Sounds like he respected the fact that he was heavy and drove accordingly. Lots of the fully loaded class 8's out there can't stop at the speeds and following distances they drive, so what's it matter that they're legal?

 

Ya, but these are Kalifornia safety lectures, what does that mean for the rest of us? Just like "known to the state of Kalifornia to cause diaper rash/cancer", whatever. I guess that means the rest of us are safe?
Just kidding. California is just so wildly over regulated that some of us country boys from the live and let live states "chafe" Under the massive amount of rules and regs. No offence intended.
Joe

 

At the time I was travelling, so one was in Sioux City, IA. One was in Muscle Shoals, AL, and the last was in Jersey.

 

Thank you. I never went over 50 mph. Mostly between 25-40 mph because that much weight likes to bounce over any small crack in the road. Curves I slowed way down. It took me one week to travel from South Dakota to Alaska. 3500 miles in 7 days equals 500 miles a day. Divided that by 18 hours on the road everyday and that equals 27 mph average. I averaged 8 mpg. The twins kept the egt's in check. Could I have gone 65? Sure, just wasnt safe. With the jake brake, I could just tap the brakes to slow it down on the hills. Kept them pretty cool.

 

Just out of curiosity why were you traveling the country showing pics of Ridofpwrstrokes load to various safety managers? Part of your job? Load envy? Sorry, I'm just curious.
Joe

 

I work as a contractor and sat through probably 25 safety orientations/lectures last year. Very boring stuff.

 

Wheres the picture of that weight ticket?
I think I still have some from when I was driving OTR,anyone want to buy 86k weight tickets?

 

I have a weight ticket that reads 136 xxx (or close to it) lbs gross weight Pulled by a cummins i might add

 

I’ve hauled a few loads (15-1800 miles) in the 30-35K range with my 53’er, and the biggest problem I had was tires (E’s). Fortunately I had a compressor on board with 50’ of hose and an impact wrench and many spares. Speed was no problem, but like my buddy Jimbo Donley says, “Son, it ain’t the go that counts - it’s the whoa!” Seems to me our friend from Alaska did a pretty good job of driving.

 

I respect the man, he obviously knew what he was doing as evidenced by his success, the proof is in the pudding. I also respect the truck. Great job Ridofpowersroke - - - - -AND THANKS FOR SERVING OUR GREAT COUNTRY!!!

 

I could find all kinds of examples of foolish behavior that people got away with once or twice. That does not make them evidence of good common sense. One emergency manuever or mechanical failure would have spelled disaster for this guy and everyone around him. Yeah, he got away with it, but it was not the smartest thing to do and I hope that it's not made a habit of or viewed as a precedent for others to imitate.

 

Oh, for Pete's sake, that applies everytime you saddle up, regardless of the situation. I guess you could just stay in bed...

 

Yeah, because there is no difference between having to perform an emergency manuever or experiencing a mechanical defect with 15,000 pounds than there is with 43,000 pounds. The handling and braking abilities are exactly the same, right? Using your logic, we might as well say that it is okay to use a pickup to pull 100,000 pounds as fast as you want.

 

If a bullfrog had wings, he wouldn't bump his a$$ on his hind legs either. What if this happened, what if that happend, what if a meteor came thru his cab roof, yada yada yada. LIKE I SAID- THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING. I didn't say it was wise or smart. If your that scared, go to church.

 

Saying that the proof is in the pudding seems to be tacit approval that this is an acceptable practice.

And I never thought that a disastrous mechanical failure would befall me, either. Until one did.