This Trailer is Overkill?

2manyrocks · Jul 22, 2011

JDgreen227 said:
Oh, BTW about safety, I drove commercial straight trucks for 31 years, the majority required a CDL, all of them had power lift gates, and in addition I drove fork lift trucks and used docks most of the time for deliveries, and although I had tens of thousands of opportunities to injure myself or someone else, it never happened.

So you missed the opportunity to work for a city, get "injured" and stay on paid leave for years?

davygp38 · Jul 23, 2011

Bird said:
This picture was NOT a government vehicle.:laughing:

Thats the set up I have. I bought the bigger trailer to accommodate the largest possible machine I have, and that I may buy in the future. I have done the same thing as in the picture, with my ATVs. I was going to get my TLB, and the kids wanted to go riding. Easier, and safer to load the quads on the trailer rather than the flat bed. When we were done, I loaded up the TLB, and put the ATVs on last.

JDgreen227 · Jul 23, 2011

2manyrocks said:
So you missed the opportunity to work for a city, get "injured" and stay on paid leave for years?

I do not know if you are kidding or not, but I was a State of Michigan (government) employee for that part of my career, and although I probably could have claimed an injury and collected workman's compensation and done nothing, as you infer..instead, I had a strong work ethic and always tried to give a day's work for my day's wages. While I did know a few people who filed WC claims, I had utter contempt for them when I knew their claims were bogus.

Secondly, I don't think it shows respect for others, to infer that a city employee, or a state employee, or any government employee, or perhaps someone who works in private industry, or for Ford, GM, etc. would get "injured" and stay on paid leave for years. Where someone works usually has little to do with their choice to go on disability leave, deserved or not.

That's how I feel and I wanted to pass it along.

2manyrocks · Jul 24, 2011

My apologies to you. I'm not picking on you, but I am picking on the bogus group.

I was specifically thinking about a local county clerk who got in media trouble for ordering a new Tahoe through the city with running boards, custom wheels and oversize 20" tires, and then said the city just gave it to him. Then the reporter hauls out a copy of an email where he specifically asked for these items that added a few thousand to the cost of the vehicle. Then they asked him why he was reimbursed for gas costs 120 miles away in another city.

Locally, our city's gas costs went down substantially when the new mayor required all employees to buy their gas at a gas station where they personally sign for the gas. The prior system was a bulk pump where there was no accountability --any city employee apparently could pump gas for any reason. The city burned more gas in a town of say 7,000 than the sheriff's department burned in the whole county.

Then there is the recent USA report that federal employees are statistically more likely to die on the job than get fired.

So for every how ever many number of honest people, there are those looking to milk the system.

Government misconduct maybe gets more media attention because private employment is just that, private, but there are just so many examples of deliberate manipulation in the public sector.

JDgreen227 · Jul 24, 2011

2manyrocks said:
My apologies to you. I'm not picking on you, but I am picking on the bogus group.

I was specifically thinking about a local county clerk who got in media trouble for ordering a new Tahoe through the city with running boards, custom wheels and oversize 20" tires, and then said the city just gave it to him. Then the reporter hauls out a copy of an email where he specifically asked for these items that added a few thousand to the cost of the vehicle. Then they asked him why he was reimbursed for gas costs 120 miles away in another city.

Locally, our city's gas costs went down substantially when the new mayor required all employees to buy their gas at a gas station where they personally sign for the gas. The prior system was a bulk pump where there was no accountability --any city employee apparently could pump gas for any reason. The city burned more gas in a town of say 7,000 than the sheriff's department burned in the whole county.

Then there is the recent USA report that federal employees are statistically more likely to die on the job than get fired.

So for every how ever many number of honest people, there are those looking to milk the system.

Government misconduct maybe gets more media attention because private employment is just that, private, but there are just so many examples of deliberate manipulation in the public sector.

Thanks for the clarification...and I know that when public employees try to rip off the system paid for with tax money, they get a lot of bad press. After I retired, my supervisor (Facilities Management Director for Michigan DHS) left three years after I did. The guy who took his place had his picture featured in a mug shot in the local news early this year, he was jailed for being accused of stealing $5400 worth of carpet time and folding chairs, he authorized the purchases on paper then picked the items up from the vendor. What a moron. His salary was 85 grand a year and he got fired and will go to prison, of course now everybody who sees the story will think state employees are crooks.

56FordGuy · Jul 24, 2011

2manyrocks said:
I was specifically thinking about a local county clerk who got in media trouble for ordering a new Tahoe through the city with running boards, custom wheels and oversize 20" tires, and then said the city just gave it to him. Then the reporter hauls out a copy of an email where he specifically asked for these items that added a few thousand to the cost of the vehicle. Then they asked him why he was reimbursed for gas costs 120 miles away in another city.

No, all that was necessary. He was helping the city have a better resale value on the Tahoe when they were done using it. :laughing: Saw that same story. I believe that employee's purchasing power has been removed, and I would guess he will soon be out of a job.

JDgreen227 · Jul 24, 2011

56FordGuy said:
No, all that was necessary. He was helping the city have a better resale value on the Tahoe when they were done using it. :laughing: Saw that same story. I believe that employee's purchasing power has been removed, and I would guess he will soon be out of a job.

May be off topic here, but IMO a clerk who orders running boards on a new truck or SUV deserves commendation. My Y2K GMC SUV came with running boards from the factory, despite being driven thru winters and on gravel roads, the OEM rocker panels still look like new, and just recently I was looking at a used 2003 GMC pickup, it had no running boards and the rocker panels were solid rust with a lot of quarter-size holes in them. The front tires on most trucks and SUV's kick up a lot of road debris that ruins the paint and gives rust a place to start. Just my opinion.