NHRich
Bronze Member
Let's just say that a 45-foot single axle tractor-trailer rig so *very* barely makes it down our 1/4 mile drive without taking out trees, the power pole, the garden or the rig. And in fact, while the 40-footer I expected can (barely) use the turnaround, the 45-foot trailer they sent simply cannot. So, after dropping off his load (955 gal hot water tank and four heat-exchanger coils for the wood boiler), the thankfully highly skillful and good-natured driver had to #%#$ *back* his big rig all the way up the 1/4 mile drive again, around the turns, over the bridge and up the steep-sided hill road. Those of you who've ever driven any kind of trailer rig will know that this can be a nightmare scenario for a driver.
But the bridge held (I'm kidding about that, it's reinforced concrete footings and steel I-beams under the wood, I've had trailers carrying full-sized excavators across it), no trees were lost, he didn't take out the power pole and transformer, or even the mailbox. He did get stuck in a low spot backing out, and I had to pull him out with my DK45 (no kidding), which proves its might once again, by (helping to) pull an entire tractor-trailor rig back about 15 feet, after dumping several loads of hard pack road gravel under the big rig's tires.
Quite a day. The driver seemed totally surprised when I gave him a $20 for beer on his way out (all I had on me) as small thanks for going way above and beyond, his master-class skill, and his unflappable good humor, not to mention not taking out any of my trees. He said nobody had ever done that before, which shocked the heck out of me, even up here in thrifty New England. My grandfather was a long-distance driver for 55 years, back to the days of chain-drive trucks, so I know what a sore-****, thankless job it can be.
So the mighty DK45 proves its worth once again. Never would have thought I'd be pulling a semi with it. Come to think of it, the last time I used that particular tow chain, it was dragging the UPS guy and his truck out of our drive during mud season (he was a fill-in guy in a 2WD truck -- the regulars around here know better and use 4WD)
But the bridge held (I'm kidding about that, it's reinforced concrete footings and steel I-beams under the wood, I've had trailers carrying full-sized excavators across it), no trees were lost, he didn't take out the power pole and transformer, or even the mailbox. He did get stuck in a low spot backing out, and I had to pull him out with my DK45 (no kidding), which proves its might once again, by (helping to) pull an entire tractor-trailor rig back about 15 feet, after dumping several loads of hard pack road gravel under the big rig's tires.
Quite a day. The driver seemed totally surprised when I gave him a $20 for beer on his way out (all I had on me) as small thanks for going way above and beyond, his master-class skill, and his unflappable good humor, not to mention not taking out any of my trees. He said nobody had ever done that before, which shocked the heck out of me, even up here in thrifty New England. My grandfather was a long-distance driver for 55 years, back to the days of chain-drive trucks, so I know what a sore-****, thankless job it can be.
So the mighty DK45 proves its worth once again. Never would have thought I'd be pulling a semi with it. Come to think of it, the last time I used that particular tow chain, it was dragging the UPS guy and his truck out of our drive during mud season (he was a fill-in guy in a 2WD truck -- the regulars around here know better and use 4WD)
