Equipment Focus: Cargo Securement

Need to haul crushed cars? Here are some products that can help you do it safely and in compliance with federal cargo securement and containment rules. 

By Jim Fowler

Crushed cars, when being transported, can be secured and contained in a variety of ways to meet federal regulations. It’s up to the hauler to decide which technique best meets his needs. 
   Prior to 2004, crushed cars were usually loaded on a flatbed trailer, secured in some manner, and hauled to their destination. As of Jan. 1, 2004, the federal government implemented new rules on cargo securement and containment, dramatically changing the way flattened cars are transported.
   In a nutshell, the rules require crushed cars to be
1) loaded and secured to prevent them from leaking, spilling, blowing, or falling from the vehicle, and
2) contained, immobilized, or secured to prevent any shifting that could adversely affect the hauling vehicle’s stability or maneuverability.
   The rules focus a lot of attention on how many tiedowns a shipper must use to secure the cargo, with the number of tiedowns per stack of crushed cars varying based on the number of solid sides the trailer has. In general, the more sides the trailer has, the fewer tiedowns are required.
   If the trailer has no solid sides, four tiedowns are required per stack. If the trailer has two solid sides, front and rear, three tiedowns are required per stack. With three solid sides, two tiedowns per stack are necessary. And if the trailer has four solid sides, no tiedowns are required.
   That means crushed cars can still be hauled on a flatbed if four tiedowns are used per stack. When hauled in this way, however, pieces that could fall onto the road must be contained with some type of cargo netting.
When it comes to containing pieces on crushed car shipments in general, haulers have numerous options. For instance, they can
• keep using a flatbed trailer and wrap the crushed cars with cargo netting;
• install one of several available containment conversion kits on their flatbed;
• buy a trailer that’s specifically designed to haul crushed cars;
• buy a four-sided trailer; or
• buy a four-sided trailer with a moving floor that can automatically load and unload material.
   Each of the above options has its merits, as we review below.

Wrapping It Up
Flexible wrap or cargo netting is considered by one manufacturer to be “one of the most economical ways to secure loose debris on a trailer.” He estimates that it costs $25 to $35 (not including labor) to wrap three bundles of crushed cars on a 40-foot trailer, depending on the netting material used. Also, he claims, two workers can wrap a trailer in 10 minutes.
   To speed the wrapping process, some companies have built a lazy Susan-type device that can hold a 17-foot roll of cargo netting, the vendor explains. A forklift is used to pick up the lazy Susan. After the netting is secured to the front end of the load, the forklift operator drives around the load, with the second worker securing the netting as the forklift moves.
   The next step, which takes another five minutes, is to staple the netting to the floorboards along the base of the load to prevent loose debris from slipping out. Then four chains are secured across each stack of crushed cars.
This type of cargo netting is disposable. “When you get to the shredder,” the vendor explains, “you don’t try to save the material. It’s a one-time use. The netting just goes into the shredder with the crushed cars.”
   This manufacturer offers netting made of two types of material—extruded polypropylene and knitted polyethylene. Though these materials are similar, the polyethylene is more flexible—and more expensive—than the polypropylene. 
   The extruded rolls come in a variety of mesh sizes in lengths from 500 to 5,000 feet and widths of 56, 84, 168, and 204 inches. The knitted roll is available in one size—58 inches by 1,700 feet with ½-inch mesh.
   As for deciding which netting to use, the manufacturer says it’s simply “a matter of trial and error that leads to personal preference.” Some recyclers, for example, have used ¾-inch mesh, then decided they want ¼-inch mesh.
Haulers also have different preferences on how to wrap their loads. Some want to wrap the bundles on the ground, the vendor notes, while others prefer to stack the crushed cars on the trailer first, then wrap the entire load at one time. One processor has even built a fixture on his car crusher that looks like a paper towel dispenser. He wraps three crushed car bodies at a time as they come out of the crusher, then loads them on the trailer. “There’s no best way that we’ve come up with or seen,” the netting manufacturer says. “We just offer the different products and let customers decide how they want to wrap their own loads.”

