Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[Dftodd]

HVAC guy here, my box truck plus 7x16 dump trailer is 13,000 lbs. not sure how much the truck is by itself, real close to 10k. I often wonder why yet don’t pull me over, trailer doesn’t have a current plate either

No telling. They are kinda selective around here as far as who they stop when they have the safety inspections going on around here. If a companies vehicles look like a rolling trash pile and has a bad record, then they will hammer on that company. If the vehicles clean and in good shape, then they will let it slide.

For some reason, they tend to leave service vehicles and service industry vehicles alone for the most.

I've seen them focus on rigs, plus anyone with the homemade trailers that are falling apart.

Next time they will yank in landscapers. Usually that's a given unsecured load ticket. Plus getting the driver for not having a med card.

I had a hot shot driver get popped. My equipment that he was hauling had the tongue dropped to the deck so the vented fuel cap was leaking fuel. Driver would have been fine if he had leveled the unit before chaining it down.

Anyway I got tasked with running over to the inspection pull off to suck the excess fuel from the tank before they would let him leave.

I got stopped by DOT and asked to pull into the inspection pull off for an inspection. I informed the officer that I was already headed there and if he didn't mind, while he was inspecting my truck, I would pass the evac line to the driver to suck down his fuel tank so he could get on his way.

Officer realized that I knew there was a possibility of me being inspected and that I dotted my I's, and crossed my T's. He told me to not worry about getting inspected.

I told him I wanted my truck inspected He asked "why??!!!". I told him I wanted the window sticker that gave me a free pass for the weigh stations and the $100 gift card from work for a clean inspection He told me to get the guy taken care of and to get out of there

The service truck I'm in is an F550 service bed with 2 ton crane. Checked it on the scales a couple weeks ago while I was doing a service call at the local landfill. Truck weighs in just under 15,500. If I latch onto my largest towable equipment at the yard, I'm rolling down the road at 25,000lbs.

I passed this same officer on the interstate a month or so later. I was driving in a construction zone on the interstate with a flat tire on my trailer. I knew it was flat but was dragging it a couple miles down the road to a safe area to pull off and change it.

He pulled up behind me a couple minutes later to add a second set of emergency lights. Came up and gave me a hand swapping out the tire. Talked for another 10 minutes on the side of the road about cordless impacts, then I headed on my way.

He had mentioned that he had to help stranded motorists on a regular basis to change tires. He was really impressed with how much easier and faster it was with a cordless impact.

 

[two_bit_score]

Cordless impact makes all the difference in the world.

 

[4570Man]

Did anyone see the Colorado truck driver that crashed killing 4 and got sentenced to 110 years in prison? I personally think he deserves it but a lot of people feel differently. He’ll probably get out in 10 years or less anyway.

 

[aczlan]

I told him I wanted my truck inspected

He asked "why??!!!". I told him I wanted the window sticker that gave me a free pass for the weigh stations and the $100 gift card from work for a clean inspection

He told me to get the guy taken care of and to get out of there

A friend drives for a company who gives them a similar bonus for getting inspected, he got inspected and passed, then got flagged for another inspection later that day in the next state.
He said the officer was uncooperative when he mentioned that he had just been inspected a couple hours before, annoyed when he couldn't find anything and mad when my friend thanked him for the inspection and said that he gets a bonus for each passed inspection.

Aaron Z

 

[Jstpssng]

Cordless impact makes all the difference in the world.

A bit off topic, but what are people using? I hear that Milwaukee makes a real nut breaker, but I went with a Dewalt as I have several batteries. So far I haven't gotten a chance to try it out but plan to use it soon, putting my sawmill together.

 

[rademamj1]

Interesting trailer towing method.

 

[sixdogs]

Interesting trailer towing method.

View attachment 725444

Doesn't look like he has enough clearance to turn?

 

[Dftodd]

A bit off topic, but what are people using? I hear that Milwaukee makes a real nut breaker, but I went with a Dewalt as I have several batteries. So far I haven't gotten a chance to try it out but plan to use it soon, putting my sawmill together.

