bad start to the year, truck meets tree

[amberwood]

evening all. An event that I was faced with last week, just got around to posting.

I was taking the last load off a job, a job that had taken far too long and we were all very pleased to be finished with. There is a small 2 building town wih a 60km/hr zone, 80k each side. There is a chicane in the road as you approach, the road is in a cutting and barely 2 lanes wide. I cannot go faster than 50 without fear of putting myself over. Last thing you want is 25t of log sprayed all over the road. I come around the second blind corner to find a car sharing my lane. All I can do is think thin and move over to the left as far as i can with LH wheels in the gravel whilst trying to make a RH sweeping turn. Not ideal. It is at this time that I discover that the top off the pins are taller that the lowest tree at that point.






Cost, one shattered bolster end, and two bent pins. Those pins are recycled drill pipe, must be 20mm thick 63mm tube.  No way are they going to straighten.

[Magicman]

Thankfull, you did not loose your load.

[Jeff]

You can get it pretty straight. We've straightened a lot of log bunks over the years.  Hook a chain and come-along near the top of the bent bunk and hook the other end to one of the other pipes in the direction you need to draw.  Use lots and lots of heat and then start drawing it back then welder up when its close enough for who its for.

[amberwood]

Jeff. The shattered end we straightened out OK, just chained the top of the pin to the wheel loader and dragged it back until it ws good. Need to take it off the truck now and reweld the seams that split. The bent pins, mabe later lots of heat and another go with the loader.

DTR

[isawlogs]

Glad you where able to think quick and avoid hitting the car ,    That coud have made a real mess.

[sandman2234]

I had something similar with my job. One of the customers I deliver to had blocked off a section of road with cones at a corner. I was trying to get around the cones and got over to the edge of the road and a low hanging limb that cleared the cab didn't clear the front edge of the trailer. (it had been hit numerous times before by the scrape marks) It broke almost free and was hanging between the trailer and the back of the cab. Safety and the bank weren't happy and somebody called the police, so that will probably show up on my MVR. No ticket issued for hitting an inmovable object, but it did some serious damage to the front of the trailer. I can just imagine if I had been moving fast as you probably were, or if I hadn't been paying attention and missed the "bump" of the limb on the trailer. I had to disconnect the tractor from the trailer until they could cut the limb down. (about a 10" diameter oak limb)
   Things happen, glad you weren't hurt!
   David from jax