Dollytrolley Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 A few moons ago Vegas Teach got a hair-no-brain idea to drive the Orange-Thingy to Kansas bobtail in a blizzard.......and .......so a few folks tried to talk him out of his planned trip into white-hell.........and.....of course I chimed in in my kind and gentle manner and my mumblings seemed to strike a nerve and every week or so since Teach likes to mention that his truck driving skills has improved so much that he has NOT wrecked or run over any minivans........congrats Teach......so far ....so good. Now before Teach gets too confident about trucking........I thought I might post a pic of a bad days trucking…… In this image we have a 1954 KW laying in repose ONE-THIRD underground with the entire passenger side entombed in volcanic pumice and the cab filled 1/3 full of pumice…….hummm….bad truck day….. Please note the fat seat cushion sitting on the drivers door…….hummm…..odd place for the passengers seat cushion to be…...hummm….oh perhaps I might mention that I was setting on the passenger seat cushion when it was thrust THROUGH the opening when the passenger side windshield was pushed into the cab very shortly before I was pushed out the windshield opening by the seat cushion that was nudged along by the butt-end of a small log that pushed a foot into the cab……..hummmm…..bad truck day……. Note Grumps standing behind the cab looking down where the front drive axle…….used to be…...perhaps I might mention that when Grumps drove off onto the shoulder of the curve to avoid killing to two kids in a bug-eye-sprite on OUR LANE…….that the front drive axle torque arm sheared off when the wheels submerged two feet deep into the pumice and then the rear drive axle climbed OVER the submerged front drive axle and launched the load of logs a few feet in the air and when they landed back in the bunks they were several feet forward and one small one punched through the cab into my seat……….bad truck day Once grumps dug a few pounds of pumice out of my mouth so I could talk I said why did you drive off into the pumice when you knew we would wreck ………..he smiled and said…….real truck drivers don't run over cars…….ever….. All in all it was a bad truck day but we were fairly lucky as gypo-log-truckers go…….a few stitches where my head hit the radiator cap on the ole KW and no dead kids in the bug-eyed-sprite so it took three weeks to cobble the ole KW back together and it was good for another +2 million miles before a mud slide took it to its grave (grumps used to joke that the ole KW just loved to be underground). I suppose the lesson here is…….how many of today's truckers have decided before the wreck…...that they will NOT run over the dumb-a$$ car drivers ? ? ? ? Drive on..........(Teach owes TWO lunches for this lesson......) 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr. cob Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 4 hours ago, Dollytrolley said: A few moons ago Vegas Teach got a hair-no-brain idea to drive the Orange-Thingy to Kansas bobtail in a blizzard.......and .......so a few folks tried to talk him out of his planned trip into white-hell.........and.....of course I chimed in in my kind and gentle manner and my mumblings seemed to strike a nerve and every week or so since Teach likes to mention that his truck driving skills has improved so much that he has NOT wrecked or run over any minivans........congrats Teach......so far ....so good. Now before Teach gets too confident about trucking........I thought I might post a pic of a bad days trucking…… In this image we have a 1954 KW laying in repose ONE-THIRD underground with the entire passenger side entombed in volcanic pumice and the cab filled 1/3 full of pumice…….hummm….bad truck day….. Please note the fat seat cushion sitting on the drivers door…….hummm…..odd place for the passengers seat cushion to be…...hummm….oh perhaps I might mention that I was setting on the passenger seat cushion when it was thrust THROUGH the opening when the passenger side windshield was pushed into the cab very shortly before I was pushed out the windshield opening by the seat cushion that was nudged along by the butt-end of a small log that pushed a foot into the cab……..hummmm…..bad truck day……. Note Grumps standing behind the cab looking down where the front drive axle…….used to be…...perhaps I might mention that when Grumps drove off onto the shoulder of the curve to avoid killing to two kids in a bug-eye-sprite on OUR LANE…….that the front drive axle torque arm sheared off when the wheels submerged two feet deep into the pumice and then the rear drive axle climbed OVER the submerged front drive axle and launched the load of logs a few feet in the air and when they landed back in the bunks they were several feet forward and one small one punched through the cab into my seat……….bad truck day Once grumps dug a few pounds of pumice out of my mouth so I could talk I said why did you drive off into the pumice when you knew we would wreck ………..he smiled and said…….real truck drivers don't run over cars…….ever….. All in all it was a bad truck day but we were fairly lucky as gypo-log-truckers go…….a few stitches where my head hit the radiator cap on the ole KW and no dead kids in the bug-eyed-sprite so it took three weeks to cobble the ole KW back together and it was good for another +2 million miles before a mud slide took it to its grave (grumps used to joke that the ole KW just loved to be underground). I suppose the lesson here is…….how many of today's truckers have decided before the wreck…...that they will NOT run over the dumb-a$$ car drivers ? ? ? ? Drive on..........