Traveling 2,600 lb Down a Wet Grade, Across a Crown, and Through a 12-ft Gate
You are moving 2,600 lb of packaged roofing from the street to a lot 300 ft away on a 10,000 lb telehandler. The route drops 6% on greasy gravel, crosses a 4-in crown, then runs along a 10° cross-slope toward a drainage swale before a 90° left turn through a 12-ft gate. It rained last night. On the first trip the pallet shifted about 4 in toward the outside of the turn at the gate. The machine has frame leveling (8° total travel) and three steering modes. The manual states: maximum travel grade 10%, boom retracted and lowered, load no more than 12 in above ground, and rated capacity applies only when the frame is level within limits. The foreman says, 'Lift the boom a couple of feet so the pallet does not drag, and carry it across the slope fast so you do not slide.' The boom is currently at 4 ft, the load about 18 in off the ground, and unsecured.
1. The foreman wants the boom raised and the pallet left loose. How do you travel with this load and why?
Read the worked answer
The suggestion is wrong on both counts. Raising the boom raises the combined center of gravity and adds overturning moment at the front axle; travel is done with the boom fully retracted and the load as low as it can go while still clearing the ground, typically 8 to 12 in and never above the manual's stated travel height. The pallet shifted 4 in because nothing is restraining it and because a turn generates side load on the carriage - secure it with banding or strapping, keep it tilted back against the carriage, and keep it centered on the forks. Also confirm the travel rating: many telehandlers have a lower capacity for travel with a load than for a static lift, and some charts forbid travel with the boom raised at all. Finish by keeping the load within the chart's travel envelope, not just its lift capacity.
2. How do you handle the 6% grade, the 10° cross-slope, and the gate turn?
Read the worked answer
Six percent is inside the stated 10% limit, so descend with care rather than refusing the grade. Descend slowly in low range using engine braking, and keep the load on the uphill side: back down the grade so the forks and load point uphill, because a heavy load on the downhill side of a grade is what unloads the rear axle and starts a tip. The 10° cross-slope is about 18% and is the real problem - more than double the travel grade limit, and cross-slope is worse than fore-aft because the stability base is narrow side to side. Do not drive across it. Find another route, take the swale square-on so the machine stays fore-aft on the slope, or set the load down before the cross-slope, reposition and re-pick. For the gate: slow, wide, no simultaneous turning at speed, no turning on a slope, and a spotter outside the machine's path - a 12-ft gate leaves very little margin for an 8-ft-wide machine and a swinging load.
3. The brakes feel like they are grabbing when wet, and the gravel is greasy. What is your decision?
Read the worked answer
Grabbing or uneven brakes after rain point to wet or contaminated friction surfaces, glazed linings, or a dragging brake, and that is a symptom to diagnose, not to drive around with a load. Before the next trip, test in a clear area at low speed: braking should be smooth, straight and short. If it pulls, grabs, or stopping distance is long, park the machine and have it inspected - the grade and the gravel have already reduced your margin. If the test passes, adjust the method: low range, low speed, engine braking as the primary control on the descent, generous following distance, no sharp steering inputs, and stop-and-go movements with the load lowered before any turn. Do not use speed to beat a slide; on greasy gravel a slide with a raised load ends in a rollover. Report the brake behavior in writing so it is tracked even if it passes today's test.