Pallet of Steel Plate Behind the Cab
You are loading a curtainsider with a 1,200 kg pallet of steel plate, 1.2 m × 1.0 m × 0.6 m high, and eleven pallets of packaged paper (400 kg each, 1.2 m × 0.8 m × 1.5 m high) for a 300 km motorway run. The steel pallet is placed against the headboard. The load bed has no anchor points except the side rails; the curtainsider has certified lashing points every 50 cm along the floor. The shipper says the curtains are 'strong enough'. You have 8 ratchet straps rated at 2,500 daN lashing capacity each and 4 aluminium beams. The trailer's permissible payload is 24,000 kg.
1. Evaluate the securing plan and describe how you would secure the steel pallet.
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The steel plate is the critical item: 1,200 kg concentrated in a small footprint, hard and smooth, with a low-friction base. Against the headboard it is protected from forward movement, but it must be prevented from moving sideways and rearwards and from tipping. Curtains are not load-restraint devices and cannot be counted as securing.
For a 1,200 kg item, the required restraint against forward movement is 80% of the weight (960 kg) and against sideways/rearward movement 50% (600 kg). Use the floor lashing points: at least two straps over the pallet in a loop or direct configuration, tensioned evenly, with edge protection. If the straps are used as top-over lashings, the standard friction rule means each 2,500 daN strap contributes only a fraction of its rating after the friction factor; with steel on a wooden bed the friction is low, so more straps or, better, positive blocking with the aluminium beams against the side rails is needed. Check the total mass: 1,200 + 4,400 = 5,600 kg, well within payload.
2. How should the paper pallets be arranged, and what checks do you make before departure?
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The paper pallets are lighter but tall and can lean. Place them tight against each other and against the steel pallet, filling the width so they cannot shift sideways, and use the aluminium beams as positive blocking at the rear. Straps over the top of the paper must be positioned so they do not crush the packaging; use at least two straps per row or a combination of blocking and lashing.
Before departure: confirm the total mass and axle loads are within limits, check the headboard is rated for the load, verify every strap is rated and undamaged with a visible label, check edge protection, confirm the curtains are closed and the buckles are secure, and take a photograph of the secured load. After 10–20 km, stop and re-tension the straps, because the load settles.