Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

   / Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong #19,241  
You sound like a teacher I’ve had in my past…..
 
   / Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong #19,242  
At least this isn't the EV thread with nearly as many posts but only two opinions - that are repeated endlessly. :)
 
   / Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong #19,243  
At least this isn't the EV thread with nearly as many posts but only two opinions - that are repeated endlessly. :)
well at least that one you'd have a 50:50 chance of getting the quiz (allegedly) right!
 
   / Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong #19,244  
There is a picture of an older pickup badly overloaded that has made more than one appearance also.
 
   / Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong #19,245  
How’s this for a picture!
View attachment 833144
Posted previously or not, what always kills me about this one is that the tractor being hauled is irreplaceable. Every part damaged on the front end of that machine must now be sourced through difficult channels, or more likely re-made from whole cloth. You'd think that alone would've given the owner a bit more incentive to strap the damn thing down, but... nope!
 
   / Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong #19,246  

S.CS COIL combined securing support
Believe me, those wimpy uprights won't stop a sliding nugget in a panic stop and those are called coil wells btw. I hauled steel for over 35 years for a private steel company, and lots of really big nuggets too. I drove an 11 axle Michigan sled and always grossed around 163,000 GVCW. Sometimes a lot more depending on where I was picking up or delivering to. We got salary plus a weight bonus so it was always in our best financial interest to 'load the wagon' up and I did. I know where every scale house is in Michigan and Ohio as well as Indiana and Illinois. We ran on overweight permits out of Michigan and we always knew when the scales were closed too. One of our drivers' his dad was an MPSC officer so we always knew when the Michigan scales were open (Old People Enter Now) or closed (Could have loaded on some more weight) and we did. Indiana, Ohio and Illinois not so much. Never bothered us at all because we all drove late model conventional Western Star double bunks with NZ Cats and 13 or 18 speed Roadrangers and everything was washed and the aluminum tanks, steps, wheels and even the trailers aluminum rub rail were polished, we had a crew a the garage who did nothing but wash and wax and polish them and another crew who took care of fleet maintenance. The general manager was a truck nut and only long nose Western Stars and they sold new ones as well. We were always called the 'Elite Fleet' back then and everyone wanted to work there. We had very little driver turnover either. It took me almost 30 years to get to the number 4 spot in seniority. Only ran 30 trucks total. Got a new one truck and trailer, every 2 years and the used ones had a waiting list to buy. The old man who I'm good friends with to this day, spec'd them all owner operator specs so they were all loaded up. I had more gages than dash actually and the bunks we never used were loaded as well. They had fridges (where I kept my cold pop) button tick velvet walls, highback Eldarado air ride seats, carpeting which the garage removed because hauling steel is an inherently dirty job, especially hauling out of steel mills. All I had to do was check the fluid levels and bump the tires(8 axles have a ton of tires, 42 in total) and unplug the hot line in the winter as they were always hotlined, big mechanically injected Cats are hard starters in cold weather anyway and if I had some issue with anything, I wrote it up and it was handled by second or third shift garage employees. No automatic shutdowns either. If we had to wait anywhere the big cats stayed running and the heat or climate control stayed on. Only ever had one lost material issue that netted me a 3 day suspension, Lost a 43 thousand pound nugget coming south out of Detroit. Some idiot in a roller skate cut in front of me and jammed on the brakes and I had to take the breakdown lane which was slanted to my right and the 4 chains I had on it 2 snapped and off it came, right into the grass. Had it loaded eye to the side or it would have been much worse and why I never liked loading eye parallel, which is almost impossible in a mill anyway because coils are loaded with a big forklift mostly. As ot was, I took out some side boards and ripped the tarp and I have no idea what the wrecker cost because it takes a big rotator wrecker to snatch a 22 ton nugget and set it on a trailer. I had to go deliver what was left of my load to the plant anyway so after I got aq ticket for an 'insecured' load that cost me a day and 350 bucks, I was on my way. Took a ton of ribbing at the plant too as we all worked for the same outfit and they knew about it before I even got there and of course I was greeted by the safety supervisor and had to park the truck and go take a pee test with him and then when I got to the garage, I got my 3 day unpaid vacation. Interestingly, the last 2 years I worked there, I was the safety man os I got to hand out vacations as well (not many but a few) deal with the the insurance carriers, get the permits and smooze the DOT officers as in lunches and tickets to football games and such. Politics at it's best (and worse) everybody has their hands out for fereebies, Still get callas on my cell phone for that crap and I hang up on them. The trucks are long gone, dealerships were sold and everyone eligible to retire, me included and the general manager as well. I still have my magnetic door signs for my car (I got mileage and a gas credit card as well and if I had to stay out overnight (rarely), the Holiday inns and suites was my destination, so long as there was ag good steak joint nearby.

Yes, I made big money the entire time I worked there and I stayed on my wife's government hospitalization and they reimbursed her for any deductibles we (she had to-pay, out of pocket).

Quite a job actually, Ewe brought home better than any unionized carrier, drove immaculate trucks, had excellent service all the time, fueled at the garage with super diesel, had six weeks fully paid vacations according to seniority and basically did what I wanted to as far as loads and back hauls after I got some seniority. Starting out it was tough because I got what was left which usually meant a city peddle load, had back in's and lots of blind sides which is always a biatch with a long nose double bunk truck on a 270 inch wheelbase, so I'd park the big truck and grab the city day cab when I could get it. Had a weinie Cummins in it, a shiny 290 with an 8 speed but I wasn't going anywhere fast, anyway, so it didn't matter.

Never used straps either. Always grade 80 transport chains and ratchet binders You would not find one strap on any of the trucks and too this day, I don't trust them one bit.
 
 
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