Help!!! I'm being forced to haul a unsecured forklift

I had a thought about this today. The op stated that he didn't know the lift was back there until after it shifted.

I assume you've got bills for these shorts runs?

If you do, and I assume you do, is the forklift AND the fuel tank for it on there? If not, you've already kind of shot yourself in the foot. As someone else said, the tank is hazmat.

If the bills do list both, you've still gone and played Russian roulette with your foot, and lost.

It's your job to know what you're hauling too...not just make sure it's secured.

 

So if it was a diesel powered lift you would pump it out into 5 gallon cans? Get real. The fuel cell on any piece of equipment is just that; the fuel cell. And no; it is not hazmat.

 

I really, REALLY doubt the company is writing a BOL for moving their own lift in their own trailer for a 2 mile ride between buildings.

 

Yeah. I know, I am assuming that bills were made out. If not then the op won Russian roulette. Lol

Maybe it's just my lack of experience but if I don't have a way of proving on paper what's inside, I'd rather not pull it. I figure if something happens it's on me regardless, but it becomes cya and some of the blame might be diverted from me.

 

??? It is a propane powered fork lift. It has a compressed gas cylinder. You do not mess around with any compressed gas cylinders , even if contains oxygen, they are all very dangerous and must be treated with full and total respect.

Or they will kill you.

 

Yeah... I tossed a grill cylinder aside after a family BBQ... It stalked me for the next week and my brakes gave out that Friday after on my personal vehicle. Not sure there's any connection...but it sure seems like it.

...they are to be treated with respect though. And if the tank is hazmat, I'm pretty sure it is though I don't have my hazmat endorsement, I had wondered if you could get around that by removing the tank prior to shipping. Eh, just a curious though.

 

It doesnt weigh enough to be handled as haz, just upright and secure.

 

Worry much?? Jeebus!!! The point is: WHILE the cylinder is ATTACHED to the forklift........think; CLAMPED in a steel cradle........it is PART and PARCEL of the machine; no diffferent than the fuel tanks on your truck. It is not required to be placarded; and noone is "messing" with or disrespecting a compressed gas cylinder. Their is no requirement that propane powered vehicles be divorced from their fuel cells prior to transport.

 

It does NOT have to be removed from the machine.

 

You can go right ahead and tell that to a DOT officer and see what happens.

After seeing the after effects of a van trailer being caught on fire by a propane fork lift tipping over in a trailer and being total destroyed (fiberglass trailers put out some really black smoke)
And the after effects of a cylinder full of gas missing it's top in a shop by falling breaking off the value, it went threw a concrete block wall, threw the office computer screen and embedded it's self in to a steel " I " beam until it ran out of gas. (They were very lucky it was after office hours and no one was in the office. Some mess to clean up after)

You learn by others making mistakes, so you do not do the same mistakes.