(Teach owes TWO lunches for this lesson......) Howdy DT, I know full well that what I am going to say will be looked upon with scorn and some will call me heartless but if someone is driving in a manner that in order to safe their stupid a$$ I would have to endanger my self and loved ones, those folks are going to pay the price of their folly. One of the main reasons I drive an HDT is for the safety it gives to me and OTHERS that said sometimes the gene pool needs to be flushed of idiots, flame away it won’t be the first time. Dave 2001 Peterbilt, 379, Known As "Semi-Sane II", towing a 2014 Voltage 3818, 45 foot long toy hauler crammed full of motorcycles of all types. Visit my photo web site where you will find thousands of photos of my motorcycle wanderings and other aspects of my life, click this link. http://mr-cob.smugmug.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronbo Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 Mr Cob that is also my view on things. Also in today’s world you will wreck your truck to avoid some idiot, and then they will leave without even checking on you. Your insurance will determine it is an at fault accident and will then rake you over the coals. If I just hit the idiots there is a good chance my home will not be damaged and I will only have to have the truck repaired/replaced vs loose everything. Also if you decide ahead of time that you will avoid the idiot at all costs, how hard will it be for you to modify that at the last minute when you have a gaurd rail beside you that you will be depending on to keep you from going down the canyon. Ron C. 2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3 2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted October 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 Dave, good morning.....points well made.... I am sure in your younger years you never strayed over the centerline while riding you crotch-rocket or trying out a 1912 Willy's with a blown Hemi on a highway late at night or.....or....however at times ......I..... Yes, me.....in my misspent-youth did Sometimes inhabit the scum-layer-of-the gene-pool..... Now 59 YEARS later I can still see that knock-out-gorgious blond girl in the passenger seat with the guys right hand not on the wheel and I was thinking on no I wonder how dead the blonde will be after the ole KW makes her paper thin...... Dave guess we were lucky kids at times ...... sorta.....lot of old geezer-truckers would take the ditch or worse back then........but times change...... sometimes for better...... or.....for worse...... Likely bad times to be blonde riding in a bug-eyed-sprite with love struck teen guy...... Drive on......(teens can sometimes drive into the wrong end of the gene-pool....) 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 Being human, it's hard to predict which I'll yank the wheel in a bad spot. My instinct not to harm others is strong, but so is self preservation. We can rant and pontificate until the cows come home, but until the dust clears, we really don't know how we'll react. KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio@yahoo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr. cob Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 3 hours ago, Dollytrolley said: Dave, good morning.....points well made.... I am sure in your younger years you never strayed over the centerline while riding you crotch-rocket or trying out a 1912 Willy's with a blown Hemi on a highway late at night or.....or....however at times ......I..... Yes, me.....in my misspent-youth did Sometimes inhabit the scum-layer-of-the gene-pool..... Now 59 YEARS later I can still see that knock-out-gorgious blond girl in the passenger seat with the guys right hand not on the wheel and I was thinking on no I wonder how dead the blonde will be after the ole KW makes her paper thin...... Dave guess we were lucky kids at times ...... sorta.....lot of old geezer-truckers would take the ditch or worse back then........but times change...... sometimes for better...... or.....for worse...... Likely bad times to be blonde riding in a bug-eyed-sprite with love struck teen guy...... Drive on......