Adding to concerns about strap tensions, the CCMTA has announced further changes are in store for log haulers by 2010. By then, truckers hauling short wood stacked crosswise will require the use of automatic tensioning systems. "A vehicle built on or after January 1, 2010 shall be equipped with a device that maintains a tension not less then 900 kg at all times, and automatically takes up slack in the tie-down as logs settle,"reads Standard 10 of the National Safety Code.

Until recently, no such system existed, and in some cases contractors who haul these types of loads had voiced their intent to stop hauling short wood stacked crosswise altogether. After all, while logs are still hauled this way in Eastern Canada, the practice is slowly dying off due to mill consolidation. Nonetheless, a new product recently caught my eye which offers a potential solution for log haulers - no matter what types of logs you transport.

While i don't like to plug specific products in this space, this is a unique product that you really should know about if you transport logs, since its the only solution i'm aware of to the impending 2010 load securement requirements. B.C.-based Traction Technologies has come to market with an automatic winch system, the Cinch, that taps into the trailer's air supply to tighten straps (or chains with straps at either end) and maintain tension while the truck is in motion.

The Cinch can apply up to 2,000lb of pressure to a load at the touch of a button, and it infinitely tightens the strap as required to maintain that tension as the load settles or shifts, You don't have to worry about the system depriving your service brakes of air, since the Cinch requires relatively little air to tighten the straps, and an air priority valve ensures your brakes have enough air to get you safely stopped.

Al-Pac in northern Alberta has been testing the units and so far (with some minor engineering alterations) it has stood up to the worst beatings the company could throw at it.

"The (Al-Pac) Cinch units saw a lot of abuse both from weather and physical use (including trailers and logs being dropped on them). We did have a few technical issues because of this, and it exposed areas that required further design," Andrew Ross, engineering manager with Traction Technologies tells me. "This was a great outcome in our minds, and it allowed us to further refine the product to make it more robust and reliable. Based on those results, we improved the design. We are now running the Cinch unites with a local log hauler and intend to observe their performance to ensure that we have isolated all the issues. As far as the results of our testing goes, we feel confident that we have worked through the reliability issues."

The only other concern that i can see is weight. The units weigh about 20 lbs more then traditional winches, so they could have a slight impact on pay-load. But loggers typically only require about five or six units per railer, points out Ross, so the weight is not a major concern for loggers like it may be for truckers haling flatdeck B-train, for instance.