Great Dane Pup Trailer

[farmer52]

Back again with questions concerning anchors/tie downs. I had to pass on helping another BMT member at Macungie because there are no tie downs in the trailer. Which begs the question "how did they secure the furniture?". There are D-rings in the bulkhead but nothing on the sides or floor. Perhaps they used the nylon straps and tied them to the side wall slates. If I haul a tractor, car, or other item I want something that is secure. So I plan to attach any tie down system to the floor rather than the side wall.

My tie down questions are:

D-rings in the floor or use E-track anchored to the floor? D-rings are either surface mount or recessed. The recessed ones require "notching" the floor which I really don't want to do. I like the E-track anchored to the floor (what Jay uses to anchor his "golf car") and the ability to anchor at various locations. Which is the best tie down system? Is the E-track as strong as a D-ring? If I go with E-track, how many anchor bolts per foot of track to assure adequate strength? Either way I will use Grade 8 bolts. Any idea how thick the floor boards are on the trailer? Any other comments concerning tie-down anchors?

I did some interweb searching and it appears E-track is just as strong as D-rings. There are E-track D-rings available. Being an engineer I will likely "over design" the tie down system....just in case.

Thanks everyone for you thoughts.

[other dog]

I don't know much about van trailers, Mark knows everything. The van loads I was taking to Louisville, they crammed the trailer full and I just shut the doors and took off. That was on pallets though.

[1958 F.W.D.]

Ken when I worked in the trailer shop at Jevic, we used E-Track exclusively that was huck bolted to the main pillars and then riveted (true bash and smash rivets, not pop rivets) to each and every stud. If you do it right they become bombproof, and in fact even contribute to the overall strength of the trailer infrastructure itself.

[vision386]

Ken,E-rails are the way to go in my opinion,safe strong and secure! they make specially straps to tie-down most anything without tearing up your trailer floor. We had several trailers with D-rings already in the floor,but personally I never used them. You can also "deck" over odd shaped cargo with decking bars and plywood if you're E-rail equipped.Guess I didn't pay attention when you first posted pics of the trailer,i imagined it was an E-rail trailer being as it was used for furniture........................Mark

[vision386]

Ken,forgot to post this link,where I buy most of my equipment,there is a short video about installing E-rail in the E-track/strap section...................................Mark

http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Moving-Supplies/Cargo-Straps-E-Track

[farmer52]

Randy and Mark - are you talking e-tracks on the side walls or the floor? I would like to put them on the floor. I was thinking of drilling holes thru the floor and using Grade 8 bolts to attach the e-tracks.

[vision386]

Randy and Mark - are you talking e-tracks on the side walls or the floor? I would like to put them on the floor. I was thinking of drilling holes thru the floor and using Grade 8 bolts to attach the e-tracks.

Ken you can do both if needed (walls and floor) for most tie downs the floor will work fine..........................Mark

[j hancock]

Depending on use, rails in the floor are good for securing cars.

I like leaving the floor alone and keeping it smooth. There are many options for devices that attach to wall e track and load bars to keep you out of trouble.

Jim

[other dog]

.

[vision386]

Depending on use, rails in the floor are good for securing cars.

I like leaving the floor alone and keeping it smooth. There are many options for devices that attach to wall e track and load bars to keep you out of trouble.

Jim

I agree,never liked anything floor mounted,too hard to access in my opinion....................................Mark

[farmer52]

Depending on use, rails in the floor are good for securing cars.

I like leaving the floor alone and keeping it smooth. There are many options for devices that attach to wall e track and load bars to keep you out of trouble.

Jim

What location do you suggest to secure something as large and heavy as a farm tractor? Attaching a pic of the trailer interior.

[other dog]

guess she'll have to move her pole to the front. that's really where it should be anyway, with a row of booths up each side,tractor in the middle.

[j hancock]

Something like a farm tractor would be best to the floor. I never put a tractor into a van! Adding a false bulkhead to have the front tires ride against would be added insurance in a panic stop. That could be figured out once the weight distribution of the load is set.

