Trucks. Loading, unloading, and keeping it all safe.

Friday, January 8, 2021

Chip Trucks

I grew up in a mill town. Cottage Grove, Oregon marks the southern end of the Willamette Valley (You may remember from history class that that's where the Oregon Trail ended). With a population of about seven thousand people, and surrounded by mountains and forests, There were at least six lumber mills in the immediate area.


I was fascinated by the trucks.

My dad was a third grade teacher in Drain, a tiny town nestled in the mountains a few miles south of our home. He would carpool to work with some of his coworkers, navigating the narrow, twisty and usually wet road that connected the two towns. One day, when I was about six, he saw a wreck.

He said that a chip truck had overturned on a corner and spilled its load. I was appalled, thinking of the bags of Doritos and Lays going to waste there in the ditch. My brothers and I asked if he'd managed to grab any.

As it turns out, a chip truck hauls wood chips. As wigwam burners were phased out and markets developed for wood by-products, there was a need to move sawdust, planer chips and hog fuel between locations.

Sometimes referred to as "possum-bellied", the shape of the trailer maximizes the amount of chips that will fit into the trailer and also helps to keep the center of gravity a bit lower.  These trucks are still prone to overturning.

Loading is done using overhead bins.

 Unloading is exciting, although the driver doesn't get to stay in the truck.

Log Trucks

It wasn't until my freshman year of college that I saw a flatbed trailer equipped with bunks transporting logs. I was travelling from LeTourneau College to a cross country meet at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacodoches, Texas.

The mills we passed looked strange. No towering stockpiles of logs equipped with sprinklers to maintain moisture content. Not everything is bigger in Texas after all. There were no huge log loaders splashing through Texas-sized puddles and it didn't smell like damp Douglas Fir bark. Worst of all, the log trucks were all wrong--for Oregon and Washington and other mountainous states.


Driving a log truck in one of these mountainous regions requires guts, skill and something other than a traditional fifth wheel setup. Steep gravel roads, switchbacks, narrow landslide prone double track goat trails, often on the edge of steep canyons that can be hundreds of feet deep.

It is very important that the wheels on the trailer follow the path taken by the truck. Enter the stinger steered pole trailer.


Monday, September 16, 2019

Fuel Tankers

Fuel Tankers are designed to haul gasoline and diesel from a tank farm. Tank farms are groups of huge storage tanks located near a pipeline, shipping terminal, or railroad
Loading at a rack
Delivering fuel to a gas station
All original art by David Swift

Monday, March 18, 2019

Curtain Vans

Curtain side trailer 
Curtain vans, Also known as curtainsiders or curtain side trailers have a flatbed deck, a bulkhead (the front wall), and vertical elements that support an aluminum roof. The sides are made of a durable vinyl that can be retracted to provide access to the sides of the trailer. The rear is generally equipped with either hinged doors or a roll-up door.

At first glance, a curtain van looks pretty similar to a dry van, but it's much more closely related to a flatbed. Typically, curtain vans are used for local or regional deliveries. The driver usually has multiple stops to make and needs an efficient way to offload the freight in a variety of circumstances.

Cargo: In the United States, typically, at least some of the load is relatively long and needs to be protected from the elements. Hardwood lumber, plumbing supplies, and raw steel are often delivered in curtainsiders.

Loading: These units are usually loaded inside a warehouse with a forklift.

Securing: The load is secured to the deck using ratchet straps.

Unloading: Usually, the receiver unloads the truck using a forklift, but hand unloading is also common at small manufacturing companies and construction sites.





Curtain van partially open




Straight truck equipped with a curtainside body
All original art by David Swift

Log Trucks: Overview

Log trucks vary widely by region. As you travel across the United States, you may be surprised to see how many different styles exist. You can always recognize a log truck by the upright stakes which are known as bolsters. A pair of bolsters makes a bunk.  The trucks below are a representative sampling of the log trucks across the United States.




Maine Log Truck
Original image source unknown.
Truckers in Maine have at least two very different types of logs to haul: long small diameter softwood and shorter thicker hardwood logs. The trucks they use work well for both.