The Conversion Factor
Some haulers have done the math and decided that installing a conversion kit on their existing flatbed trailers is a cost-effective alternative to wrapping.
   One manufacturer says its system can be retrofitted to any flatbed trailer, noting that the system is “individually tailored to the customer’s requirements.” This company prefers to start with trailers that have nothing on the front or back. The vendor then provides steel headboards that are bolted onto the flatbed. The main containment feature is a net or vinyl screen that rolls on a track (which can be installed on either side of the trailer). When pulled closed, the screen contains loose pieces that might fall from the load during transport.
   Depending on the length of the trailer—48 or 53 feet—the cost of this retrofit kit ranges from $10,000 to $15,000. The price includes a technician to assist with the assembly and installation, which takes about 36 hours. The buyer must provide three individuals to work with the technician, the vendor notes.
   Another manufacturer of a retrofit kit for flatbeds says the buyer is responsible for the front and rear bulkheads. This vendor’s system has a containment screen with mesh on the top and vinyl on the bottom. This screen is slid “down the side of the trailer like a shower curtain from front to rear using a cable and rollers,” the manufacturer explains. The screen, which weighs 300 pounds per side, reportedly takes five minutes to close.
   This retrofit kit costs $2,600 for the manual-close version and $3,000 with an electric motor. The screens are custom-made to fit the customer’s trailer, and the price is the same regardless of trailer size. The kit can be installed by the buyer or by the manufacturer, which charges $450 per side.
   As for the durability of this screen system, the manufacturer says the tarp can last 12 to 18 months, depending on how the hauler pulls it. “If he doesn’t care, it might only last a week,” the vendor states, though he notes that users can make emergency repairs in the field with zip ties. Replacement tarps come with new stainless steel cables in the bottom, but the user does not replace the system’s rollers or main cable. Each replacement tarp costs $700, plus $100 for installation.
   Another containment conversion option for flatbeds is a gate-type system. In one system, gates are installed on the side of the trailer. The hauler simply opens the gates, loads crushed cars, straps the cars down, then closes the gates to contain any loose debris. “With our system,” the manufacturer says, “there’s nothing to snag on the crushed cars. The gates are swinging around and closing against the trailer.”
   The gates, which can reportedly be opened in three minutes, have steel frames with a polyvinyl-type mesh typically used in the trucking industry. The gates’ bifold design enables them to fold in half, so they stick out about 12 feet from the trailer when open.
   This conversion system costs $7,000 for the complete kit, including front and rear bulkheads and gates on both sides, with installation by the manufacturer costing an additional $1,600.

Tuning in on Trailers
Several trailer manufacturers are making units specifically designed for hauling crushed cars to meet the new rules. These specialized units are available in lengths from 45 to 53 feet, in flat, single, or double drops, with different containment systems, and with price tags ranging from $38,000 to $53,000.
   One manufacturer offers a double drop-deck trailer. “We make the trailer’s main beam ourselves rather than using a standard I-beam,” he explains. “We build it from a piece of high-yield sheet steel and flange and put a camber or crown on the beam.” When the trailer is empty, he notes, the beam is bowed. When the trailer is loaded with cars, the beam flattens out and the trailer doesn’t sink. “Operators using the trailer say they like the camber and the way the trailer hauls,” the vendor states.
   Another consideration is the trailer floor because crushed cars can leak fluids that must be contained. One manufacturer addresses such concerns by solid-welding all seams on its trailer floors and putting a containment lip on the front of the trailer to hold the fluids. “With a solid floor and the containment lip, nothing is leaking from our trailer,” the manufacturer says. “We also use steel tube on the floor so that the cars rest on the tube and the lift forks can get under the stack of cars without damaging the floor.”
   Though this vendor prefers straight flatbeds, his biggest seller these days is a 48-foot, 16-inch single-drop trailer measuring 102 inches wide. “It’s all in the eyes of the beholder,” he says, noting that “most haulers have run flats for years so we offer a retrofit that includes a front and rear bulkhead, a side wall, and a sliding tarp.”
   Another trailer producer makes two crushed-car versions—one with hinged gates and one with a curtain-type tarp system. About the deck, a company rep says, “I prefer the single drop because it gives you more of one deck surface, and by minimizing the ground height, we make it easier to load the crushed cars and load them higher.”

A Moving Situation
Another alternative is a trailer with a hydraulically driven “moving floor” that can automatically feed material into or out of the trailer. This floor has V-shaped slats that extend the length of the trailer. The slats are constructed of high-wear steel that the manufacturer says is “designed to handle maximum duty loads,” including crushed cars and ferrous scrap. When activated, the slats slide back and forth, metering material into or out of the trailer.
   When using such trailers to haul crushed cars, the user simply loads the trailer from the back and the live floor moves the stack of cars forward. “It takes seven or eight minutes to load a trailer with crushed cars and about the same time to unload them at the shredder,” the vendor explains. The trailer’s automatic load/unload feature is “great in tight spaces,” he says, also stressing that “if no unloading equipment is available at the site, you don’t have to wait because the trailer unloads itself.” 
   A trailer with a moving-floor system, which can cost from $65,000 to $75,000, is “very maintenance free and reliable,” the manufacturer says. In addition, any maintenance that might be required can be done without unloading the trailer because the floor’s hydraulic drive unit is located directly under the trailer, he notes.

The Four-Sided Solution
Finally, one trailer manufacturer has just introduced a four-sided unit that the firm describes as “an end-dump trailer without the hydraulics.” This new trailer is light, weighing 14,500 pounds with four-foot sides and 18,000 pounds with eight-foot sides, the vendor notes. The trailer can be used for hauling crushed and logged cars, but it does require a crane for loading and unloading. Prices range from the high $20,000s for this new trailer with four-foot sides and in the low $30,000s for the version with eight-foot sides.
   Obviously, haulers have plenty of options for hauling crushed cars safely and in compliance with the federal cargo securement and containment rules. Choosing the best option for your particular operation requires comparison shopping, doing the math, listing the pros and cons, then committing to a decision. 
As one manufacturer explains the process, “There’s no right way, just the way that’s right for you.” 

Jim Fowler is retired publisher and editorial director of Scrap.