Trees, Trees, and More Trees

[joe--h]

This above was replying to post #20, I wasn't paying attention to the date when I put it up.

Joe H

 

[Welder Dave]

Pretty cool machine.
As far as the tree removal job CM seems really happy with it.

 

[John Griffin]

This is not where I wanted to have the crane. I had a lady come into my lane head on. I moved over about 6 to 8 inches to avoid hitting her head on and the soft shoulder pulled me into the ditch. The only thing hurt was one brake chamber. So glad I didn't end up on my side and didn't kill the lady.

 

[Welder Dave]

Like isn't the right way to react to your post. The lady should have been charged with careless/reckless driving. That could have ended a lot worse. Must have been on the phone or something. How do you not see a fricken big crane! I imagine you needed a big tow truck to get out?

 

[crane operator]

Lot of water setting in that ditch. Doesn't look like much of a hard bottom to it either.

Once you get on the shoulder, if its soft, it just sucks you right in.

Top heavy like they are, you're correct to be happy its not on its side. They go over easier than one would think.

 

[John Griffin]

Like isn't the right way to react to your post. The lady should have been charged with careless/reckless driving. That could have ended a lot worse. Must have been on the phone or something. How do you not see a fricken big crane! I imagine you needed a big tow truck to get out?

So a 50 ton heavy wrecker couldn't get it out. We had to leave it overnight and come back the next day with 60 ton rotator.

I doubt she knows how lucky she is to be alive.

 

[John Griffin]

Lot of water setting in that ditch. Doesn't look like much of a hard bottom to it either.

Once you get on the shoulder, if its soft, it just sucks you right in.

Top heavy like they are, you're correct to be happy its not on its side. They go over easier than one would think.

Yeah the county had dug up the ditch several weeks prior right at the edge of the road.

 

[Welder Dave]

I'm guessing it was over a $1000 to get pulled out? I think the rotators are around $600/hr. here from when they leave the shop. Glad it didn't roll.

 

[skyking1]

I may have posted it here, but I came across a 50 ton truck on it's side on a gravel driveway coming up off the Roza Dam site. Paging @Truck Shop
The road was wide there and either he got in trouble in some fog, or looking at his phone to get the map set up. He could not have a reason like a person in oncoming traffic.

 

[Truck Shop]

I may have posted it here, but I came across a 50 ton truck on it's side on a gravel driveway coming up off the Roza Dam site. Paging @Truck Shop
The road was wide there and either he got in trouble in some fog, or looking at his phone to get the map set up. He could not have a reason like a person in oncoming traffic.

?
*
Any time a tow driver is dealing with soft ground-there is no point in over taxing the equipment.
didn't need a rotator, just two units working together. What do people think happened before
rotators cane along? I've removed loaded mixers and dumps with just two.

 

[John Griffin]

I'm guessing it was over a $1000 to get pulled out? I think the rotators are around $600/hr. here from when they leave the shop. Glad it didn't roll.

$1800. It was made much worse by the 50 ton wrecker driver dragging it forward 20 ft into a deeper part of the ditch. I wanted them to pull it backwards. I still think if they had, they would have gotten it out. The guys were kinda new and were in way over there heads. A rotator definitely made it easy. We seriously considered bringing our tms over there to recover it with but k wasn't sure I could get it to d ok what I needed with the rigging I have.

 

[skyking1]

?
*
Any time a tow driver is dealing with soft ground-there is no point in over taxing the equipment.
didn't need a rotator, just two units working together. What do people think happened before
rotators cane along? I've removed loaded mixers and dumps with just two.

you know the spot where the access road goes down to the Roza dam. It was at the top where the road is about 40' wide for making turns on and off the highway, and he just fell off the river side of it all on his own.
I was heading towards Selah and look over and see this crane belly up down the bank

 

[Welder Dave]

It seems kind of ridiculous to pull it forward into even softer ground, especially since the heavy back end only needs to come back 10 or 12 feet. Might have made it even more suseptable to rolling pulling forward more and even harder to pull once the tandems were fully in the ditch. They must have had no experience at all. They should have deducted the cost of their incompetence.

 

[skyking1]

$1800. It was made much worse by the 50 ton wrecker driver dragging it forward 20 ft into a deeper part of the ditch. I wanted them to pull it backwards. I still think if they had, they would have gotten it out. The guys were kinda new and were in way over there heads. A rotator definitely made it easy. We seriously considered bringing our tms over there to recover it with but k wasn't sure I could get it to d ok what I needed with the rigging I have.

You made the right call. There's a thread in here about a company that tried to recover their own crane and it went so bad. It was up in BC.
It's just not a proper lift. You can't figure the suction so it becomes an unknown load and a traditional crane can't take any side loading.

 

[Truck Shop]

It seems kind of ridiculous to pull it forward into even softer ground

Old School Rule of Thumb-90% of the time the wreck comes out the way it went in. No sense
continuing to plow more mud or snow. Path of least resistance.

 

[CM1995]

This is not where I wanted to have the crane. I had a lady come into my lane head on. I moved over about 6 to 8 inches to avoid hitting her head on and the soft shoulder pulled me into the ditch. The only thing hurt was one brake chamber. So glad I didn't end up on my side and didn't kill the lady.

View attachment 289094

Damn! That could've been really bad. So glad all it ended up being was a wrecker bill. I know the bill sucks but the alternative is much worse.

I had a close call like that back in 2009 in a Mack tri-axle with nothing in the bed but pulling our 55K tag trailer with a 420D IT on it driving across Lakeshore Drive over 65 in the 'ham. 4 wheeler loaded with at least 4 that I saw comes off the 65 exit ramp and doesn't even hit the breaks at the intersection.

All I could do was hit the breaks, lay on the air horn and pray as I had no where to go. The left lane was full of traffic and the intersection was full of stopped cars waiting for the light to change. By the Grace of God the driver jerked the wheel and ran the car onto the very narrow shoulder. I don't know if they hit the guardrail, all I know is I didn't kill at least 2 of them that day.

 

[John Griffin]

It seems kind of ridiculous to pull it forward into even softer ground, especially since the heavy back end only needs to come back 10 or 12 feet. Might have made it even more suseptable to rolling pulling forward more and even harder to pull once the tandems were fully in the ditch. They must have had no experience at all. They should have deducted the cost of their incompetence.

So far the first guys haven't billed me at all. I called again the other day and asked for the owner to call me. They were very embarrassed.

 

[Welder Dave]

As they should be. Even on the wrecker shows they'll often call in a 2nd truck even if it's a different company but closer to the accident.

 

[Truck Shop]

So far the first guys haven't billed me at all. I called again the other day and asked for the owner to call me. They were very embarrassed.

Should be, amateurs.

 

[John Griffin]

We were going to have a light maintenance day monday and maybe take the 4th off. Then we got a tree on an apartment building.