Firstly knowing the height of a truck’s load is one of the most important tasks a truck driver has to undertake after making sure their truck is safe for the road, this is where a truck height measuring stick is needed for safety.
There are many dangers in the UK for truck drivers including low bridges, overhead cables, and on-site structures, this is why knowing the height of the loaded truck is so important.
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Avoid Unnecessary Accidents
Accidents happen every day but some are totally avoidable by having the correct safety equipment.
In the UK there are many low bridges and accidents can easily be avoided if you know the correct height of your vehicle.
A simple but effective height measuring stick will give you an accurate height measurement of your vehicle, this can then be easily entered into your truck sat nav to avoid low bridges.
Don't Try to Guess the Height of a Vehicle!
Truck drivers who drive articulated vehicles often change trailers, many trailers vary in height, if the load is secured to a flatbed trailer the height of a load can be different all the time this applies to articulated vehicles and rigid trucks.
When loading large objects onto a flatbed trailer such as a digger, machinery, straw bales, etc, knowing the correct height of the load is essential, a truck measuring stick will be a truck driver’s best friend allowing the driver to easily obtain the information required for the journey ahead.
Best Truck Height Measuring Stick
The British Trucking best truck height measuring stick “The Tensys” has been chosen for its design quality, ease of use, and the fact that it has purposely been created for vehicle load height safety.
Tensys Height Measuring Stick
The Tensys height measuring stick certainly takes the guesswork out of knowing your truck’s height, it is lightweight and easy to use, it is telescopic so it is easy to store, provides accurate measurement to a height of 5 meters (16′ 5″), sturdy, simply perfect for load height measurements.
Features
- A simple flip system of the 950mm long, over-center measuring arm locks it in position.
- A plastic-covered tip preventing damage to the truck’s bodywork.
- An easy to read dual measurement in Imperial and Metric.
- Sections that fully extend and then lock into position via spring-loaded locking push buttons.
- A circular bubble level to ensure the stick is at the correct angle.
The Tensys height measuring stick for trucks has a unique 90-degree folding arm that sits neatly on top of the truck or trailer so that you achieve an accurate reading every time.
On Site Truck Height Measurments
Accurately measuring the height of a truck does not only benefit the driver by avoiding low bridges on the road networks.
Having the capability of accurate height measurements can be beneficial when loading or unloading on sites or warehousing where the company may want your truck to go through buildings or reverse into doorways.
The truck height measuring tool can also be used to take an accurate measurement of doorway heights, overhangs, or even check low branches on trees that need to be navigated by your vehicle.
Overall having an accurate height measuring stick in your truck could save you time, protect your vehicle, and help to avoid embarrassing situations.
Measuring The Height of a Truck Safely
There are some important things to consider when measuring the height of a truck or its load, the most import is safety, below is a list to consider before carrying out height measurements.
- Overhead Power Cables: Make sure there are no overhead power cables that could cause you to get an electric shock when measuring the height of a truck.
- High Winds: If it is a windy day, try to measure the height of the vehicle in a sheltered area away from the wind.
- Extreme Weather: Avoid measuring the height of a truck outdoors if there is lightning around.
- Uneven Ground: When measuring the height of your vehicle try to do it on level ground, this will not only give a more accurate measurement but will also protect you from trips or falls when looking upwards at your height measuring stick.
- Eye Protection: wearing a pair of sunglasses on a bright sunny day when measuring your vehicle height will protect your eyes from the sun’s glare.
- Head Protection: Always wear a safety helmet / hard hat when measuring the height of the load this will give added protection if something should fall from the vehicle, or you simply lose grip of the measuring stick.
Measuring Uneven Loads
As we all know as truck drivers, not all loads are the same and can cause issues when measure the load height accurately.
It is essential that the truck driver measures the tallest point of the load, this can be assessed by standing away from the load and looking at the load to establish the highest point, try to pinpoint a marking on your truck or trailer to establish the correct place you need to take the measurement.
For loads that are round such as a round tank, or a truck loaded with pipes, the measurement will need to be taken from the rear of the vehicle to get an accurate measurement.
Some loads may be set back on the trailer or flatbed, it may in this situation be necessary to take two measurements, one from the bed of the trailer to the top of the load, and the other from the ground to the trailer bed to establish the overall height of the vehicles load at its highest point.
Conclusion
The safety of a truck and its driver is massively increased when an accurate height measurement of the truck can be established before a journey.
A correct height measurement can easily be entered into a truck sat nav to avoid low bridges.
Accidents can be avoided if a truck driver knows the height of the vehicle.
Thank you for reading this article “Truck height measuring stick UK safety” we hope you found it useful for measuring your next load.