(teens can sometimes drive into the wrong end of the gene-pool....) Howdy DT, I can only speak for myself and will admit to doing some very stupid things when younger, but if someone had in an attempt to save me endangered themselves or their loved ones doing so would have made the situation worse had they been harmed in any way. Personal responsibility is a concept that seems to be out of favor nowadays, if one is to take chances should they not be expected to live or die as a conciquence of those actions? I was raised with the understanding that if your going to be stupid you had better to be tough and not to blame others for the misfortune your own actions may bring upon you. I understand and accept that the way I was raised, the country I was raised in no longer exists but I refuse to compromise core values of defending myself and those I love so that idiots such as I once might have been can cut short the life of innocent others. Dave 2001 Peterbilt, 379, Known As "Semi-Sane II", towing a 2014 Voltage 3818, 45 foot long toy hauler crammed full of motorcycles of all types. Visit my photo web site where you will find thousands of photos of my motorcycle wanderings and other aspects of my life, click this link. http://mr-cob.smugmug.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Striper Posted October 29, 2018 Report Share Posted October 29, 2018 4 hours ago, mr. cob said: Howdy DT, I can only speak for myself and will admit to doing some very stupid things when younger, but if someone had in an attempt to save me endangered themselves or their loved ones doing so would have made the situation worse had they been harmed in any way. Personal responsibility is a concept that seems to be out of favor nowadays, if one is to take chances should they not be expected to live or die as a conciquence of those actions? I was raised with the understanding that if your going to be stupid you had better to be tough and not to blame others for the misfortune your own actions may bring upon you. I understand and accept that the way I was raised, the country I was raised in no longer exists but I refuse to compromise core values of defending myself and those I love so that idiots such as I once might have been can cut short the life of innocent others. Dave Dave, All I can add to that is this, AMEN BROTHER BEN. Having driven a Highway Striper for well over 30 years, I can't begin to count the stupid things I have seen on the roads. That said, while I have NO desire to see someone else get hurt, I will act in a manner that protects me and mine first. FLAME ON if you like. Joe Joe The "Doghouse" 04 Tiffin Phaeton 40TGH TOAD--2008 Dodge Dakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted October 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2018 14 hours ago, rickeieio said: Being human, it's hard to predict which I'll yank the wheel in a bad spot. My instinct not to harm others is strong, but so is self preservation. We can rant and pontificate until the cows come home, but until the dust clears, we really don't know how we'll react. Rick leave it to a farmer to sift through the chaff to find the grain of truth..... For all we harp about safety with our HDT RV units we seem to seldom consider the fact that almost everyone outside of our tiny corner of the RV world ASSUMES that we all have CDL's and we are professional truck drivers and as professional truck drivers that we HAVE to operate under the much stricter DOT motor carrier's regulations...... Many years ago I was deposed by a heavyweight accident lawfirm regarding a safety device that was installed on a vehicle involved in a fatal accident with a HDT driven by a fellow that was CDL exempt (farm). I knew the heavyweight lawyer that deposed me very well and just after I was deposed the accident case was settled out of court. In a technical sense the truck driver was well within almost all of the rules and regulations but HDT's are held to higher standards of operations by many folks and that goes triple for jury trials...... At the end of the day in a PERFECT world the truck driver was within his rights but he could of done more to avoid the accident so potential looming criminal charges and a very dangerous jury trial was avoided by a seven figure settlement and the revoked for life driving privledges seemed better than rooming with a guy named Buba for five years in a 6 x 10 cell...... I commented to the lawyer that's a bum wrap ........he replied "that may be your view but in the less-than-perfect-world we drive in we need to be near perfect when driving big trucks".........gulp..... Drive on.......