Stuck semi. Stupid freight company.

[LD1]

If I was asking a OTR truck to go off road....I would totally understand and accept paying a tow bill if he got stuck.

But they asked what I wanted, and I specifically told them a 48' trailer wont fit. Apparently they dont listen. So not only did I have to pull him out, I had to unload him AFTER I paid extra for the convince of a pup or box truck with a lift gate to set it right in my building.

 

[Copperhead]

Well, we do have to lay some blame on the driver. He should know what the truck can get in and out of. I have been operating semi trucks for several decades. I would never have gotten into the mess he did. I do a lot of rural work with mine, gravel roads, and even into some fields. It is one thing to need an assist, it is quite another what that driver got himself in to.

 

[cviola2005]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I agree, driver ignorance.

As for the damage: I work in a warehouse were skids come in damaged quite frequently. Some of the skids contain glass products, and some contain plastic housing electric actuators. These skids are tagged "Do Not Double Stack" or "Do Not Stack Anything on Top", or similar. I was discussing damaged product with one of our regular delivery drivers (I won't name the trucking company he works for), and he said, "If it's flat and stable, we will stack on top of it regardless of what the tags say."

 

[Industrial Toys]

I hired this guy last summer to deliver 70,000 pounds of retaining wall stone, in this rather sharp rig.

First he insisted on parking on the road, and coming in the thousand or so feet driveway, to take a look.

Then I had a really hard time convincing him to follow me accross a harvested field to get back out as he couldn't turn around. I figured, he was empty and had enough axles. All went well.

 

[ultrarunner]

Looks like a pretty spot you have there...

 

[oosik]

One winter I had to pull a "Big Brown" unit that got stuck in my driveway. What a PITA. Now, if I order anything from anybody that will be delivered by truck they tend to notice the little note attached to my email order - "Leave the package at the first gate on the driveway".

 

[Looking4new]

View attachment 461969

I hired this guy last summer to deliver 70,000 pounds of retaining wall stone, in this rather sharp rig.

First he insisted on parking on the road, and coming in the thousand or so feet driveway, to take a look.

Then I had a really hard time convincing him to follow me accross a harvested field to get back out as he couldn't turn around. I figured, he was empty and had enough axles. All went well.

That is what I do. Walk in first, that way I see all the hidden obstacles. It might cost me a little time, but tires and tow trucks are way more costly than my time.
Tandem and pup in a 'A' train configuration are a P.I.T.A. to back around a corner, but it is 'do-able' IF there is enough room.

 

[k0ua]

The brown truck got stuck in my lower driveway last fall. It was just total driver ignorance. It was his first day on the job, and he said it would be his last. He called for a UPS mechanic that came out and I handed him one end of a long tow chain, and I easily pulled it out with my little Kioti. UPS delivers nearly every day here to my house/business, and the intelligent drivers never have any problem, but this guy did something dumb and paid the price for it.

Did you know there are no tow hooks on those big brown trucks? The mechanic hooked into the spring shackle. I told him I would pull slowly and evenly without any jerking, but if something came loose it would be on the company not me. He agreed. My little Kioti can pull quite a bit up on flat pavement. He was rear end down a pretty steep grade stuck in gravel with a pretty bad list to starboard. I pulled it right out.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I will never forget some people that got stuck out on a beach on Lake Huron a few years back. They weren't badly stuck, but clearly out of their element. I told them to rock the vehicle. Next thing I knew, the young man was standing next to his (now driverless) car and rocking it side to side. I kid you not. It was all I could do, to not burst out laughing.