Here's a used 980G I took from a Cat dealer in LI,NY to a port to be shipped somewhere far, far away. Had a flat tire right off the rim at the dealer, so loading it was a feat as it kept wanting to jump right back off the trailer. I had to skid it onto the deck using the front bucket and a couple of planks, then deflated the tires anyway to get it under 13'6" to clear all the NY bridges. Loaded it on Thursday afternoon. Applied for permits at noon. Found out because of weight (119,500 lbs.,) I needed a "bridge letter", an approval from Throgs Neck Bridge Authority that it's OK to cross, then forward that letter to NYC DOT for a seperate permit. 3 things; that letter, a State permit, and a NYC permit to go 45 miles. Got the state permit immediately, which allowed me to move 30 miles just to the Nassau County/ NYC lines. City permit never came, because bridge letter was never issued, because they don't work past 1:00 p.m., those poor, overburdened souls in that dept. So I missed my Thursday evening crossing. (Note: oversize loads can only enter/exit NYC bridges between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Mon, thru Fri.) Sat all day Friday, not in one place, but searching for a fax maching while bobtailing around Queens and the Bronx. Left the load at a country club lot at the Throgs Neck Bridge approach while searching frantically for a fax machine to get the processing done. Ended up at a Cummins dealer in the Bronx, Metro Power, The service mgr. was a real good guy, as I explained my dilemma. He said to come behind the counter and knock myself out using his fax to do whatever it took. My appreciation goes out to Metro Power in the Bronx, NYC. Having an ISX Cummins in the truck I was driving helped. They asked me what was in it, and I told them..."It's got a RED oilpan, not yellow"...That was the deciding factor in their decision to help me out I bet. Got across the GW bridge at 1:00 a.m. Saturday, wasn't supposed to be moving in NJ in the dark, but couldn't stop in the middle of the expressway till daylight, so I just went along like I owned the highway, strobes blazing, lights flashing...cops all over the place...never even acknowledged that I was there. Got all the way to Hagerstown, Md. Sat. morning.Weighed the rig there, and found it to be 5K lbs. heavier than expected. Now my Va. permit was NG at 119K, so I was stranded till Monday waiting for an upgraded permit. Took a week to go 1000 miles with that stupid loader. Had to reinflate the tires in Ft. Pierce, Fla. because past that point, there's nothing in the form of truck stops or services that I was aware of to get the tires blown back up. I ended up taking 2 ratchet straps and pulling the tire into the inside of the rim, and blobbing a thick coat of tire bead grease on the outside to seal it up, then it took air. Now I was over 14' 6" high going down I-95...but there wasn't any other options. The port I brought it to would have told me to get lost if I pulled in with 4 flats. All in all, the oversize hauling game can be a royal pain. Thankfully for me, I ended that profession 3 weeks ago. No regrets either.
Nice pics Lowboy. We all appreciate your posts, and hope u still will share your time with us here at the forum. You know, now u can add what u want to all the stories from the oversize business.
We will only let you stay off the truck until you run out of pictures and stories....then it's back at it again mister!
Nice pics Lowboy , and a good story. Man all the B.S. with permits sucks. I have a air hose that i hook to my truck to inflate tires up with. Whats your new proffession? :usa
Have no fear, my fearless grader operating friend....I can conger up enough stories staring through the windshield frame of the EC460B LC Volvo excavator I run, or the dozen other pieces on this site I'm on, to keep you going without having to be living like a vagabond anymore...All it takes is another $6.99 WalMart disposable camera and some shots of this jobsite I'm on, and there'll be as much quality entertainment from this pandamonium-filled site to keep you occupied as always. For instance, 4 days after I started there, a new guy came on site to run equipment. They put him on a completely worn out Hyundai hoe with a hammer to chip away at some ledge. Everybody's working away when all of a sudden we hear...KAAABOOOOM!!! Then silence. The place came to a halt. The foreman went running up to see what happened. I thought it was either a misplaced load in the shotrock, or a loader tire exploded, but it felt and sounded more like dinamite. Sure enough, the poor guy on the hammer found a live loaded hole, and it blew the hammer 3-4 feet up out of the hole, rocked the machine and sent shotrock all over the place. Don't forget, there's supposed to be mats over that deal, let alone a warning signal... He came out of that machine looking like something from an old Road Runner cartoon...eyes rolling around, choking, but still managing to laugh it off. Poor guy. Said his ears rang till 9:00 that night. See there now; who needs to be trucking to be having fun?:beatsme:drinkup
Thanks, and yeah, I had an air hose, but that 980G had the big valvestems, and I didn't have the adapter, so I had to use a service truck. I still ended up doing all the work though. My new profession. Hmmmm. How do I describe this. Professional material relocating engineer. Naah. Structural materials extraction technician. Better, but too fancy. Heavy equipment operations/construction site dweller. Dirt Dummy. Best description. I run any of the 15 pieces of equipment on a site in Ct. currently. Condominium complex, we are doing "ground up" sitework, all utilities, sitework, blasting, crushing on site, concrete work, everything up to but not including the sill plate. Still away from home, but only 3 hours as opposed to 3 days away. Staying with inlaws, good people, and I know them, unlike the road life. 24 miles to jobsite, work 9 hours, go home. I'm still pinching myself working the 9 hours...not quite sure what to do with the other 9 after that like in the past. Hard to adjust to, but it's slowly happening DidDug. Pretty happy now too. Excellent wages, good crew, good equipment. Now all I need is to sell this place and relocate family closer to this job and it'll all be normal once and for all.:drinkup
Wow , your going to move out of vermont and down to conn. ? I guess go where the money is. Spend those extra 9 hours on your family and you , life is short.
