- Joined
- Jan 16, 2020
- Messages
- 8
This past week at work was rough. Very busy, and nothing seemed to go right all week, but I realized that I do have some things to be thankful for!
For those of you who don't know me, I drive truck and operate heavy equipment for a company that recycles tires. It is an interesting job with plenty of variety, but like any job, it does have its pitfalls.
Tuesday morning I loaded six tires at one of the taconite mines in northern Minnesota. These were good sized, but not the biggest ones I handle. These were twelve feet in diameter and weighed approximately 7500 pounds each. I got them all strapped down, put on my oversize load signs and red flags, turned on the flashing lights and set out toward Minneapolis. Due to road construction on I-35 I was not allowed to take the normal route but instead had to take a different route on quite a few two lane roads that also added fifty miles to my trip.
Trouble reared its head within the first hour in the form of a black bear that came running across the road. I saw him coming in the corner of my eye but there was nothing I could do. He came across in front of me and disappeared in front of the hood, but there was no thump, no noise whatsoever. I missed him, which was a good thing! I could hardly believe it, but thought it best to stop and take a look, just in case. Sure enough, my red flag on the right side of the bumper was broken off, but luckily he only got a spanking with a stick instead of getting hit with the bumper. I replaced the flag with one of my spares and headed my merry way.
I made a brief stop for a sandwich at a fuel stop/convenience store, checked all of my straps, and headed south once again. About an hour later a whitetail deer committed suicide in the usual way by darting out into my path of travel. She was not so lucky as the bear. Instead, she became pressed venison in very short order. Yup, I felt her go under all the wheels on the right side. Stopped to check on the damage, figuring my oversize sign and everything would be gone, but not so. The sign was intact and in place, and the new red flag, installed just a couple of hours earlier, had a cracked wooden shaft, but it was still in place. The bumper was pushed back, but luckily not so far that I could not drive without it rubbing on the right steer tire, so I placed a call to the safety department, took photos, and headed south once more.
My route took me through a number of suburbs of Minneapolis, including some distance on a four lane divided highway with signal lights every mile or so. In addition to red flags on the four corners of the vehicle, I am required to attach flags to the widest parts of the load as well. For those I use flags that have eyelets in them and are not attached to sticks. To attach the flags to the large tires is quite simple, I use an electric drill to drive a #10 machine screw with a washer through a couple of the grommets in the flag, and into the tire. This method of attachment is time tested and is nearly fool proof. So while sitting stopped at a red light, along comes a young fellow on a motorcycle, with his girlfriend on the back, and he decides to grab her a "prize". He reaches out, grabs a flag and yanks on it, but it is firmly attached. So he yanks harder and manages to pull himself off balance, tipping the bike and his girlfriend to the ground. In the process the windshield on his bike hits the tire that the flag is mounted to and breaks the windshield, now I am involved in a traffic accident. The cops come and do their thing, everybody is okay, and after another wasted hour or so, I am on my way once again.
I arrive in our yard without further incident and set about the task of removing all of the flags, straps, etc., and getting unloaded. Easily done with an excavator with a scrap metal shear on it, just grab the tire by the bead, pinch down on it, and pick it up. Keep in mind that you cannot 'feel' how hard you are pinching the bead of the tire. Pinch too hard, and you cut it, dropping the tire. Pinch too soft, and the tire slips out of the grip of the shear. Usually not a big deal. There were three stacks of two tires on the trailer. I took the first two tires off and set them on the ground, then started on the second stack. I grabbed the top tire by the bead, lifted gently to be sure I had it gripped firmly, then lifted it clear of the bottom tire. At that point is slipped out of the grip of the shear, bounced off of the tire under it, then fell my way, landing on the ground standing up between the excavator and the truck. The top of the tire kept coming and smashed into the front of the cab, popping the windows out without breaking any of them, but crushing both of the cab's front corner posts. Luckily, the cab did its job and I walked away without a scratch, though I must admit that a chunk of the seat is now missing, the pucker factor was extremely high during this event! Notified management, and safety, and had to wait for everyone that was important to come out and look at what had happened. After all the hoopla, I was able to finish unloading and prepare to head back north to get another load on Wednesday morning.
Considering the way my day had gone, I briefly considered going home, but I knew that I had to be back at my customer first thing the next morning, so heading back up to the mine was my only option. Luckily the trip was uneventful until I was about an hour from my destination. It was starting to get dark, so I turned on the lights only to hear a circuit breaker pop. A quick look in the mirror revealed that I had no lights on the trailer. I pulled off at a rest area just a couple of miles further up the road, and started looking for the problem. The deer I had hit earlier in the day managed to mess up a few wires at one of the side marker lamps, and the wires were easily repaired in a few minutes time. Once more, I was able to get on my way. Instead, I gave up. I was not going to tempt fate any further. Called it a day and flopped down in the bunk, falling asleep almost instantly.
The next day was quiet and uneventful. Everything went like clockwork. No problems, no unexpected delays, no surprises. It is hard to imagine how two days of doing the exact same thing can be so different!
