Tips for Strapping Wood Framed Modules

Straps are a critical component to the entire transportation haul. In fact, they’re legally required to keep your oversized modular load safe and secure. But for how essential straps are, they’re not something we talk about often in the industry, let alone the important differences between strapping wood framed modules and steel. 

Just as all modules are not made the same, you cannot transport them the same way, either. While steel modules often have engineered strapping points and are sturdier, wood framed modules need a different kind of care for safe and secure transport. Let’s analyze why and how we should transport a wood framed module differently — and how to accomplish it effectively. 

The best mode of transport for wood frames: Hydraulic carriers or other self-loading, self-unloading carriers

To ensure secure transportation of your wood-framed carrier, make sure to load it onto the appropriate trailer. While steel modules offer greater rigidity, wood mods are susceptible to torsional forces when lifted by a crane onto standard carriers such as flatbeds, step-decks, lowboys, and RNGs. Hydraulic carriers, on the other hand, utilize deck movement to safely load and unload modules onto cribbing, safeguarding the frame against potential damage during crane lifts.

What are straps and how are they used in heavy equipment transport? 

Before we jump into the details, let’s explain what straps are and how they’re used in heavy equipment transport in general. 

The straps which secure your cargo load are typically made out of materials like nylon rope or polyester webbing. The types of straps range from ratchet tie-down straps to winch straps and cam buckle straps, depending on whether the load is big or small, or light or heavy. Typically, you should use a minimum of four straps to tie down a cargo load, but for heavy equipment transport like wooden modules, it can be much more. 

2 Ways To Secure Your Wood Framed Modules

After you load the modules onto the hydraulic carriers, it’s important to strap them down in a way that is safe and secure without damaging the wood frames themselves. From our years of expertise, we believe there are two main ways to do this.

Strap over the module

One of the most prevalent methods for strapping a module is over the top. This can, however, present structural support challenges for wood frames, and often requires custom-made straps that will apply enough pressure to keep it secure but not so much that it could crack or damage the wood frame. 

Use an angle bracket

An angle bracket is a great addition to the vital strapping method to apply even more enhanced support to the load. It’s very common to have an angle-iron attachment at the end of a strap, which can be lag-bolted to the strong rim joist of the module. Attached directly to the module’s framing system, the angle bracket provides important additional support to the module from the base. When tightened, these straps secure the module by strapping the rim joists to the frame of trailer.

Top strapping tips from Stream Modular specialists

Besides these proven strapping methods, there are some key pieces of advice our team of modular transport specialists want you to keep in mind when strapping any module for delivery.

You can’t have too many straps, as long as they’re in good condition.

“From our experience, it’s hard to have too many straps,” says Carson Holmquist, CEO of Stream Modular. “However, you need to make sure they’re all in good condition and the proper application for the modules you’re hauling.”

To ensure your straps are in good condition for travel, we suggest always doing a pre- and post-trip strap inspection to keep yourself, other drivers, and the load safe and secure. Because straps are so essential (and required by law) for heavy equipment transport, getting into the good habit of checking your straps on a daily basis will help keep things safe, as well as help you pass inspections.
 

2) You may quickly find out if you have too few.

While you can never have too many straps, if you’re not careful, you can quickly find out that you have too few. Because there aren’t rules or regulations about how many are too many, we believe it’s better to be safe than sorry. But, you still have to ensure that all of your straps comply with DOT cargo securement requirements, both in their safety and their implementation. 

3) Execution is key.

Which leads us to our last and final tip: execution is key. “You also always need to make sure that your straps are installed properly,” Carson explains. “Work with the module manufacturing to understand the strengths and vulnerabilities of their modules, and design your securing methods based on their feedback. If you aren’t strapping your load properly, you can jeopardize the safety of the load for you and other drivers, or even damage the load itself.”

Having the expert knowledge to keep your heavy equipment transport secure and undamaged is key to the entire process. Not only do you need to be up to speed on all the legal requirements, but you should have knowledge about the type of equipment you’re moving, its materials, and how you can best secure it to your rig. This kind of knowledge comes from experience. It also comes from doing your homework and asking all the right questions to ensure your delivery goes off without a hitch.

Stream Modular is a transportation logistics company specializing exclusively in modular construction. We help modular manufacturers and builders transport mods, pods and panels so they arrive on time and safely to the build site.

Read more:

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• Infographic: Planning Modular Transportation Logistics
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