LOHMAN HELICOPTER OWNER AND OPERATOR MORGAN LOHMAN EXPLAINS HOW TO HANDLE A HEAVY TRAILER LOAD WITH CARE.
By Kent Black
Without the hefty towing capacity of a Ford Super Duty® pickup, Morgan Lohman would not have an efficient way of getting his choppers to a work site. He’s learned a few things over the years of hauling his valuable cargo that translate for anyone pulling a trailer behind a truck. Novice haulers, take note.
1. Know Your Load “It doesn’t matter if you’re hauling a helicopter, lumber or hay, you should know the weight of your load and how it’s distributed across the trailer,” says Lohman. Every truck comes with specs on gross trailer weight and maximum tongue weight, so check them out before you go any further. Swaying trailers are almost always the result of insufficient tongue weight.
2. Have Enough Truck Lohman chose F-350 and F-450 Super Duty trucks because he knew there would be up to 400 horsepower when he needed it. Nevertheless, he made some after-market modifications, such as adding two-inch suspension lifts that added major poundage to the Super Duty’s towing capacity to make sure his trucks could always handle the hefty weight of his helicopters.
3. Never Enough Straps “We go pretty slow over some bad roads, and we still have straps come loose,” says Lohman. “The last thing you want is to hear something rattle.” Of course, it hardly matters if you’re hauling hay, but for most cargo—from an enclosed trailer of motorcycles to an open trailer with a mobile construction shop—you need to make sure everything is strapped and double strapped. You do not want to see it disappearing in the rearview mirror.
4. Recheck the Brakes Lohman says that one of the trickiest situations he encounters in highway driving is sudden braking—a scary event when you’re hauling tens of thousands of pounds. If your trailer has electric brakes, then the small gel cell battery should be checked before every trip to make sure it is charging properly.
5. Level Your Load It’s extremely important to make sure that the trim of your trailer and truck is level. Before hitching up, load the trailer to maximum capacity and then level using a jack stand and a carpenter’s level. Level again after you’ve hitched the trailer to your truck.
