Deuce vs. 79,800 lb rig: Fail

[Hunter2506]

I hope the driver owned his own tractor and Fre (hopefully) will not see their trailer advertised like this.

I considered that, but there was nothing reckless about it. Besides, the incident is on record with the requirement of a commercial wrecker anyway.

As as fleet perspective and from a safety review board: was there ANYTHING this driver could or should have done to eliminate this accident. Incidents are accidents.

Not that I can think of. At least nothing short of walking everywhere you want to drive, poking the ground with a shovel. The deuce didn't sink at all when I wasn't pulling. Perhaps stopped trying to rock out sooner, but that truck sunk quick. And the deuce did too, once I was hooked up; Maybe 20-30 seconds of pulling before I had to unhook and move over.

He has turned that rig around there countless times with no trouble whatsoever. And he was doing fine until he found the bad spot, about a 100' x 50' section that was particularly soggy. Not something we're really used to here in Eastern CO, where the earth is usually dry as a popcorn fart and rock hard.

Either way, the only damage through this whole thing was my winch ferrule and the two rear mudflaps on the tractor that got sucked under the tires when he was trying to back. And the only time lost was his (and mine). He didn't have to leave until this AM.

A 14,000 lb Deuce is not strong enough, frame wise, to be tackling such a task.

I know. But the earth was too soft to worry about broken axles and drivelines, and the LDT465 pretty much runs out of power before things really start to break anyway. Not quite the same equation as juiced 1 ton diesels hammering aluminum transmissions and 11" ring gears with 450 HP and 700 lb/ft of torque.

I bought this truck specifically to be a bad weather vehicle, both to keep me mobile and to get other vehicles back to being mobile. I just hadn't envisioned the other vehicles being larger.

That said, the Pete tractor isn't a whole lot heavier than the deuce. Sleeper 379's are about 17,500 empty. He was about half full on fuel, so maybe 19k. But all that weight is up front, so the steer tires and beam axle became an anchor of sorts. Even that purpose-built wrecker with a (50 ton?) winch struggled a bit.

 

[DJones]

I enjoyed the post and pictures.

 

[Billy Bobbed]

It never hirts to try.If a friend or family member needs my help im there no matter what.Thanks for the pictures.

 

[tm america]

yes i would have used another anchor point if possible. but at the bare min i would have used a log or 6x6 across the front tires chained to the front bumper this would have ended the sliding truck or at least greatly helped with that.there is alot of this info in the recovery manual and it is somewhere else in a manual .

 

[saddamsnightmare]

May 17th, 2010.

Looks like Murphy's lawyers were all over that stuck truck. Yeah, I've always turned it there before, works to get me stuck after a rain..... especially with a OTR type of truck, try that with a empty 2WD S-10 on winter tires, they can get stuck on grass in a puddle of spit.
I might have tried the recovery with the deuce ONLY if:

1. I could get two or three snatch blocks anchored to deadmen or trees, so all the direct pull was on an immovable object and the stuck trucks frame. The blocks, if of the correct type would multiply the pull X times...

2. AND I had got at the stuck truck before it was buried to ground contact on axles, tanks, frames, etc. I suspect an HEMTT wrecker could have gotten it out, and possibly a 10 ton if such exist, but if you've sunk it to the axles, you're done untill you can jack all those wheels up, fill in the holes, and use PSP or Marston mats to get it out. Mother Earth is like Lake Huron in Winter, it never lets go its dead once it has them down.... AND NEVER chain the rear of the deuce to an immovable object when winching.... if you do that you are pretty much guaranteed to do frame damage. If the safety/shear pins don't give way in the winch, you're not likely gonna bust the truck, as all the pins can do is take load untill the truck slides from insufficient ground pressure on the wheels....

In any case, a lesson for the oTR trucker to be more careful of his turn around and parking spots....

N.B. "Deadmen", at least as we use them in West Virginia, can be buried railroad ties or bridge timber sections, with a strong cable and eye on the middle, so that the snatch block is trying to drag the tie out of the earth when you pull. If buried deep enough, they can make up for the lack of trees in the area.....

