One simple yet important skill I learned by working at Highland Orchards is how to load a truck. Although it may sound really simple, there is actually a lot to know before you haul a load on your truck (or car).
I’d like to start with a few stories of my hauling successes and failures. My truck is a 1999 Ford Ranger, which is a pretty small truck. To fit more stuff in the bed, it has plywood sides and a ladder rack. One of my frequent jobs at work is to make Home Depot or Lowes runs to get lumber or any other random thing on the list. One time, I was picking up some 2×4’s and other assorted lumber for a project. I loaded it up like I always do and drove away. In my haste I forgot to tighten the front strap around the lumber and before I even made it out of the parking lot, my load was all over the pavement. I was very embarrassed, hoping no one saw me, as I quickly reloaded the wood and tied it down. This brings me to my first point. Whenever you have a load tied to the top of your vehicle, make sure you tie it down in at least 2 places. Also, one good test of security is to grasp the load and pull it back and forth. The whole suspension of the vehicle should move, as though the load was part of the truck.
Legally, any loose load like sticks or trash or leaves must be tarped. This is very important because the last thing you want is to break the windshield behind you. Once, I was hauling some junk from someone’s house with my dad. The truck was filled to capacity, and as we were going down the road, a flat piece of plastic flew out of the back. Luckily, there were no cars around to be hit when it flew out, and we were able to recover the plastic without doing any damage. Things with large surface areas and low density like cardboard, plastic or otherwise have a pretty good chance at blowing out if not tarped or otherwise secured.
How much is too much? People always try to get the most out of their vehicle and load it to capacity. It is perfectly legal to load things higher than the vehicle, and it is legal to have your load stick out the back of your vehicle if you tie a marker flag to it. In terms of weight, every vehicle has a legal load capacity, but it is practically impossible to know how much it weighs without a scale. An overloaded vehicle is harder to steer and stop, and it is hard on the suspension. One simple way to tell if your vehicle is overloaded is to look at the rear leaf springs (these attach the axel to the frame). Without a load, the springs turn up like a smile. Under heavy load, they flatten out and sometimes if really overloaded, turn down like a frown.
Unloaded leaf spring