It should have been obvious to them the log was too big. They had it loaded too far to the front because the forks had to clear the fenders of the trailer. If they'd come over the fenders they'd have to roll the log off the tip of the forks and probably would have left the trailer in shambles.

Tough way to learn a lesson.

If I was guessing, I'd say the operator was coaxed into loading the log on the trailer by the truck owner. The operator should have a real good idea of the weight and where he was putting it wasn't going to work, and may have told the truck owner. The truck owner probably thought he had a truck that would handle it. Then he could post pictures on his favorite truck BB for bragging rights.

A lot of folks do things that seem innocent and fun at the time, and moments latter just don't seem so good!!

 

In the driver's defense, Chevy offers a 1/2 ton truck with a 10,700 pound tow rating. Properly equipped, he could have been fine.

Besides, everyone that is bashing this guy for overloading his truck need to go stand in the corner. How many times has someone posted in here about having their dodge way overloaded? I recall a few pictures of trucks with 15 or 20 round bales on a trailer?
Sure, he thought his truck was just as tough as a dodge....

 

I would drive behind them all day. It's being IN FRONT of them that is scary!!

 

My guess says they were going to add a second tree trunk on the back of trailer; until it was to late.

 

Two thoughts:
One, not much deflection in those tires. Interesting.
Two, What in Gods name was he going to do with that tree anyhow?

Steve

 

Yea, that should have balanced things out.....or snapped the axles right on the spot.

 

I saw a guy do that with a 77 3/4 ton Dodge and the front wheels were 4+ feet off the ground

 

harsh words...

If you think they actually drove off like that then they surely are not the ignorant ones.

Chances are many of us have loaded something and realized it was wrong and then corrected it before driving off.

 

PS: Its a chevy, the warranty dont cover much more than the toll to call you and give you an estimate.