 

[Hunter2506]

yes i would have used another anchor point if possible. but at the bare min i would have used a log or 6x6 across the front tires chained to the front bumper this would have ended the sliding truck or at least greatly helped with that

I didn't get any real panoramic photo's, but take my word for it; For the most part, it is barren out here. Some areas have dense pine outcroppings, but not where we were. The next most solid thing is a 4" fence post. Not gonna cut it.

As far as scotch blocking the tires, we basically did by sinking them into the earth when pulling in reverse. foot deep holes the front tires were in. That's when I broke shearpin after shearpin. We didn't have a snatchblock, but I still would have pulled myself in instead of getting him out.

try that with a empty 2WD S-10 on winter tires

Funny you should mention that, as my buddy's old International R110 seen in the photo was tooling around just fine on ribbed bias-ply firestones out there, right next to the rig. It wasn't swampy, but with enough weight to break the surface, it was plenty gooey underneath.

and possibly a 10 ton if such exist

The old M123A1C's were used in lots of logging operations, taking 40+ ton rock loads up muddy 15-20% grades. Slower than molasses, but true brutes for pulling. I've read of those old trucks being run in low range and pulling 100 tons. Empty, they're 30,000 lbs. I'd love to have one. Wouldn't want to drive it far, though, with fuel economy on the order of 2 MPG and a 40 MPH top speed.

I think it's a cat D-9 they're hauling in this photo:

http://www.vannattabros.com/pics01/Herb.jpg

 

[LovinPSDs]

that M123A1C pitcure is sweettttt

Thread is sweet to. I'm alway game for giving it a shot. When I lived back home in ohio I was one of the only people with a big truck (2004 F350 Dually) and I ALWAYS got calls to get my freinds outa ditchs... night time sucked..

 

[jimk]

<cut>
In any case, a lesson for the oTR trucker to be more careful of his turn around and parking spots....

This one of many good reasons why thanks might be offered. The example may save others from making the same mistake.

A max load big rig has bad manners compared with an empty. Perhaps the driver had got by before because he was lighter...Leaving the road loaded is always a bad idea. Sounds like he was new to the trade (no disrespect intended). If it went down on one side it could start leaning and easily flop.

YouTube - Wrecker makes stupid move

A big factor is deuce is empty, though I don't see any harm in trying a recovery. I kinda knew the outcome after the first pic. <aybe the driver could have self recovered if he stopped sooner and lowered the tire pressure.

 

[docfarmall]

In your spare time drop by your local junkyard buy a couple old axle shafts to keep on board for next time drive them in behind your duece chain off to them get your snatch blocks out and let the winching begin it will come out and you wont even break a shear pin . once you get the truck out back up and pull shafts out of the ground. Just and Old farmer and winck truck operators

 

[nhdiesel]

Nice effort. I bet if the driver would have realized he was in trouble before sinking that far, the Deuce probably could have gotten him to safe ground. Even with him dug, as others have mentioned, a snatch block (or two) and a good rear anchor (I understand nothing was available though) would have made a huge difference.

For a while I owned a Grand Wagoneer that I had mounted a 12,000# Tensen 2-speed winch on. Those are rated 12k dead lift from what I understand (what the manual stated) instead of rolling load on a certain slope like most...it was huge compared to a Warn and other 12k winches.

I had my friend's father in law call and ask for help, because he was stuck in a muddy driveway. It turned out to be a Pete tri-axle dump with a partial load still in the bed. He couldn't come up the muddy slope, and was sunk in around 6" or better. Because he couldn't pull forward, he wasn't able to unload his full load. We tried a small dozer that was on site but that didn't get him anywhere!

I parked in the road and chained my rear hitch to a large tree, then unspooled the cable and hooked up. I didn't even have a snatch block. I thought the Waggy was going to rip in half, it was making all kinds of noise. But that Pete came up the driveway! I pulled him about 25' before he was far enough on the road to get moving.

I still have that winch, with a fresh rebuild. Its so strong I'm tempted to mount it on a Deuce once I'm able to keep one for myself.

Jim

 

[hoopsoft]

I've seen those winches get fragged before if your getting really rough with them, I think the manual states not to spin them faster than 1200 rpms. Glad to hear you had the right pin in there.

Can't say you didn't try.

Also winches are rated higher when there are fewer wraps on the spool, I think fully wound they are half the full rating. I know I have a big wrecker snatch block, of course it usually just cause my deuce to be pull forward at a slower rate.. LOL