(are you feeling......perfect today.....) On 10/27/2018 at 10:30 AM, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said: 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alie&Jim's Carrilite Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 On 10/28/2018 at 11:45 AM, Dollytrolley said: Dave, good morning.....points well made.... I am sure in your younger years you never strayed over the centerline while riding you crotch-rocket or trying out a 1912 Willy's with a blown Hemi on a highway late at night or.....or....however at times ......I..... Yes, me.....in my misspent-youth did Sometimes inhabit the scum-layer-of-the gene-pool..... Now 59 YEARS later I can still see that knock-out-gorgious blond girl in the passenger seat with the guys right hand not on the wheel and I was thinking on no I wonder how dead the blonde will be after the ole KW makes her paper thin...... Dave guess we were lucky kids at times ...... sorta.....lot of old geezer-truckers would take the ditch or worse back then........but times change...... sometimes for better...... or.....for worse...... Likely bad times to be blonde riding in a bug-eyed-sprite with love struck teen guy...... Drive on......(teens can sometimes drive into the wrong end of the gene-pool....) Always have an out…. If everybody can remember what a Datsun B210 looked like, here’s the low down…. Driving on a narrow North Carolina county road, paved 7’wide lane with a small shoulder and a ditch most would consider a canal…… came around a corner at 55mph, little car singing as hard as it could…. And a Great Dane is in my lane. On the opposite side is a house and yard with maybe 25’ of space between it and the road. Kids playing in the yard. Bad news was the loaded North Carolina style logging truck coming my direction. For those that don’t know, most are 80,000lbs and 80’ of loose logs with a chain or 2 around them. I turn to the wheel to the right, the truck blows his horns, the dog jumps backward further into my lane, now my path to the canal. I clip the rear of the dog which pushes the car further towards the ditch and then the broken tie rod allows the car to veer into the ditch rolling over as it does. Did I mention it was a black and white Great Dane? Did I say the ditch was dry? Thank god it was… Because upside down it seemed a long way to the bottom….. I stop sliding, glass and crap everywhere, fall out of the seatbelt, and a hand reaches down and hauls me out of the canal. The truck driver pulls me out sits me down and starts wiping the blood out of my face when a smell hit’s me…. I look at him, he looks at me and he bluntly states that that scared the crap out of him literally….. Homeowner had to come put the dog down, kids saw a horrific crash that killed their pet, but the truck driver didn’t ditch his truck making a deadlier scene…. Insurance bought me a Mazda GLC…. Always, leave yourself an out… You may not like it, but you’ll live…. Jim's Adventures Old Spacecraft.... Who knows whats next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted October 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 On 10/28/2018 at 9:05 AM, mr. cob said: Howdy DT, I know full well that what I am going to say will be looked upon with scorn and some will call me heartless but if someone is driving in a manner that in order to safe their stupid a$$ I would have to endanger my self and loved ones, those folks are going to pay the price of their folly. One of the main reasons I drive an HDT is for the safety it gives to me and OTHERS that said sometimes the gene pool needs to be flushed of idiots, flame away it won’t be the first time. Dave On 10/28/2018 at 6:21 PM, Striper said: Dave, All I can add to that is this, AMEN BROTHER BEN. Having driven a Highway Striper for well over 30 years, I can't begin to count the stupid things I have seen on the roads. That said, while I have NO desire to see someone else get hurt, I will act in a manner that protects me and mine first. FLAME ON if you like. Joe On 10/28/2018 at 2:06 PM, mr. cob said: Howdy DT, I can only speak for myself and will admit to doing some very stupid things when younger, but if someone had in an attempt to save me endangered themselves or their loved ones doing so would have made the situation worse had they been harmed in any way. Personal responsibility is a concept that seems to be out of favor nowadays, if one is to take chances should they not be expected to live or die as a conciquence of those actions? I was raised with the understanding that if your going to be stupid you had better to be tough and not to blame others for the misfortune your own actions may bring upon you. I understand and accept that the way I was raised, the country I was raised in no longer exists but I refuse to compromise core values of defending myself and those I love so that idiots such as I once might have been can cut short the life of innocent others. Dave On 10/28/2018 at 9:13 AM, Ronbo said: Mr Cob that is also my view on things. Also in today’s world you will wreck your truck to avoid some idiot, and then they will leave without even checking on you. Your insurance will determine it is an at fault accident and will then rake you over the coals. If I just hit the idiots there is a good chance my home will not be damaged and