Oh, and yes, I do know that I have many things to be thankful for!
For those of you who don't know me, I drive truck and operate heavy equipment for a company that recycles tires. It is an interesting job with plenty of variety, but like any job, it does have its pitfalls.
Tuesday morning I loaded six tires at one of the taconite mines in northern Minnesota. These were good sized, but not the biggest ones I handle. These were twelve feet in diameter and weighed approximately 7500 pounds each. I got them all strapped down, put on my oversize load signs and red flags, turned on the flashing lights and set out toward Minneapolis. Due to road construction on I-35 I was not allowed to take the normal route but instead had to take a different route on quite a few two lane roads that also added fifty miles to my trip.
Trouble reared its head within the first hour in the form of a black bear that came running across the road. I saw him coming in the corner of my eye but there was nothing I could do. He came across in front of me and disappeared in front of the hood, but there was no thump, no noise whatsoever. I missed him, which was a good thing! I could hardly believe it, but thought it best to stop and take a look, just in case. Sure enough, my red flag on the right side of the bumper was broken off, but luckily he only got a spanking with a stick instead of getting hit with the bumper. I replaced the flag with one of my spares and headed my merry way.
I made a brief stop for a sandwich at a fuel stop/convenience store, checked all of my straps, and headed south once again. About an hour later a whitetail deer committed suicide in the usual way by darting out into my path of travel. She was not so lucky as the bear. Instead, she became pressed venison in very short order. Yup, I felt her go under all the wheels on the right side. Stopped to check on the damage, figuring my oversize sign and everything would be gone, but not so. The sign was intact and in place, and the new red flag, installed just a couple of hours earlier, had a cracked wooden shaft, but it was still in place. The bumper was pushed back, but luckily not so far that I could not drive without it rubbing on the right steer tire, so I placed a call to the safety department, took photos, and headed south once more.
My route took me through a number of suburbs of Minneapolis, including some distance on a four lane divided highway with signal lights every mile or so. In addition to red flags on the four corners of the vehicle, I am required to attach flags to the widest parts of the load as well. For those I use flags that have eyelets in them and are not attached to sticks. To attach the flags to the large tires is quite simple, I use an electric drill to drive a #10 machine screw with a washer through a couple of the grommets in the flag, and into the tire. This method of attachment is time tested and is nearly fool proof. So while sitting stopped at a red light, along comes a young fellow on a motorcycle, with his girlfriend on the back, and he decides to grab her a "prize". He reaches out, grabs a flag and yanks on it, but it is firmly attached. So he yanks harder and manages to pull himself off balance, tipping the bike and his girlfriend to the ground. In the process the windshield on his bike hits the tire that the flag is mounted to and breaks the windshield, now I am involved in a traffic accident. The cops come and do their thing, everybody is okay, and after another wasted hour or so, I am on my way once again.
I arrive in our yard without further incident and set about the task of removing all of the flags, straps, etc., and getting unloaded. Easily done with an excavator with a scrap metal shear on it, just grab the tire by the bead, pinch down on it, and pick it up. Keep in mind that you cannot 'feel' how hard you are pinching the bead of the tire. Pinch too hard, and you cut it, dropping the tire. Pinch too soft, and the tire slips out of the grip of the shear. Usually not a big deal. There were three stacks of two tires on the trailer. I took the first two tires off and set them on the ground, then started on the second stack. I grabbed the top tire by the bead, lifted gently to be sure I had it gripped firmly, then lifted it clear of the bottom tire. At that point is slipped out of the grip of the shear, bounced off of the tire under it, then fell my way, landing on the ground standing up between the excavator and the truck. The top of the tire kept coming and smashed into the front of the cab, popping the windows out without breaking any of them, but crushing both of the cab's front corner posts. Luckily, the cab did its job and I walked away without a scratch, though I must admit that a chunk of the seat is now missing, the pucker factor was extremely high during this event! Notified management, and safety, and had to wait for everyone that was important to come out and look at what had happened. After all the hoopla, I was able to finish unloading and prepare to head back north to get another load on Wednesday morning.
Considering the way my day had gone, I briefly considered going home, but I knew that I had to be back at my customer first thing the next morning, so heading back up to the mine was my only option. Luckily the trip was uneventful until I was about an hour from my destination. It was starting to get dark, so I turned on the lights only to hear a circuit breaker pop. A quick look in the mirror revealed that I had no lights on the trailer. I pulled off at a rest area just a couple of miles further up the road, and started looking for the problem. The deer I had hit earlier in the day managed to mess up a few wires at one of the side marker lamps, and the wires were easily repaired in a few minutes time. Once more, I was able to get on my way. Instead, I gave up. I was not going to tempt fate any further. Called it a day and flopped down in the bunk, falling asleep almost instantly.
The next day was quiet and uneventful. Everything went like clockwork. No problems, no unexpected delays, no surprises. It is hard to imagine how two days of doing the exact same thing can be so different!
Oh, and yes, I do know that I have many things to be thankful for!
) So I know when to fight and when to walk away.
