VIDEO: Semi loses oversize beam

Interesting. As I said earlier I have never pulled a steerable but when I've had two cars the chase car takes the inside lane to block traffic and the lead car stays up front...be doesn't position himself exactly in the spot where where my trailer axles want to off track.

Can the steer man not take the inside lane and block traffic? I thought that's what he was doing. Maybe I need to watch it again but it looked to me like the steer man was probably making sure he didn't run into the lead car instead of watching the trailer.

EDIT: OK I watched it again and I still don't know what the lead car (pickup truck) was doing except getting in the way but maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

It looked to me that he was blocking traffic from coming through an intersection since they had to wait until the yellow to make their turn which is exactly where he should have been. Anyway a properly working steerable won't have near the off track that a regular stretch will have.

 

This is why I love this place. I have learnt a lot about how to be a good trucker is because of the help I've gotten on this forum.

When drivers go out of their way to help others, its what makes us unseasoned drovers that want to learn better drivers.

I got a lucky early start in heavy haul but I wouldn't be a good driver today without the help I've gotten from this forum.

I have a hard time judging how close to a dock I am from 53 feet, to expect a driver to judge what is happening 120 feet in his mirrors is crazy IMHO.

 

you're correct haul hand. I didn't see that half ton parked at the intersection at the very beginning if the video. my bad.

 

No worries. Sometimes it takes a couple different sets of eyes.

 

Those guys sure needed at least one more set than they had that day. I still hurt watching that truck snap over!

 

The thing about this load is the beam. If you've ever pulled a stretch flat or a stretch Rgn, you still have the deck of the trailer at 8'6 wide to eyeball. With the beam, you don't have anything but the dolly. By the time the dolly gets there, you are in trouble. Usually, the steerman takes care of this.

Our trailers are hydraulic steer, powered by 4 batteries which are charged by the truck alternator. There are certain things that can make the steer not respond.

1. Weak signal from the remote. Thing is, the turning increased after the truck straightened. So that counts this theory out.
2. Cold weather. Steering is extremely sluggish. Wasn't cold in this video.
3. Water in the computer motherboard. Suddenly, everything can go haywire, and then quit.

OR steerman was holding the remote upside down. Or he was daydreaming, texting, etc. This is why the majority of the HH guys didn't throw the driver under the bus. You can't just watch the video and positively point fingers to one person at fault, because the trailer steered right, and the driver is unable to steer the trailer.

One thing inga we know for sure...that driver got hurt. That truck slapped the ground with a tremendous amount of torque. Stuff like that makes you gunshy when being steered.

 

Yup, trust is a MAJOR issue.

 

Are we sure this is a steerable dolly?

 

based on simple physics and sheer size & length of the transported object in question, it is most likely a steerable dolly; it would be a major undertaking and extremely difficult if it didn't have a steerable ### end.