E-track load bars, what do you do with them?

[LDB]

Where do you store your bars? I have 3 and put one in each of the 3 rows all the way at the nose of the box. I'm wondering if I should put all 3 on the top row in the first three sets of holes. I don't want some forklift person to damage them running cargo up to the nose and don't know what is the usual practice. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[davekc]

I lock them in the nose of the box. I you have a careless forklift driver, you would prefer a damaged load bar versas a forklift fork through your box.
Or worse yet, I seen a Ford tow motor driver drive through a guys box and put his forks right in the sleeper.
Load bars can be had for $50.00 or less
Davekc

 

[ATeam]

Using your load bars (E-track decking bars) to protect the front of your box is a good idea. I think RichM was the one that said he keeps one at the rear of the box to keep fork lift drivers out until he's there. Maybe it was someone else.

I've toured a lot of FedEx White Glove trucks. Those folks carry a lot of load bars to secure the high-value freight they handle. I think I saw 12 in a straight truck once.

As far as I've seen, there is no standard way to carry them. Some put them in front, some in back. Some put them on the top row to keep them out of the way until needed. Some use tarp straps (those rubber straps with S hooks on the ends) to strap the bars vertically against the wall near the door, so they are handy when needed. Some line them up on the top row and stow floor decking on top of the bars.

My wife and I have experminted with a variety of ways. Currently we put them all on the lower level near the front, behind our freight handling equipment (pads, pallet jack, dollies, etc.). That makes it easy to walk over the top of them to get to our gear. It would also keep a fork lift from reaching the front. It also makes it easy for us to work with the bars when needed (we're short). If we get a load that fills the truck, we move the bars to higher rows if the bars are not used.

Our fleet owner stocks his truck with six E-track load bars. We'd like more and are planning on stocking our new C-unit with 12. There have been times when we would have liked to deck the freight. 12 bars would enable us to do that and secure the lower-level freight too.

We've learned to undo the load bars on the front and back of the skids before we let the fork lift in. That keeps the fork lift drivers from picking up a bar with the ends of the forks that stick out beyond a pallet.

One friend recently suggested that we ban forklifts from our truck alltogether and load and unload all freight ourselves. We're considering that and have tried it on a couple of recent stops. I worry less about the truck when I'm in there with a pallet jack than when a total stranger is in there with a fork lift. When you consider the holes a forklift can punch in your truck, keeping the forklifts out may not be a bad idea.

 

[mattsopel]

I found a great product that stores my bars and straps in the trailers, out of the way of fork lifts. Haven't lost a load bar yet. It's called the Yellow Rack. You can google it.

 

[chefdennis]

Yellow Rack, that does look like the ticket! Here you go:

cargo bar stowage|stowing load bars|load bar|cargo handling|freight handling|trucker tough|freight protection equipment|e-track|vertical logistic slots|replacement guarantee|driver accountability

 

[moose]

cargo bar stowage|stowing load bars|load bar|cargo handling|freight handling|trucker tough|freight protection equipment|e-track|vertical logistic slots|replacement guarantee|driver accountability

Here Ya go...
Someone was doing some digging...



Moose.

 

[chefdennis]

Someone was doing some digging...

Hmm, it took me less then a minute to google "yellow rack", cut and paste the link and add the few words i typed! Google is a wonderful tool!

 

[x06col]

We always installed a dedicated etrac in the front at the top of the box for storage. They were high enough to afford clearance for even the tall pallets when not needed. We carried 12-15 in each truck (we did a lot of decking). Kind of a pain because you needed a step stool to store or retrieve them, but they were outa the way when not needed.

 

[moose]

I was talking about the thread being old enough to go to pre school ,But hey we all have nothing better to do...
i like to go for a run ,but afraid to leave my truck unattended in Laredo...



Moose.

 

[gotta go]

Re: freight securement
I was involved in a fatality, truck totalled accident 3 years ago, not my fault. At that time I carried a camp chair, a 6' ladder, and a push broom in the nose of the box. I also had 3 spare load bars up there. After the accident the steer axle was under the front of the box, so you can just imagine what the rest of the truck looked like. I had 12,000 lbs. of axles in the box. None of my items in the front survived the accident, but the freight stayed inside.
Please leave at least 6"-8" of space in front of your front load bars so the freight has someplace to go if needed.
By the way, the load was recovered by a Try Hours truck and I'm told delivered only 4 hours late. Hopefully I'll meet that driver one of these days and be able to thank them in person.
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