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Trucker Invents Safer System for Securing Wood Planks on Flatbed Trailers

Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 21:00 CST

By Tony Lombardo, The Augusta Chronicle, Ga.

Jan. 14--Driving past flatbed semi trucks on the freeway, you might not notice the planks of wood tied to the trailer undersides.

Donald Waters notices.

The Beech Island native has invented a device, specifically for flatbed truckers, to better secure these timbers and prevent them from coming loose and causing an accident.

These wood planks, known as dunnage in the trucking industry, are laid on the trailer bed to elevate cargo so a forklift can get underneath the materials.

When the trailer has no load, the wood is often stored underneath and tied together with a rubber cord or rope.

"To me, that is just a primitive way of securement," Mr. Waters said.

For an alternative, he invented Timbertite, a device that bolts to the landing gear of flatbed trailers. Instead of bungee or rope, Mr. Waters' crank system tightens a thick nylon strap around the timbers to prevent them from becoming loose.

Mr. Waters, who patented the device in 1999, is now seeking a manufacturer to mass produce the device.

Timbertite seems like a safer plan, said James Russell, a truck driver for KRG Transport Inc., which hauls steel for Augusta Iron & Steel Works in Martinez.

Bungee cords often break, he said.

"If they break on you and you're not careful, they can hit you on the eye or your hand, or worse," said Mr. Russell, whose co-worker even has a scar on his hand from a snapped bungee.

Mr. Waters, a former truck driver, got his idea from a mishap with his dunnage. Driving in Jackson, Miss., in the mid '90s, Mr. Waters received a call on his radio from another trucker informing him his dunnage was slipping out from underneath his trailer. He was using bungee cords. Luckily, Mr. Waters was able to pull to the side of the road before any of the planks fell onto the roadway.

After this he said he started brainstorming.

"When you drive a truck you have a lot of time to think," he said.

Mr. Waters has a Web site for his invention and currently sells a pair of Timbertite devices for $125. The 42-year-old father of two makes the devices himself, but he is looking for a manufacturer that will allow him to sell the devices for less than $100 a pair.

While Timbertite is more expensive than bungee cords, Mr. Waters said it's cheaper than the liability of having poorly secured planks of wood dropping onto a highway.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Augusta Chronicle, Ga.

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Source: The Augusta Chronicle

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