I will only have to have the truck repaired/replaced vs loose everything. Also if you decide ahead of time that you will avoid the idiot at all costs, how hard will it be for you to modify that at the last minute when you have a gaurd rail beside you that you will be depending on to keep you from going down the canyon. Once in a while I post a thread here and it seems that I hit nerves that perhaps never existed when I was younger and it seems like Dave alludes to, perhaps I have not kept up with the current "thinking" regarding moving around in heavy machines. It's very likely that when I was "ejected" out where the windshield was in the old KW that the bump on my thick skull has "tainted" my Outlook on heavy trucks and other large moving objects. For the most part the rules, regulations, AND TRAINING regarding the operation of large transportation machines is fairly intensely evolved EXCEPT HDT RV ops........ Sometimes I pinch myself to realize that I have a old Feightshaker that I tote a couple trailers around for..... Recreation......Grumps would be Dumbstruck.......he considered trucking a very serious endeavor and in no way related to any form Recreation..... In the logging game kids were expected often to fold into the logging gig starting at about 16. By the time I was 16 I had with my own eyes seen TWO young guys killed logging and held a 18 year old guys crushed head in the back of a pickup as it raced to the hospital and the guy spent the next 52 years frozen at age 5........ By age 17 Grumps had concluded that I was not a good enough driver to drive heavy trucks so I was downgraded to learn fly and test various aircraft for a few decades, except for a few times flying is a pretty easy job. When I started this posted the image of the old KW wrecked I had hoped to show a bad day trucking but a fairly good day logging.....ayny day logging without anyone being killed is about the best you can hope for. I was pretty ticked off at first when the dust settled that Grumps chose to roll in the ditch instead of holding "our" lane and just killing the two kids......killing the TWO KIDS...... Dave, Ron, Striper, and plenty of others indicate that like me as a kid we would hold our rightfully given lane and kill the kids......but....but over the years I have mellowed (gotten soft-headed) and come around to see things a. Bit more like Grumps........sorta.....Grumps was fairly at peace with the wreck of the old KW that day......no one was killed or injured badly and the old KW was hailing logs three weeks later. In the aircraft game things get real serious at 12,500 lbs and above since for the most part it takes two pilots to fly and a "type-rating" in the aircraft being flown..... In marine operations you have MANY types of licenses once boats get very big. In the commercial flying game pilots are trained and trained, trained, trained and recurrent-trained never ending in emergency operations do that HOPEFULLY when thing go wrong the pilot will not just take some knee jerk reaction and hope things get better.... A few months ago a guy I used to fly with sent me a email that indicated that the labor department listed the three most deadly jobs were .....#1 was Logging.......#2  were tied with commercial fishing or being a pilot.... I was amazed pilot was listed so high up the list but then Jerry reminded me of all the dumb things do before we get enough training to get humble and safe. Not sure that this is my best thread..... Drive on.......(keep your wits....) 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr. cob Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 Howdy DT, As one of the other posters to this thread has already said, we don’t know for sure how we will react to any given situation until we are faced with it, and how we reacted to any situation in the past does not garrantte how we will react given the same circumstances in the future. We all have a set of values or standards of conduct that we try to live by and if we are honest judge others by. The values we hold and how we conduct ourselves are instilled into us by our parents, our society, our education and for many of us the training we have received by the military or in order to do our jobs. I would add that our life experience will also greatly determine how we will react especially in circumstances of stress and danger,. I am sorry that you had to experience at a young age the death of others, it is not what I would wish for anyone. In that vain I too not only held young men as they died from horrible wounds but saw this day after day for the two tours I spent in a senseless war where over 50,000 of our youth were slaughtered for NOTHING. Life, my life what’s left of it, the life’s of those I love will always take presidence over those who are to stupid to realize how short and precious it is. I have killed to many times for reasons I was trained to believe in and have come to doubt and live with the consequences daily, if I have to make such a God awful choice again to protect the ones I love I will do what is nessary and will sleep easy, I wish such were the case now. And with that I am done with this thread there are some I should not ever reply to. Dave 2001 Peterbilt, 379, Known As "Semi-Sane II", towing a 2014 Voltage 3818, 45 foot long toy hauler crammed full of motorcycles of all types. Visit my photo web site where you will find thousands of photos of my motorcycle wanderings and other aspects of my life, click this link. http://mr-cob.smugmug.