I just got some chain from a friend that did not want it (50 feet for free). It had been given to him. My question is how can I tell what grade it is? There are no markings on it, it is shiny almost to shiny to be galvanized. He seemed to think it was grade 80, but I think that is what he was told. It would be great if it was grade 70 or 80 then I could use it to tie down my Ford 8N to the trailer. It is 5/16" chain. I was under the impression the grades 70 and 80 were stamped.

Thanks
Bob W [FL]

 

Here are the standards from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Cargo Securement Rules

[Working Load Limits (WLL), Chain] WLL in kg (lbs)
Size mm (inches) Grade 30 proof Grade 43 high test Grade 70 transport Grade 80 alloy Grade 100 alloy
1.7 (1/4) 580 (1,300) 1,180 (2,600) 1,430 (3,150) 1,570 (3,500) 1,950 (4,300)
2.8 (5/16) 860 (1,900) 1,770 (3,900) 2,130 (4,700) 2,000 (4,500) 2,600 (5,700)
3.10 (3/8) 1,200 (2,650) 2,450 (5,400) 2,990 (6,600) 3,200 (7,100) 4,000 (8,800)
4.11 (7/16) 1,680 (3,700) 3,270 (7,200) 3,970 (8,750)
5.13 (1/2) 2,030 (4,500) 4,170 (9,200) 5,130 (11,300) 5,400 (12,000) 6,800 (15,000)
6.16 (5/8) 3,130 (6,900) 5,910 (13,000) 7,170 (15,800) 8,200 (18,100) 10,300 (22,600)
Chain Mark Examples:
Example 1 3 4 7 8 10
Example 2 30 43 70 80 100
Example 3 300 430 700 800 1000
It also states that all chain that is not stamped will be classified as grade 30 chain. All transport chain that is on the market now is grade 70 and is a yellow tinted color.

Hope this helps, have been upgrading all of our tiedowns to meet the new regs.

jimmy

 

Thanks jimmy,

I will assume that the chain is grade 30. Can I use this to tie down a tractor (3000 lbs) on a trailer for personal not commercial use? I would tie it down in 4 locations.

Bob W [FL]

 

Bob,

At one point the regs said that all tiedowns would have to meet the new standard. This has been a process that has been going on since 1982 and the final came out in 2003 with an implimentation date of early 2004. The last time I read the final regs, it allowed for the use of the old tiedowns but you had to use more of them based on weight instead of length of item being tied down. And it was geared for Commercial drivers and did not include personel use. But from talking with our local DPS here in Tx. they are going to probably stop you sooner or later to see if you have a commercial lic. and if you do then they would expect you to follow the new regs.

I have a commercial lic. but for my own personel use I would use the older tiedowns anyway, for the load (3000#s) you are going to carry four places would be plenty. Be careful there are plenty of not so smart drivers to get in your way.

Jimmy

 

It is probably best to follow the federal CFR rules for tying down your tractor when transporting it. Most states have implemented the federal regulations.

The way I read the rules , ff the chain is not marked it is assumed to be the weak grade 30 stuff. Your 4 point tie-down method should meet the standards and the only thing remaining is to meet the strength requirement. Reading the rules it seems that the chain needs to support 1/2 the tractor's weight. 5/16" grade 30 stuff might not make the grade.

I ended up using 3/8" grade 70 (yellow) chain on a 4-point scheme like yours to meet the 1/2 weight strength requirement. This may be overkill but it will pay off during a traffic stop.

Lou Braun

 

Good point Lou, had an interuption at the door and totally forgot what size chain was going to be used. All of the tiedowns should be 3/8 or larger.

Thanks for seeing it thru
Jimmy

 

So the chain must be 3/8"? 5/16" grade 30 load is 1900 lbs, so 4 chains would be good for 7600 lbs which would be more than twice the weight of my tractor. Of course if it has to be 3/8" chain it does not matter what the 5/16" is worth.

Thanks for all the info.

Bob

 

Bob,

The 5/16 would put you on the low end of the standard, but it looks like it does meet it. I have pulled several loads with 5/16 chain and did just fine, but in looking at the setup it looked to small to me to hold the load. It would be better to use 3/8 chain or even the 2" ratchet strap tiedowns with a WLL of 3600#s if you have any. They can be bought at Tractor supply here for $9.00 each and would be much safer. Also you had only 50 feet of the chain and each anchor point needs to be around 20 / 25 feet to do the job, if it is any shorter then the angle of the tiedown comes into play and at a 45 deg. angle you will lose 50% of the safe WLL of the chain. The same rules apply here as they do to rigging up a load for a crane. So keep your tiedowns as straight as possible with no knots, sharp contact points, or steep angles.

When I get to work next week I'll try to send you a PDF file or at least the link to it. The file is a course from the FMC showing how to tie loads down properly, lots of good info even thou it applys to commercial trucks it gives everyone else a good idea of how to position the load on a trailer and tie it down.

Will be in the Tampa Bay/Riverview area late next week maybe well see you pulling the tractor down the road.

Jimmy

 

Thanks for all the info.

Bob W [FL]

 

Well Bob

I don't know how to send you the links for the load securment since I haven't posted enough responces yet. If you are interested in them they can be found on the fmcsa web site under safety programs.
Hope this helps
Jimmy

 

Jimmy,

Thanks I'll check it out.

Bob