389 Hood
Well-Known Member
I have a little story about the use of a GPS that almost got me in a world of trouble. It can't come back on me now, it was too long ago and I'm not there anymore.
I got a load for an exclusive club in Key Largo with it's own private landing strip and marina. It was a one way in and one way out sort of place with the guard shack and all. If you were not named exclusively on the entrance list, you weren't coming in. Anyway, they give the load to me because the owner of the company I'm working for keeps his yacht and private jet there along with his mansion.
I get down there which was every bit of 5 1/2 hours and check in and the guard tells me where to go. Okay, I park outside the gate, because the person that was supposed to meet me there at 04:00 was a no show. He doesn't start until 08:00 and he's not coming in early for anyone. I park on the tiny street that isn't made for trucks and get out and start looking at the gates and walking around in the dark. There is no way I'm getting 65 feet of truck through that gate.
I get on Google Earth and get a birds eye view of the property. I can see the tanks and the landing strip, but no way for the truck to access this on this side of the landing strip. On the other side is a huge warehouse and I see food delivery and dry boxes staged up and knew that was where I needed to be. Here comes the fun part.
I then opened up Google Maps to see where I could turn around. Down at the end of the road if I made a left and followed it back I would be where I needed to be. Well, I get down to the end of the road and see a sign that says, No Vehicular Traffic. Golf Carts Only. Uh-Oh. It's pitch black in there except for these ornamental street lights and I'm over a mile deep into this place. I have 2 options. Back out around all of the curves and roundabouts or try to get turned around. Fortunately, it's still dark, people aren't awake yet and there is no traffic.
I leave the truck in the road and start walking. About 100 yards back, there is a small beach like area with picnic tables and a place to look out over the lake. Now, I'm on Key Largo and the sand is loose beach sand. If I dropped a drive off of the road, I would just sink. I didn't want to have to answer to the boss about being stuck near his front yard and shutting down the road in and out.
So, I gritted my teeth and backed the trailer into this beach area being very careful not to leave the road with the tractor. I shut off the headlights so I wouldn't attract attention from the mansion across the street while I made a bunch of back and forths to where I could get the tractor to go the other way without stopping. Meanwhile, the trailer is digging itself deeper into the ruts I've created. Making this all happen involved driving my steer axle up into this mansions perfectly groomed front yard. Some pretty deep ruts there too now. The tractor's wheelbase is 280"s, much longer than the road is wide.
When I was finally able to make my move without the steers sliding across this guys yard, low gear was having to struggle pulling the trailer out of the ruts. With the rears locked, I let the clutch out and gave it hell and didn't let up until I was fully on the road. I got out to survey the damage and got the hell out of there and over to the other side of the runway where I was supposed be with nobody the wiser. I know the landscape people had to replace about 50 feet of this dudes front yard and with a skidsteer or something, dress up that beach I destroyed. And I mean destroyed.
The ruts were about 2 feet deep, I took out a picnic table a few bushes and a hedge and crushed a garbage can. I never heard a thing about it so I can safely assume no one really saw me or I'm sure the private police force would have been on my like white on rice. When I got back to my yard, I went home and got my body hammer and a set of dollies and straightened out the rear fender and front wall of the side box that got dented running over the picnic table. I'm just glad I didn't get a blowout crushing that stuff.
I got a load for an exclusive club in Key Largo with it's own private landing strip and marina. It was a one way in and one way out sort of place with the guard shack and all. If you were not named exclusively on the entrance list, you weren't coming in. Anyway, they give the load to me because the owner of the company I'm working for keeps his yacht and private jet there along with his mansion.
I get down there which was every bit of 5 1/2 hours and check in and the guard tells me where to go. Okay, I park outside the gate, because the person that was supposed to meet me there at 04:00 was a no show. He doesn't start until 08:00 and he's not coming in early for anyone. I park on the tiny street that isn't made for trucks and get out and start looking at the gates and walking around in the dark. There is no way I'm getting 65 feet of truck through that gate.
I get on Google Earth and get a birds eye view of the property. I can see the tanks and the landing strip, but no way for the truck to access this on this side of the landing strip. On the other side is a huge warehouse and I see food delivery and dry boxes staged up and knew that was where I needed to be. Here comes the fun part.
I then opened up Google Maps to see where I could turn around. Down at the end of the road if I made a left and followed it back I would be where I needed to be. Well, I get down to the end of the road and see a sign that says, No Vehicular Traffic. Golf Carts Only. Uh-Oh. It's pitch black in there except for these ornamental street lights and I'm over a mile deep into this place. I have 2 options. Back out around all of the curves and roundabouts or try to get turned around. Fortunately, it's still dark, people aren't awake yet and there is no traffic.
I leave the truck in the road and start walking. About 100 yards back, there is a small beach like area with picnic tables and a place to look out over the lake. Now, I'm on Key Largo and the sand is loose beach sand. If I dropped a drive off of the road, I would just sink. I didn't want to have to answer to the boss about being stuck near his front yard and shutting down the road in and out.
So, I gritted my teeth and backed the trailer into this beach area being very careful not to leave the road with the tractor. I shut off the headlights so I wouldn't attract attention from the mansion across the street while I made a bunch of back and forths to where I could get the tractor to go the other way without stopping. Meanwhile, the trailer is digging itself deeper into the ruts I've created. Making this all happen involved driving my steer axle up into this mansions perfectly groomed front yard. Some pretty deep ruts there too now. The tractor's wheelbase is 280"s, much longer than the road is wide.
When I was finally able to make my move without the steers sliding across this guys yard, low gear was having to struggle pulling the trailer out of the ruts. With the rears locked, I let the clutch out and gave it hell and didn't let up until I was fully on the road. I got out to survey the damage and got the hell out of there and over to the other side of the runway where I was supposed be with nobody the wiser. I know the landscape people had to replace about 50 feet of this dudes front yard and with a skidsteer or something, dress up that beach I destroyed. And I mean destroyed.
The ruts were about 2 feet deep, I took out a picnic table a few bushes and a hedge and crushed a garbage can. I never heard a thing about it so I can safely assume no one really saw me or I'm sure the private police force would have been on my like white on rice. When I got back to my yard, I went home and got my body hammer and a set of dollies and straightened out the rear fender and front wall of the side box that got dented running over the picnic table. I'm just glad I didn't get a blowout crushing that stuff.