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 4 hours ago, mr. cob said: I have killed to many times for reasons I was trained to believe in and have come to doubt and live with the consequences daily, I have a brother-in-law, also named Dave, (Army Ranger) who was in the first wave to go there as well. He doesn't say much about it........ Thank you for your service. KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio@yahoo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERO Maker Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 Dave, I agree. You probably shouldn't respond to this thread anymore. You have paid your dues and a lot is owed you, and I too thank you for your service. Rocky & Sheri Rhoades '01 Volvo 770 2016 DRV Mobile Suites, HoustonHERO Makers Ministry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactus Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 1 hour ago, HERO Maker said: You have paid your dues and a lot is owed you, and I too thank you for your service. X2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted October 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 Well when I started this post about the old KW wreck, I posed the question .........how many of today's truckers have decided before the wreck…...that they will NOT run over the dumb-a$$ car drivers ? ? ? ? It seems that with the small sample of answers from the RV HDT owners commenting to this thread, that indeed times have changed from the avoid-cars days of Grumps time, and that indeed as Dave said ......"I understand and accept that the way I was raised, the country I was raised in no longer exists" Obviously Recreational Trucking is a new pastime and I suppose with use of heavy trucks by mostly non-professional drivers that indeed a different outlook on operation of trucks has evolved over time. The motor carrier regulations have very strict regulations and fairly draconian penalties for violations of these regulations.......many of these regulations are the results lessons learned from tragic accidents in the past. The HDT RV operations for the most part are exempt from motor carrier regulations so I suppose time will tell how this will work out. Perhaps I have been driving the ole Dollytrolley in the ...........past..... Drive on...........(I have gained a ......"new".....outlook from this thread.....) 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertMiner Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 DT I’m with ya.... tell it like it is! Gramps was right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenandjon Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 I just ordered a dash cam. Ive had too many close calls. It seems like more now than ever. A couple weeks ago I was in my Peterbilt work truck. I came to a curve in the road. I seen a dirty cattle trailer pulled by a dirty gray truck. What I didnt see was the dirty gray car passing the truck as I entered the curve. I didn't have time to do anything. The flash of time it took my brain to comprehend the danger that car jerked the wheel and got in front of the other truck. Yea I will jerk the wheel to avoid someone but sometimes you only have fraction of a split second to react. I will sacrifice myself to save a bunch of kids but If I have my family in the hdt what would I do? I have MY kids along. Lets hope none of us ever have to make that split second decision. Farmer, Trucker, Equipment operator, Mechanic Quando omni flunkus moritati-When all else fails, play dead I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance A Lott Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 As a school bus driver I have a slightly different perspective as to my responsibility to other drivers. Our training is very accident avoidance heavy, then impact limiting, but always cargo protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moresmoke Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 11 hours ago, Dollytrolley said: Obviously Recreational Trucking is a new pastime and I suppose with use of heavy trucks by mostly non-professional drivers that indeed a different outlook on operation of trucks has evolved over time. Many of the commercial trucks today are not driven by “professional” drivers. Unfortunately, I have been through enough to know that drivers are not held to a higher standard due to