Dumbest Thing you have done with your tractor

[The Haymaker]

I didn't do this, but it's good for show and tell I guess.
The trucking company I used to work for, hired a fellow who was going to 'lease/purchase' a truck from them. They gave him the keys and a load to pick up from the steel mill several miles away.
The driver hooks up to a flatbed(the wrong one)with no tires or wheels on one axle. They catch up to him several miles down the road and get him turned around.
While trying to park the trailer, he proceeds to back into another rig, tearing the hood off of it.
One would think at this juncture that the mans career is over, but the 'dumb-bunnies' hooked him to another trailer.
They got the call a little while later..........
The driver didn't watch the trailer as he was pulling into the steel mill..........Pulled that trailer completely over top of a boulder(put there to keep drivers out of the grass), and ripped both axles out from under the trailer.

He just new the professional drivers secret to good backing. "Just back up until it sounds expensive"

I think we've hired this guy a few times. Usually he's the one with "million mile experience".

 

[Soundguy]

I think that guy worked for us for about 15 minutes.

we hired a dump truck driver. his first day.. the first 15 minutes, he fired the truck up, drove across the yard, clipped a telephone pole, busted it in half. spun around and backed the truck into another one, not knocking it over but bouncing it enough to knock the lamp on it and wires loose.

he then parked it, got into his truck and left and we never heard from him again ???

soundguy

I didn't do this, but it's good for show and tell I guess.
The trucking company I used to work for, hired a fellow who was going to 'lease/purchase' a truck from them. They gave him the keys and a load to pick up from the steel mill several miles away.
The driver hooks up to a flatbed(the wrong one)with no tires or wheels on one axle. They catch up to him several miles down the road and get him turned around.
While trying to park the trailer, he proceeds to back into another rig, tearing the hood off of it.
One would think at this juncture that the mans career is over, but the 'dumb-bunnies' hooked him to another trailer.
They got the call a little while later..........
The driver didn't watch the trailer as he was pulling into the steel mill..........Pulled that trailer completely over top of a boulder(put there to keep drivers out of the grass), and ripped both axles out from under the trailer.

 

[aczlan]

I think we've hired this guy a few times. Usually he's the one with "million mile experience".

Is that the guy that you only want to experience once every million miles?


Aaron Z

 

[dcyrilc]

I think that guy worked for us for about 15 minutes.

we hired a dump truck driver. his first day.. the first 15 minutes, he fired the truck up, drove across the yard, clipped a telephone pole, busted it in half. spun around and backed the truck into another one, not knocking it over but bouncing it enough to knock the lamp on it and wires loose.

he then parked it, got into his truck and left and we never heard from him again ???

soundguy

Dump truck drivers can make for some interesting stories.

We had one pull out of an appartment complex and around the corner. The bad part was that he forgot to put the dump bed down and caught the mast arm on our traffic signal and ripped the pole down. This was 3:00 on a Friday afternoon and we spent most of the evening making repairs to get a temporary signal up and running for the weekend.

 

[Don87]

Dump truck drivers can make for some interesting stories.

We had one pull out of an appartment complex and around the corner. The bad part was that he forgot to put the dump bed down and caught the mast arm on our traffic signal and ripped the pole down. This was 3:00 on a Friday afternoon and we spent most of the evening making repairs to get a temporary signal up and running for the weekend.

Tractor trailer drivers can too. I've got several more good stories.
Lady driver slid her tandems all the way back on a 53 foot dry van while hauling a load of beer(46,000 lbs, bellyloaded), trailer snapped in half on Carson street in Pittsburgh, Pa.(one of the heaviest traveled roadways in the area).
Flatbed driver makes a 90 degree right turn, from right lane, under an overpass(trailer bends til it snaps in half).
Driver goes too fast on the ON ramp to I70 in Pa.(truck and trailer straddled the jersey barrier).
Company I'm at now..........driver slides tandem, doesn't check to make sure they locked.......hits brakes at stop light, trailer tandems come out from under the trailer.
I could go on for hours.

 

[Soundguy]

seen a roll back driver do something similar..

soundguy

 

[dcyrilc]

I saw a 53ft tri-axle sitting in the middle lane of the freeway a few years back with the rear of the trailer sitting on the ground and the axles sitting behind the trailer.

The other thing we deal with regularly are truck drivers who cut the corners too tight and peal the pedestrian push buttons of the signal poles. We typically have to replace 1-2 a month.

Another one I've seen in the 6 years I've worked for the city is a cross-walk sign which we have replaced three times from garbage trucks trying to drive under it with the dumpster raised up above the truck. The bottom of the sign is at 17 feet. Should be 4 feet of clearance for any legal vehicle.

 

[woodlandfarms]

as we are broadening out of tractors.

My first job in Hollywood was working on a Billy Idol music video. He was one of the few stars at the time who had his own personal motorhome. The producer comes to the assistants and asks if any of us have large vehicle experience. I do (farm trucks / beet and grain trucks). So I say yes.

Well, long story short, i never considered the length of the vehicle, nor the small parking lot it was stored in. Ended up pulling the bumper off his motor home, and well as some rear body damage. My large truck ego took a huge blow on the streets of Hollywood...

 

[patrick_g]

Crew trimming right of way for power lines breaks for lunch, driving off with cherry picker bucket raised a mite too much. Takes out power-line across the highway putting one house out of power. Didn't stop, apparently oblivious to there situation. Half a mile later they go through 4-way stop taking out overhead power-lines to region AND killing the phone lines.

My phone got reconnected right away by phone crew, unfortunately phone was in parallel with another family so for about a week both phones rang when either got a call.

Power was restored the next day when some new poles were set and transformers replaced. Ahh, adventures in tree trimming by lowest bidder.

Patrick

 

[WillysWoodPile]

as we are broadening out of tractors.

My first job in Hollywood was working on a Billy Idol music video. He was one of the few stars at the time who had his own personal motorhome. The producer comes to the assistants and asks if any of us have large vehicle experience. I do (farm trucks / beet and grain trucks). So I say yes.

Well, long story short, i never considered the length of the vehicle, nor the small parking lot it was stored in. Ended up pulling the bumper off his motor home, and well as some rear body damage. My large truck ego took a huge blow on the streets of Hollywood...

--- You should buy that bumper and hang it in your man-cave.