Oversized Loads

Today I felt rather small even @ 16+' wide

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They're doing those at Alliance airport now? Guess its better than DFW. (I assume by the picture your at Alliance anyway). I could never figure out why we would have to go from Spirit over to Mid Continent instead of them landing at McConnell and just driving across the street. The Dream Lifters are using Boeing's ramp at McConnell, why can't Heavy Lift?!
 
Because of stuff like that, if I was running OD loads I'd have two CBs on so I can have one on channel 19. It would also help if there's a "brake check" a few miles ahead of you that even your pilot driver doesn't know about yet.

I try and hire the same pilots/escorts on every load that I need them and most of the ones I use run two radios, 1 on our channel and 1 on 19. If I have a load that requires a pilot/escort the last thing I have time for is dealing with a second radio. It's just me but between the CB, driving the truck and watching my load I don't have time to keep turning the second CB up and down, grabbing the wrong mike in a sticky situation etc. I don't even have my cell phone on when I have escorts, everyone I talk to on it knows when I'm hauling OD and they know to leave me a voice mail and I'll call them back that evening when I shut down. I do have a second radio in the truck but its in the storage compartment. I keep it in case mine fails or one of my escorts radios fail that way we can keep going instead of shutting down till whomever needs it finds a new radio. Just a couple trips back on my way from Quebec to SC my rear escorts mike went out on his CB. We pulled off on a ramp, I ran my mic off my spare back to his truck and in 3 minutes we were rolling again. Had I not had a spare (and the front pilot not had a spare which he did) we would have been out of service till he found a mic or radio.

Maybe it's just me and my way of doing things and with that being said, each to their own. I've been hauling OD off and on for a total of about 18 years and to this day (knock on wood) the only things I have ever had run-ins with are tree branches and a few signs/mail boxes that have been to close to the edge of the road to avoid either do to turning 80' long trailers around tight corners or super wide loads on two lane roads with opposing traffic. I did one time take out a stoplight (just the light itself not the supporting structure), not because of not knowing I was going to hit but because my pole car said he cleared it when in reality we think he went to the side of it. No damage to the load and even the city manager in that town said not to worry about it, all the lights were supposed to be 17' to the bottom and obviously that one wasn't considering I hit it with a 15' 9" load.
 
I've seen trucks acting stupid around OD loads before, like passing them right before there's an object on the right shoulder like a broken down vehicle or one of those portable orange electric signs with the generators, and then sitting there in the hammer lane taking their time passing him so the OD guy has to jab the brakes so he can grab the hammer lane & not hit whatever it is on the shoulder.

Because of stuff like that, if I was running OD loads I'd have two CBs on so I can have one on channel 19. It would also help if there's a "brake check" a few miles ahead of you that even your pilot driver doesn't know about yet.

Many guys do have two CB's. I couldn't stand that. I'd either rely on my front escort to do a good job, or try to look far enough ahead to be able to adjust my situation. Honestly, that's the only answer. YOU'RE the one driving the OD load, YOU'RE the one responsible for adjusting as necessary to get **** done and delivered safely.

In fact, that applies to every professional driver. Blaming other people about what you do doesn't work. You can't teach people to drive, you can't make them learn. All you can do is react to stupidity.

Defensive driving is what it's called...LMAO!

The first time I drove by that intersection there was another O.D. going through. They had a guy staning on the back of the load. I would assume to steer the back end of it. I don't know a lot about these things.
.

That's a "tillerman" by definition.

Today I felt rather small even @ 16+' wide

View attachment 7486

Thats an awesome picture. You'd never know that load is 16 wide sitting there like that.
 
They're doing those at Alliance airport now? Guess its better than DFW. (I assume by the picture your at Alliance anyway). I could never figure out why we would have to go from Spirit over to Mid Continent instead of them landing at McConnell and just driving across the street. The Dream Lifters are using Boeing's ramp at McConnell, why can't Heavy Lift?!

loads @ Marshall plant in Grand Prairie, and McConnell has an issue with foreign carriers
 

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