being professional. They are held to a higher standard due to larger insurance policies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noteven Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 I still have the 8 axles gasoline tanker driver’s (from an earlier career) aversion to leaving the road at speed... I have the motorcycle rider’s aversion to collisions of any kind. Riding tunes one’s awareness in all types of vehicles. Head on is nasty decision situation. The bigger and clumsier your vehicle the fewer options you have for avoidance. And when you do avoid a large vehicle has a habit of wanting to flop over and make a scene. You folks wear your seatbelts and don’t add unnecessary heavy stuff and secure the heavy stuff in your “condo” 8 ft wide cab/sleepers, right? When The Big Trucks flop or roll that first trip out of the seat to the far side of the cab when it hits the ground can hurt you or someone you land on. And then the full chest fridge freezer cause it’s a motorhome piles on for good measure. And insult to injury if the chitter gets loose and careens around .... Be aware, don’t be distracted, know your air brake take up distance at 55 vs 75... I know you have all that power and automated shifting... but don’t speed uphill on 2 lanes - damnphool passing attempts are coming your way... Yellow/black speed signs on blind corners mean something for heavy vehicle... I wonder what... OW! I just fell off my milk crate...! Safe travels When in doubt make space for yerself "Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sclord2002 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 I just realized one reason I like this forum so much........People can disagree without becoming too disagreable. I can see both sides to this discussion and don't really know what I would do under certain circumstances untill I'm faced with them. I am also a survivor of 2 tours in Vietnam and don't want to see any more carnage if I can help it. I also kinda know what DollyTrolley is saying. I love his "Grumps" tales and read them all. I also know where Mr. Cobb is coming from. I just pray that I never have to make a decision like that and that if I do, I will make the right one. Kudos to folks who can disagree and then agree to disagree. Charlie Don't ever tell a soldier that he doesn't understand the cost of war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray,IN Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 I'm not a truck driver, have driven a few. Many years ago near my house, a woman ran off the road to avoid hitting a dog standing in the road. She avoided the dog, hit a tree, which totaled her car, put her in the hospital; and killed her daughter. That totally changed my view about swerving off the road to avoid an accident. 2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyretired Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 A few years ago my DW and I were driving our car along a narrow mostly curvy mountain road. As we came around a corner there was a straightaway ahead but in the distance I saw a car coming at us, in my lane. I slowed down to maybe 10 mph but the car continued at us at a high rate of speed. There was nowhere to go as the road shoulders dropped off. At the last second I swerved into the oncoming lane and the car passed us in our lane. The driver had his head laying against the window, obviously drunk and oblivious. To this day I think about this and wonder what made me decide to take his lane. Doing so probably saved lives but when thinking about it I am not sure if switching lanes would seem like the best response. I wouldn't think I would do that normally but I did. You never know how you will react until it happens. Randy 2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted November 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 6 hours ago, sclord2002 said: I just realized one reason I like this forum so much........People can disagree without becoming too disagreable. I can see both sides to this discussion and don't really know what I would do under certain circumstances untill I'm faced with them. I am also a survivor of 2 tours in Vietnam and don't want to see any more carnage if I can help it. I also kinda know what DollyTrolley is saying. I love his "Grumps" tales and read them all. I also know where Mr. Cobb is coming from. I just pray that I never have to make a decision like that and that if I do, I will make the right one. Kudos to folks who can disagree and then agree to disagree. Charlie Thanks Charlie for your kind and thoughtful insights....... When Dollymamma dropped the old faded photo of the old KW laying wrecked in the pumice I must say that the vivid replay in my somewhat foggy memory came back in a flash including the taste of the darn pumice in my mouth. Dave (Mr. Cobb) has also some distant memories that are grim that has rightfully scared him in ways that only those that have been