I know it's backwards from the norm, but the money is the driving force. This job pays double what the going rate is around these parts unfortunately, and it's year round to boot. It's a shame, but reality.
Wow............I know an old man who could use some part time work.LOL Good luck with it,we have missed having you around here the past few months.If you are in my area I will look you up to say hi.Ron G
u gotta love those permits well lets see if i can get a picture posted
it worked :notworthyhow about that it finally worked
Good pic, nice truck. What are you hauling??
Lowboy, What do you do when you weren't running around crazy on the 980 job? Did you have a sat-tv or something? With a load like that did you drive during the day or night going down I-95 once you got south of the corridor? Going through Virginia is a pain in the butt. Well interesting story and events that took place on your trip.
I didn't do the TV thing euclid. Just kind of always found little things to do to keep occupied during the off times. Getting out of or in to NYC with oversize loads is a real PITA to say the least. From anywhere on Long Island, you need a state permit that only allows you to move 1/2 hour BEFORE sunrise, to 1/2 hour AFTER sunset.(That's a statewide regulation.) THEN, once you hit the CITY limits, you can only move after dark, depending on what is stated on the actual permit. The bridge crossings are a window between 11 PM and 4 AM, Mon, thru Fri. try synchronizing all that while dealing with these permit office employees, and see if you don't develop a temper problem...
That's a partially disassembled compactor he's hauling DidDug. The cab is missing as far as I can see.
Hey RonG...I'm in your neck of the woods these days. If you PM me, I'll let you know who to talk to about some work. They're looking for a few good men, and it may be what you're looking for, who knows. Feels good to be back in the forum. I stay down in East Haven all week without a computer, so it takes a little while for me to "catch up to speed" here...:drinkup
Better man than I am because someone would have taken a beaten! I can see why you are doing what you are doing now and less stress is a good thing. You've got some good stories. Ever thought of writing a book of short stories of the American worker? Never know it might be a real hit because you talk about things the working blue collar world can relate too. In other words if it ain't for folks like us the brains behind the operation would collect dust and blow away! Hey ya know just a thought but if you ever do it I hope it is a real seller.
You know euclid, the thought's crossed my peabrain several times in the past. I can relate things at the blue collar level, and still convey it to the snooty intellectual if need be, although they probably would get offended quite quickly once I started in. It would probably win some kind of prize, like the Un-Nobel Piece Prize, or the Chicken Catchatori For the Soul Prize (wouldn't win for spelling,) and be as thick as the book of French War Heros...
:iagree get r done Lowboy When (now you noticed that I said when not if) you get famous don't forget us little dirt devils here at HEF
The main focus will be the DIRT DEVILS, Grader4. That's the core of the matter.:notworthy Dirt Dummies (like me,) will just be the messenger.:drinkup
thats a garbage trailer tipper i posted more pics under new 385move
That is what I'm saying it is real good to laugh and look at things from a different perspective. I mean from serious sides of the professions and you being considered an expert on the subjects! Serious man you know how many "subject matter experts" are in our world???? And look at the money they get for babbling BS! :slomo Heck you can get a spell check dealie and you'll be the talk of the View!!! Can you imagine a one on one with Barbra Wha-Wha!!!!! :lmao But I like hearing the processes you took to get that loader down south and the patience you wrote of even though we all knew it was a real SOB. Thanks for the time and stories:my2c
Gee that's a lot of effort to make all that transportation for wee and the permit thing thats make you stuck in the mud