try to be at or below the limit posted on the on and off ramps. And everywhere else, for that matter but especially ramps

Grumpy, just a word of advise. Those speed limits on off ramps are for automobiles under ideal conditions. You may want to reconsider that practice. It is usually recommended to cut the posted speed in half for tractor trailers. Just my $.02

My trainer has had no issues with my speed so far, and he is a million miler, so I assume he knows what he is doing. The ramps I am talking about are usually 35 and under, and it isn’t possible for anyone to pass. Are we talking about the same thing? I would be barely moving at half the speed on some of these.

I’ll ask him tomorrow about it.

The basic rule of thumb is half the posted on those ramps. I usually go even slower than that, because Liquid is very unforgiving. Also get to that speed before entering the ramp not after. I see trucks enetering then braking in the turn alot. First your best braking action is while still in a straight line. Secondly braking in the turn will cause far more movement which is your enemy. I anger people in a daily basis, however if I roll a haz mat load in front of them they will be there much longer....

At West Side, definitely with the paper rolls, ramps are at no faster than half of the advisory speed. I do the same thing with all the forklifts I haul. If you saw how they're secured in a dry van , your eyes would probably be popping out of your head lol.

Also NO hard brakes. I once had a trainee hard brake at an intersection, the rolls shifted and knocked us through the intersection. I was grateful they didn't come through the side or nose of the trailer, traffic was extremely light, and we were a half mile from our destination. Only time I've ever felt them shift but it scared the hell out of me.

As a flatbedder, the thought of my load bouncing or shifting around behind me is completely foreign to me. With all the securement guidelines I have to follow I'm surprised they don't mandate at least some kind of securement for dry vans to prevent shift.

Don't get me wrong, I get it. You work with what you have. I just like the secure feeling of knowing my load won't move at all. Pun intended.

And yeah I take ramps at below the posted speed limit. Again, we're talking about a difference of mere seconds to get around that corner. I'll take a couple extra secs to be sure I'm never the one you'll see on his side in a ditch.

Turtle, DOT allows the thin rubber skid mats underneath the upright rolls if paper. There's simply no way to secure a tall paper roll in a trailer.

The forklifts in a dry van are "secured" by a wedge of wood (nailed through the trailer floor) around each of the wheels of the forklifts. They shake, rattle, and hopefully don't roll or tip over. Those wedges are maybe 4-5 inches tall at the tallest end. Flatbed drivers who haul them chain them usually in one of those sissy flats trailers.

As a matter of fact, I have 4 very large ones to deliver to Orlando. Probably leave later this evening to avoid Atlanta traffic. If you're near the interstate , you'll probably hear me coming lol. With every bump they rattle so loud it often scares cars.. I've even had truck drivers take a second look when I'm entering or leaving a bumpy truck stop entrance/exit wondering what I hit :-)

I was shocked to see those rolls of paper weren't secured. Even if you put a strap behind them, usually you can't get them close enough to do any good (1 to 2 feet) and I don't think a load lock would even slow them down.

I'll definitely discuss this with my trainer.

From FMCSA Website

Approach an exit/entrance ramp at a safe speed. Truck rollovers are more likely to occur on exit/entrance ramps when the driver misjudges the sharpness of the ramp curve and enters the curve at an excessive speed.

Did You Know? The posted speed limit on an exit/entrance ramp generally shows the safe speed for a passenger vehicle; the safe speed for a large truck is usually significantly lower than the posted speed.

Did You Know? Even though ramps and interchanges make up less than 5 percent of all highway miles, 20 to 30 percent of all large-truck crashes occur on or near ramps.

The ramps I am talking about are usually 35 and under, and it isn’t possible for anyone to pass.

So what? At that point in time, you own the curve. NEVER let yourself feel rushed by an impatient 4 wheeler. Laying on your side on an off ramp will inconvenience lots more people than the couple of cars behind you.