Oversized loads going fast..

Seems to me when I was young, they never went over 45 mph.
Now I see them pulling houses at 60, with shingles and siding blowing off.

 

Typically I run the speed limit, but I will gas on it to get around another truck or to get away from the pack. I need to see what’s on the shoulder as well as what’s in front of me. I can do either with a truck in the way. Plus a pack of trucks is the last place I need to be.

 

Those mobile home guys are nuts, but the Amish shed haulers around here are just stupid.

About 10 years ago, when I worked at a equipment dealer, I tangled with an Amish shed hauler. I was coming into the little town near the dealership hauling a JD 8320 tractor. I was only 10' wide. The street is very narrow, and it goes around a slight bend. Well, here comes the shed hauler, no escort, and he's just flying. I stopped when I saw him, he never slowed down at all.

The shed caught the tractor axle, and ripped the side open like a can opener. Pieces of wood laying everywhere. A total mess. He never stopped, never answered on the radio. Just drove off as if nothing happened

 

It is the opposite of behavior expected of them. I have not seen a mobile home since we sold ours in the field and gone. They were careful with that 30 mile move.

To hear you tell that they are speeding, I can try to show that the driver is intimidated by the culture of the bossman above him demanding that house to be at the delivery right now. No waiting around. Or some form of harassment for taking too much time at a legal or slower speed.

We have some righteous 150 ton loads coming through regularly in our Valley before it hits one particular bridge over the freeway for St Louis it always stops and stays a few minutes before crossing. (That is curious to me.. why?) anyway, these are the ones that don't speed with the big transformers.

I don't have any other opinion except two. First anyone doing big oversize, they are welcome to it. Second, I don't always enjoy local work because they get pushed for time. Ever see the little trades people like maybe the Plumber flying down the freeway with the tool truck to the next job? ZOOM.

What police I ask. If they were breaching the laws in a great big oversize, you would to put it crudely, have police falling over themselves to get there right quick.

 

I know in Pennsylvania IIRC the provisions require oversized loads to run 10 mph under the speed limit. I don't know about other states.

I recall coming up on an oversized overweight load with escorts northbound on I-35 in Oklahoma. I was deadheading with cruise control set at 70 mph, gaining on the OSOW load (likely going about 65 mph). I got into the hammer lane and eased it on up to 73 mph to facilitate the pass on a mile long straightaway before a narrow bridge. That driver sped up to match my speed and kept speeding up as I accelerated to avoid a squeeze play on the bridge. He finally started to fade as I got north of 80 mph, then proceeded to block a safe return to the hammer lane for another couple of miles. Finally he backed out of it and I eased back over and slowly backed down to cruise control speed. He came up and tailgated another few miles before fading back to his 65 mph. Perhaps it was the 389 whispering in his pants.

The only legitimate reasons to get up some speed pulling OSOW are to get away from a cluster, gain speed for a pull, or maintain side to side balance if the road is banked and the load is top heavy.

 

Prior to crossing the bridge needs to have a geometric survey performed for structural analysis and the superload is restricted to being the only vehicle crossing the bridge at the time. It's due to wear and tear.

edit: i'm in the northeast and also see oversized loads with single escorts driving like idiots often. Usually prefab structures. We'd fire a driver in the blink of an eye for being reckless.

 

This may sound rude, but it wasn’t meant to be.

The vast majority of you guys hog the zipper. The vast majority of the experienced OSOW guys ride the fog line. The majority of your trucks are gutless. If my guys are trying to behave, it increases the odds of your guys hitting our load.

“Why don’t you try running slower, Six?”

Tried that. Your guys will pass me, cut me off, swing the trailer at me, ride beside me for miles on end, block me in so that I cannot avoid a hazard or a vehicle parked on the right shoulder. So, the safest thing for me to do is run a pace that the majority of your guys can’t match. It prevents the elephant races and bottlenecks in traffic.

 

Could you back up your claim that PA requires oversized loads to run under the posted speed limit with a link or something?

 

@TripleSix covered most of the ‘driver mentality ‘ points.

I’m looking for ‘pockets’ - gaps and spaces where I have 1/8th mile visibility ahead minimum. I need time to react to -

• Vehicles on shoulder. Don’t ever park on the bloody shoulder. Please.
• Ramp traffic not paying attention.
• Police with captures
• Skinny bridges

I need time to tell the escort “Grab lane 1” - escort to react, block, me to move over. Takes time, and forward vision.

Can’t do that with Mr. foot on the dash passing me on an interchange half a mile faster than me, especially when he wants to come back over within 100 ft.

So - like you said - better be the passer than passee.

Unfortunately, I wind up running 75-80 trying to find a pocket and maintain it.

Then - we have curfews. City, county, sunrise and sunset, weekend, consignee appointment, crane appointment etc. Permits, escorts to organize.

Michigan is 55, sometimes 45 mph. Missouri is 5 under posted. Ohio is 55. Doesn’t work well.

Hell of a tightrope to walk. Look inside the brain of an OS/OD driver - there’s constant calculations going on. Driving is the easy part. Mentally at the end of the day, I’m utter toast. Especially wide - the possibility for catastrophic damage are/is huge.

Most drivers don’t understand. I hope many read this thread.

Announce your intention on the radio -

“West bound OS - can I come around?”

“ Bring it on, I’ll back out”

“Here I go”

Stay well left. Don’t even try if your truck can’t mash and go. He don’t want you in front of him blocking the view.

I know - we’re all out here for the same reason - just try and be understanding, it’s s difficult task without help.