E.L.D.E.R. - Experienced Lowbed Drivers Essential Rules

Yes not good at all luckily for me fuel guys 10 miles down the road

 

I like hearing other guys stories, I'm a new driver and I'm always nervous I'm going mess something up but the old timers keep telling me not to worry and #### happens all the time.

 

Check the fuel level of the machine you are about to load. Running out of fuel in this position is not good.
View attachment 134077 [/QUOTE]

And then rock paper scissors to figure out who on the site is going to go get a few gallons of diesel. Or having a few gallons extra on the truck in a can. We were moving this crane and they had the tank bone dry, died right before the trailer... took a while to get it primed and re-started. Not doing a quick 20 second fuel check cost us 2 hours of time.

 

And then rock paper scissors to figure out who on the site is going to go get a few gallons of diesel. Or having a few gallons extra on the truck in a can. We were moving this crane and they had the tank bone dry, died right before the trailer... took a while to get it primed and re-started. Not doing a quick 20 second fuel check cost us 2 hours of time.[/QUOTE]
now thats empty when your on lever ground in front of the trailer ####

 

If you can call the person using or renting the equipment do so. I got burned on this today. I listened to a phone conservation where one of the owners was going to call ahead and make sure the tractor backhoe was ready to go and would call back with any issues. He never called and in a couple of hours I left to pick it up. A nice muddy driveway and had to turn around in the grass so I was pointed out when loaded. Turns out the battery is missing and key is broke off in the ignition.
Make some calls nobody answers, start walking around this old farm site looking for a battery. I found a dump trailer with a deep cycle battery that would work but it was dead so I had to unhook and jump it and use a screwdriver to turn the ignition. After I got hooked up and loaded and was putting the battery in the trailer I get a call. Battery was shot and he had intentions of getting a new one but never got around to it. He never got a call I was coming and he was 30 miles away or he would have helped but he was sorry.
My fault I should have called.

 

Digging up an old thread but have a good one to share. Always use a broom to sweep gravel off of the trailer deck, that one time you use your hand to brush off a little bit of gravel off of the ramps, that steel sliver will find the whole in your gloves.

 

Ouch! I have gotten plenty of splinters, but that looks worse!

 

I have done this exact thing brushing dirt off of the ramps, albeit with less serious consequences. Even heavy leather gloves don't slow down a metal shaving very much.

 

A real lowbed driver would have just chewed the end of the finger off and pulled the sliver out with his teeth. Then eat the sliver. lol

 

@truckdad types with his nose.