Good reminder


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Posted by D Sherman on Monday, July 28, 2008 at 13:43:52 :

In Reply to: Off topic, but a safety reminder. posted by OleManIdaho on Monday, July 28, 2008 at 12:37:41 :

That's not the first story of a guy in a wrecked vehicle that was precariously perched and then rolled when he tried to move.

Some years ago I hired a guy with a lowboy to move my Cat. He went a round a corner that was too tight and the lowboy ended up in the gulch slanted at about 45 degrees to the side. The pintle hitch on his dump truck was bent but was still holding. the Cat was held to the lowboy with two binder chains. We thought "no problem, we'll just fire up the cat, hook its winch cable onto a stout tree, and let the cat pull itself and the lowboy back up onto the road. The Cat fired up fine (caterpillar oil sumps seem to maintain oil in any position except upside down) and we were feeling pretty good about it until we realized the rear binder chain was tight against the shift lever for the winch and there was no way to shift it. First thought was to throw another chain across it somewhere else, pop the first chain, and continue with plan "A", but we both decided that neither of us had the nerve to pop a binder chain that was clearly under tremendous strain, even if we did have another one in place that we thought would finally hold. There was just way too much chance of the cat rolling down the mountain side. As it happened, a friend came by who had a cell phone and could drive up to the pass where there was cell reception and call a wrecker. The rig the wrecker guy brought out was just a light-weight pickup-based unit suitable for pulling cars out of ditches and snow banks, but little else. Still, with many hours of work, multiple snatch blocks, and the dump truck pulling, they eventually got it out. I still refer to that spot as the "spilled cat corner". I've been told more than one person towing a horse trailer or camper has underestimated the sharpness of that corner and tipped their rig into the gulch too. It's deceptive because on the way down you cross two gulches that look sharper, but really aren't.

Anyway, it's always good advice to stabilize anything precarious before attempting to move it at all, and to always keep people out from whichever direction something might go if it moves.



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