In this article I am going to explain why a seemingly secure portable restroom somehow falls off of a moving delivery truck and share some tips and tricks on how to prevent it.
The inconvenience of losing your valuable property is bad, but this article has a particular life-saving importance as losing portable restrooms on the road puts other motorists and even your own driver’s life at risk.
Over 15 years, I have dropped 10 to 12 restrooms; luckily, I’ve never caused an accident, though I’ve come close many times. I never gave too much thought as to why the units sometimes fall, however, I hated how annoying it was to strap down (I use straps, not rope) rows of portable restrooms on delivery trucks — I wanted to find an easier way of doing it.
Until last year when my 16-foot delivery truck was at full capacity with eight restrooms and one ADA unit hanging precariously out the back, I used at least six straps to secure that load. Even with all those straps, I’ll sometimes be driving and notice that one of my straps is dancing in the road or swinging off one of the units. I now use one strap to secure the entire load and haven’t lost a restroom or strap since. All I had to do was ditch the hooks!
Portable restrooms are very lightweight thanks to their plastic construction. Unfortunately, when it comes to transporting them this can be a disadvantage because the plastic is quite flexible. For this reason using hooks is detrimental because as you’re driving down the road a unit can change shape or collapse allowing enough slack on your strap/rope to let your restrooms go or at the very least unhook your strap or rope.
I now use carabiners at the end of all my straps to secure my precious cargo. Carabiners may generate images of climbing equipment or key chains, but that’s not all they’re good for. Get a good set of steel carabiners from the hardware store rated at 350 pounds or more (that’s enough force to crush your portable restroom in case you were wondering).
The way we set up our delivery trucks so they’ll use one strap is quite simple. We chain from the headboard down to the rear stakes (we welded them onto our flatbed) on the left and right side leaving the rear open. After that we use one strap, which is attached with the carabiners to lock the units from sliding out the back. When we strap the back of the restroom down we lock the strap about four to eight links up the chain to help pull the units forward and when the truck is empty we don’t roll up the strap, we wrap it around the rear pillar, lock it back onto the chain toward the front and tighten the ratchet for storage. This method saves time strapping down restrooms and untold amounts of money and quite possibly lives.
Brian Schmidt
Owner
Rent-A-John Portable Toilets – Santa Rosa, CA
Check out other portable restroom tips from Renta-A-John:
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