there could likely ever really relate to. Folks with grim memories tend to handle those events in many different ways and rightfully so.....I am truly sorry that this thread seems to have awakened some of Daves "ghosts" from the grim past life. Some folks comment once in a while that perhaps I might have had ......"some interesting life-experiences"........maybe so however I just like to think that often life can be a curvey, steep, bumpy, trail with a few cliffs along the way and sometimes falling off the cliffs can be pretty darn grim. Perhaps looking back on my life's "trails" I have had a "interesting-journey" at times and some fairly grim events have occurred along the way.......... For the most part I have handled the Grim-events of my "journey" in two way......... First way I handle "grim" is to often just flush it out in the open and share the "grim-journey" in hopes that others may study and HOPEFULLY find the "trail" around the "cliff" that often proceeds the grim events that I relate to.........trust me, this is not a Dollytrolley original idea......... As I came more and more immersed in the flying game I arrived at a point where I was subjected to mandatory-recurrent-training usually ever six months or whenever I would need to operate additional new-to-me aircraft makes and models that required type-training..........often part of this training was fairly detailed of landmark accidents that have been pertinent to the aircraft I was training.........often in aviation safety is paid for with the lives of folks that met a grim ending but by studying these events HOPEFULLY other folks will not need to experience the grim events in the future. In my aviation-life-journey I became involved in a few aviation products that were fairly "specialized" in many ways and sometimes when a aircraft was lost in a accident with one of these products installed I was often chosen as a "party-of-interest" to assist in formal accident investigations of these grim events..........these grim accidents were always tragic.......always..... however IF something could be found in the investigation that could be used to prevent future accidents it was always worth the grim task of filtering through the carnage. You see folks here is the rub with this thread..........for the most part when Dollymamma dropped the old faded photo of the old KW laying on it's side I simply "thought" that posting the image and story might be just a bit of old truck history that might be enjoyed by some folks and of course I could jab Vegas Teacher in the ribs a bit......... Perhaps where I error-ed is when I posted the question: how many of today's truckers have decided before the wreck…...that they will NOT run over the dumb-a$$ car drivers ? ? ? ? In hindsight it might be best that I not framed that question as i did...........BUT I did so you see thats how accidents do happen........however Perhaps.....perhaps.........maybe the range of comments might be food for thought and just maybe some folks might consider lowering their risk-profile and perhaps redouble safe operations of the beasts we call HDT's. THE SECOND WAY I handle some certain "Grim-events" is..........I NEVER, EVER say or write about these events to ANYONE, EVER as far as I know no one living could ever benefit in any way from these events and while these are scared into my memory I chose to know that most of these events often started with noble ideals but were often highly flawed and horribly executed........some history is best not repeated........ever. Now perhaps to end this post on a more positive note I would recall what Grumps thoughts were about the old KW wreck....... Grumps was fairly at peace with the wreck of the old KW that day......no one was killed or injured badly and the old KW was hailing logs three weeks later. Dave wisely stated that the world is a different world today so a snot-nose-kid flying out of a log truck windshield would likely land Grumps in jail these days but you know those were "different-times" and folks in town were pretty darn happy that only the KW suffered major damage and of course everyone that knew me that as long as I landed on my thick scull I would likely be OK......You see logging has always been a dangerous and hard scrabble game with a LOT of grim events along the way so you see to folks from afar the old KW laying on its side might be a wreck but in the logging game if no was hurt or killed it was not too bad since trucks are not lives lost. Sure I could have been killed, but I was not, so now I have a lot of respect for how hard these HDT rigs hit the ground, and IF my story helps some folks reconsider their operations to a more safe conditions my "experience" is well worth a mouth full of pumice ........ Drive on.........(IF........the truck starts to roll over.......close your mouth) 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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