Ridecamp: [RC] rtoof-mounted water tanks, heavy loads and safety (long)

Someone commented on the safety issue of having a lot
of weight up high (such as a roof-mounted water tank),
and I wanted to second this.  Both the effect on the
center of gravity and the security of the load are important.
I would caution against pulling a trialer with a full water tank
mounted high with no other load (horses) to help provide 
ballast.  Speaking of ballast, this time of year it is common 
to put extra weight over your drive wheels to help with 
traction on slick roads.  It is important to make sure this, as 
well as any other heavy load, is secured to the bed of the 
truck.  In the event of and accident, you don't want to find 
your ballast flying through the rear window of the cab.  When I 
was a kid in Maine I remember driving with a friend in her Opel 
station wagon.  She had a few cinderblocks loose in the back to 
improve traction. We hit an ice-patch, did a 180 and ended up 
slamming into a snow bank.  Fortunately we hit rear-end first, 
and the air-born cinder blocks hit the rear lift-door, which 
few open, the the blocks flew a good 15 - 20 feet into the 
woods.  I shudder to think what might have happended if they 
had flown forward in the car.  I also heard a horror story of 
someone carrying a loose pallet of bricks on a flat-bed, which 
ended up joining the driver IN the cab when an accident 
happened - I believe the driver was crushed and killed.  I have 
a big plastic trunk which I fill with bags of sand, lime and 
rock-salt: it is tied down in the bed of the truck.

So be careful, all, and have a great holiday season!

________________________________________________
Get your own "800" number
Voicemail, fax, email, and a lot more
http://www.ureach.com/reg/tag

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
 Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

 Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=