I have a Mac. But it's made by Dewalt. The Dewalt gun is almost identical in size and shape and identical with power. And the batteries will work in either gun. That impact has been a real workhorse..

We have had Milwaukee as well as Rigid at the shop. The Milwaukee and Rigid only lasted a couple years before developing issues. I'm on year 5 with that Mac (Dewalt made). That things used daily with heavy use loosening and tightening 3/4 and 7/8 bolts the majority of the time..

Wife and I got a couple craftsman 3/8 20vlt ratchets for the boys for Christmas. Both are mechanics. Wife asked if I wanted one. I told her yes if she can find one that's a 20vlt Dewalt. The reason being is any of my 4 Mac batteries will work in it also

 

[Xfaxman]

Interesting trailer towing method.

Doesn't look like he has enough clearance to turn?

Plenty of clearance:

This was the first one:

 

[paulfun9]

Did anyone see the Colorado truck driver that crashed killing 4 and got sentenced to 110 years in prison? I personally think he deserves it but a lot of people feel differently. He’ll probably get out in 10 years or less anyway.

Been watching some of this here.
Many different view points coming from different groups for different reasons.
Myself 110 years seems excessive dependant on some things that we can’t answer from the information we have.
For me to formulate an honest opinion I would need a lot more information and some of the questions that need asked might actually offend some people.
I train many people that English is a second or third language and there are a lot of people who rather than work at understanding, they pretend to understand for whatever reason you can imagine. Some trainers don’t bother to insure they are understood. Some trainers will forgo the need for translators or verification with a translator at the very least.
Could he actually read the road signs?
How much and what quality training did he receive?
Did the training include actual hands on exercise, including hard braking, downshifting, steep hills, hunting gears and exorcises in quick thinking and pushing the drivers nerves to see if they are able to think under pressure?

I have been handed newer drivers that were given very poor training at some very well known trucking companies. No words can describe my I’ll feelings about this training. They are not even trained properly to pass a basic skills test and I wouldn’t have considered them worthy of giving the actual skill test for thier license but here they are standing in front of me saying I have a CDL!

The last one that I worked with came to us with about 300 hours experiance and a valid CDL. During his first on road observation he was flabbergasted when I had him go down the mountain roads where he had to determine proper gearing, when to downshift and had a difficult time holding everything together. He had no true understanding of how to correct mistakes with shifting and needed to come to a complete stop almost every time he missed a shift. Yes he read about hunting gears in a book but never had to put it to practice as his first trainer couldn’t do it himself. This to me should have been clear and practiced long before he was given a basic skills test and issued a CDL.
He could barely back the truck/ trailer and was only able to perform one basic backing maneuver but understood nothing of the reasoning and theory. In simple terms he had nothing to really base things on and build from.
For the drivers out there who wonder why so many are having difficulty at the truck stops and why we instantly move our trucks when certain known carrier trucks even show a hint of issue when backing beside or near us will understand now why unless the conditions are perfect, the stars and planets aligned perfectly these new drivers will tear your mirrors off, at best and destroy your front end at worst unless you move, get out and spot them in or some act of God helps the poor soul to somehow recognize the difference between thier training and this real world situation.Simply put they were not ready to drive solo. They were however shown a few cones told practice this and you’ll get a license when you can do it correctly 2 out of ten times and one of those 2 times happens when the tester is here.

So yes it might be excessive, but it might not be and the people responsible for this could very well include the company, trainers and it certainly does include the politicians who think that the big companies who are being trusted with this driver training can be trusted to complete the task without letting profits get in the way of proper and complete training.

Myself. At night I can sleep well knowing that If my name appears at the bottom of a new drivers certification, that driver will have the tools, knowledge and be confident in handling that truck on thier own.
Otherwise they wont be getting my signature on that form! I highly doubt this guys trainer can say the same unless he is plain and simply put stone stupid or has no ethics at all.