Log Length Log Truck
Common in the Midwest and Northeast, These trucks often have a rear mounted self-loader and are sometimes used with a short "pup" trailer. They are ideal for smaller jobs such as lot clearing, rather than industrial scale logging operations.





Plantation style log truck 
Picture adapted from photo at bluegrassforestry.com
Plantation trailers are the style you'll see most often in the South. In these states, pine and hardwood plantations provide the timber used in home building and woodworking. These trailers are often built low to the ground to allow for a taller load. A push bar is located on the rear of the trailer so that heavy equipment can give the truck a shove when needed on soft, muddy ground.




Stinger Steered Pole Trailer Log Truck
Stinger Steered Pole trailers may be the most unusual configuration in all of trucking. These units are ideal for navigating steep winding gravel forest roads in the mountainous Western states. One swivel mounted bunk is located in the spot where you'd normally find a fifth wheel hitch. Another swivel mounted bunk is above the rear axles. The trailer is attached by means of a pintle hitch. Amazingly, the logs determine the length of the trailer while the actual trailer telescopes to change length around corners.




Flatbed with Bolsters

Finally, the most versatile of the styles is a simple flatbed with bolsters. Not the most exciting, and not the perfect tool for the job, but if you only haul logs sometimes, a flatbed may be the best choice.

As always, if I've missed something or made an error, please don't hesitate to comment below.


All original art by David Swift

Monday, March 4, 2019

Auto Transporters

Auto Transporters

High sided auto transport

Auto transporters, also known as car carriers or car haulers are units specially designed to haul cars safely and efficiently. Most auto transporters use a system of hydraulically powered ramps to drive the cars on and off the trailer. Cars are secured with with tie-down ratchets or wheel straps. The truck driver drives the cars on and off and adjusts the ramps as needed.

Auto transporters come in low sided and high sided models. The high sided versions have the most versatility. They can carry up to nine cars.


low sided auto transport
Many of these trucks have a stinger steered fifth wheel arrangement. That means that the fifth wheel hitch is located behind and below the rear axle. This allows better maneuverabilty and makes room for more cargo.
Stinger Steered fifth wheel
Tractors that have racks attach are called head units. Three average sized vehicles fit on a head unit.
Head Unit

"Hot Shot" transporters are designed to haul fewer cars. They move vehicles for individuals, businesses, or insurance companies and are used when a full size transporter is unnecessary.

hot shot transporter
Before stinger-steered units, Auto transporters used the traditional fifth wheel configuration. They operated with or without head units.
transporter with traditional fifth wheel arrangement.

 

Enclosed auto transporters are similar to other auto carriers beneath their fiberglass, aluminum and vinyl skin. They offer better protection to the vehicles inside. Vinyl curtains open to make the loading and unloading easier.
enclosed auto transporter
Cars with very little ground clearance or very high value require yet another style of transporter. These trailers are equipped with a liftgate that is capable of lifting the car in a horizontal position to an upper or lower deck within the trailer.
Special enclosed auto transporter
When trucks are being transported. A completely different arrangement is needed. The most efficient way to transport three semi tractors (or four cab-and-chassis) is the saddle mount arrangement. Trucks are bolted to each other using special hardware.
Saddle mount.


Did I miss anything, make or a mistake, or does something need more explanation? Please leave a comment.

Side Load Beverage Trucks

Side Load Beverage Trucks

Forklift loading beverage truck.
original image: Crown Equipment
Beverages in cans, bottles and kegs are typically delivered to retail locations in either side load beverage trucks or more traditional trailers with a roll up door and a liftgate.

These trucks are usually loaded by forklift in a warehouse setting, and unloaded using a hand truck or dolly. Side load beverage trucks have several roll up doors on each side which open up into individual compartments. Each compartment may contain a specific product, or an order for a certain customer.

Side load trucks are also used to transport car batteries and propane tanks.

Side Load Beverage truck and trailer
original image: Eric Pioszak
Did I make a mistake or miss anything? Please comment!