Most of the E track products have a breaking strength of about 3500 lbs.

Jim

[leversole]

.

Are you a "Pole Sniffer"?

[1958 F.W.D.]

I was talking about wall-mounted. As Vision said, you can use E-Track bars (think load locks for E-Track) and create a second deck over floor-loaded freight, as long as its not too high and drastically changes the trailer's COG........Jevic did it wall-mounted for this very purpose. Was great for lightweight freight and theoretically if you did it right could double the usable space in the trailer. I only saw floor mounted E-Track once and it was counter-sunk in a "trench" in the floor.

[1958 F.W.D.]

What location do you suggest to secure something as large and heavy as a farm tractor? Attaching a pic of the trailer interior.

Ken I have never loaded anything wheeled into a van before...But its not impossible. If it were me, I would either pull or back it in, with the heavier end tires/wheels butted up against the rise for the forward deck. Then I would put it in gear and set the brake of course, and then use the E-Track bars placed against the front of the tractor, with blankets or something for padding. Then maybe a few E-Track straps placed strategically for additional tie-down. Now I see why you would want floor-mounted. I know E-Track straps are strong but personally knowing what I know from towing I would want to chain down anything with wheels- hence a flatbed. But thats me....

[1958 F.W.D.]

Oh and I would do two or three rows of E-Track right up the length of the trailer walls, in between the wood slats, and smash-riveted to the posts (not pop riveted.) Lots of work but well worth it.

[220cummins]

I've loaded many of dry vans withs Casework and millwork as an apprentice and journeyman cabinetmaker. On E-track systems I've used load bars to lock in the load in the front and back but more so for the sudden stop. On the wooded slat tie downs like you have ratchet straps get looped around and hooked to itself with the d-ring on the strap. On bigger items it wasn't uncommon for us to screw blocking to the floor and secure it by that way. In every case I never had a load shift have damaged products. We once received a partial load of material via a common carrier (us carriers) that had like 5k steel coils "eye" down banded to a pallet over the fift wheel plate. The weight of the of the coil held it down. I've never really seen palletized common freight strapped down. It's always been banded to the pallet or secured to a rack then stopped with a load bar.

[vision386]

Ken,the "drop" in the trailer is a natural stop for forward motion in your trailer,i have loaded everything from farm tractors to boats on trailers in a moving van.Without ever using floor mounted E-Track,MOST cargo can be easily secured with a good set-up of vertical E-Rails,as FWD said,what we called "decking bars" in the moving business (think load locks) can be locked in place behind something such as a car or tractor and secured with straps to stop rearward motion. Or a nice set-up of welled (sunken D-rings) can also be installed in the floor without any useable space lost,and they will bear a LOAD of weight with no problems as long as they are backed up with some flat-plate steel....................................Mark

[other dog]

Ken,the "drop" in the trailer is a natural stop for forward motion in your trailer,i have loaded everything from farm tractors to boats on trailers in a moving van.Without ever using floor mounted E-Track,MOST cargo can be easily secured with a good set-up of vertical E-Rails,as FWD said,what we called "decking bars" in the moving business (think load locks) can be locked in place behind something such as a car or tractor and secured with straps to stop rearward motion. Or a nice set-up of welled (sunken D-rings) can also be installed in the floor without any useable space lost,and they will bear a LOAD of weight with no problems as long as they are backed up with some flat-plate steel....................................Mark

Most of the tractors at the Keystone Tractor Museum were brought in on Abilene's trucks, all vans.

[Mike]

If my memory serves me correct, I recall this being an old Great Dane from back in the 1950's because I have been seeing this trailer since about 1962. It has been parked there ever since. I'm going by the scroll work on top front. It is a single axle. I've been trying to find someone at home for a year or more and have not had luck yet. It is on the main hwy going south from Chapelhill, Tn.just outside of town.past the Sonic. Hint, Hint.

mike

[JTFormula]

Get the address and send he owners of the property a letter asking if they wanted to sell th trailer. That's what I did to get the general.