Several days ago I talked with a commercial Calif Highway Patrol officer about the regulations for using chains as tiedowns for tractors. The days of putting one chain across the hitch and one in the front of the tractor are over.

Equipment has to be secured with four seperate points of contact. The weight of the equipment determines the class of chain, hooks, and binders necessary. I will use the ratings for 3/8 chain in the following examples.

The working load of a tractor is 1/2 of its weight. So a 14,000 lb tractors needs to be secured with 4 tiedowns that add up to more than 7000 aggregate lbs. The grade 70 transport chain that I have is only marked on one link every foot. Its rating is 6600lbs. But you only get to use 1/2 of that rating if the tiedown goes from the trailer to the tractor. There logic is that it has 2 points of contact so therefore divide by 2. Four grade 70 chains would then have the ability to hold a working load of 13,200 lbs (4X3300). This means that this 4 chain tiedowns could theoretically hold a 26,400 lb tractor. There may be some additional requirments that are necessay for a tractor this heavy that I am not aware of. You must also have hooks that are 70 rated and binders that are equal to your chain rating. The tiedown is only as good as its weakest link.

One interesting difference: A chain that goes over or thru a tractor and is hooked on the trailer on both ends gets to use the full chain rating in the aggregate load calculations but still only counts as one tiedown.

Unmarked 3/8 chain is considered grade 30 which has a rating of 2650 lbs. You could tiedown a 10,600 lb tractor with 4 tiedowns. 2650/2X4tiedowns = 5300 lbs working load X 2 = 10600 lbs.

I offer no guarantee my interpretation is correct and I would like to hear from some frequent and commercial haulers to correct or verify my examples. G

"gary wrote:

Several days ago I talked with a commercial Calif Highway Patrol officer about the regulations for using chains as tiedowns for tractors. The days of putting one chain across the hitch and one in the front of the tractor are over.

Equipment has to be secured with four seperate points of contact. The weight of the equipment determines the class of chain, hooks, and binders necessary. I will use the ratings for 3/8 chain in the following examples.

The working load of a tractor is 1/2 of its weight. So a 14,000 lb tractors needs to be secured with 4 tiedowns that add up to more than 7000 aggregate lbs. The grade 70 transport chain that I have is only marked on one link every foot. Its rating is 6600lbs. But you only get to use 1/2 of that rating if the tiedown goes from the trailer to the tractor. There logic is that it has 2 points of contact so therefore divide by 2. Four grade 70 chains would then have the ability to hold a working load of 13,200 lbs (4X3300). This means that this 4 chain tiedowns could theoretically hold a 26,400 lb tractor. There may be some additional requirments that are necessay for a tractor this heavy that I am not aware of. You must also have hooks that are 70 rated and binders that are equal to your chain rating. The tiedown is only as good as its weakest link.

One interesting difference: A chain that goes over or thru a tractor and is hooked on the trailer on both ends gets to use the full chain rating in the aggregate load calculations but still only counts as one tiedown.

Unmarked 3/8 chain is considered grade 30 which has a rating of 2650 lbs. You could tiedown a 10,600 lb tractor with 4 tiedowns. 2650/2X4tiedowns = 5300 lbs working load X 2 = 10600 lbs.

I offer no guarantee my interpretation is correct and I would like to hear from some frequent and commercial haulers to correct or verify my examples. G

Gary, did this discussion take place after he pulled you over? lol

Ed

"gary wrote:

One interesting difference: A chain that goes over or thru a tractor and is hooked on the trailer on both ends gets to use the full chain rating in the aggregate load calculations but still only counts as one tiedown.

That's an interesting point as is the information you posted. Thank you. I usually use 4 chains as described but because mine are so long, I will hook either end to the trailer and take up the slack with the boomers, thus allowing me to realize the entire chain rating. Not that I need it. I use 1/2" chain on my Fifteen or D2.

Gary,

In addition to the 4 point tie down there is also a requirement for 1 chain/strap, securement device, for every 10 feet of cargo. So, if your tractor was say , 22 feet long, being the 4 tie downs are in place, you would still need 1 more securement device to meet the criteria. With a 4 point tie down, they would only recognise them as 1/2 of the requirement on each corner,ie; 2 complete tie downs in 22 feet. There are plenty of other ways for them to "hook" ya too. Any wheeled vehicle is supposed to have wheel chocks. They do count for something in the rating system that they use. But then the ever diligent dot man will start checking to see if the wheel chock meets the criteria spelled out in the securement manual.

www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/safety.../cargo/cs-manual.htm

The above link will get ya to the Feds link for the manual. Can be a bit hard to decipher for the uninitiated.

Soapy,

I actually called the CHP office to see if I was legal on my 14,000 lb tractor. I was not because I had non-rated hooks on my 70 grade chain.

rigandig,

Thanks for that clarification and the link to the regulations. I am still not clear on the 22 foot example. If the 4 point setup is only 1/2 the requirement, wouldn't you need 2 more tiedowns? Where would they be placed? What if your tractor is 18 feet long. Thanks, G