Offloading Tracked Vehicles

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

OK, Troops.
It's time to critique this operation and its outcome.

(GRAPHIC CONTENT)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etOsk-PjQZg&feature=youtu.be

Please add your knowledgeable and USEFUL comments for the sake of PROTECTING our Members.

Thank you.

 

[86m1028]

1 Laziness
2 rough on equipment (likely not the operators)
3 ignorant for trying to unload @ that location
" " an unhitched trailer
" " @ wrong end of trailer
ect
ect
ect

testing out "rops" LOL
doubt he was wearing his seat belt
that was one **** of a ride !!!
last but not least "I bet that left a mark!"

 

[painter paul]

I have recovered one that was being unloaded on a side hill and the trailer was icy, the trailer frame broke or was previously broken and broke some more. It slid off sideways and turned over. I am wondering what the loud noises and sudden movements were on this job. Did a hydraulic hose or cylinder break and push the front sideways? It looks like the trailer was fairly level but didn't have extra room alongside it that would have prevented it going down the slope. Tracked vehicles can slide sideways easier than people might think. Horrible accident!

 

[dawico]

Wow! That was very unexpected.

 

[bikeman]

Factor here was also an all metal set of tracks vs. a rubber & metal set, that allowed for the "easiness" of the slide.

In all reality, basic issues. Wrong end of trailer being the biggest, then again those ramps didn't look like they could have handled the weight...

 

[Shark Bait]

I watchedthisvideo earlier elsewhere. The first thing I noticed was the rear of the trailer partially off the road. More than likely the tractor pulling the load cut the curve too short pulling te right rears off the road and starting them downhill. This made it impossible to back up with te heavy load. Whoever made the decision to take the steel tracks over the steel deck with it on a slight incline really was the fault in this situation.

 

[jasonjc]

It looked to me like he was tying to push the neck of the trail down. Also seen a loose tire on the ground in back of trailer. May have been unloading to change tire?

 

[swbradley1]

1. Always load/unload on level ground.


I would have called for something big enough to anchor the dozer to with cables. Without doing that I doubt this could have ended any other way. Spinning it left or right (going forward or backwards) to get it off the trailer the chances were good it was going to happen like this anyway.

Anchor cables would have prevented the side slippage (large cables).

I loaded a dozer once with only one side steering on steel ramps. Once.

Sad ending.

 

[porkysplace]

Since it was a dirt road they should have unloaded in a area wide enough to unload it off the side and cat it to the job site. Although not ideal there was room to spin the dozer on the trailer to unload off the side , this would have worked better than puting the machine another 4 foot in the air going over the gooseneck with steel to steel contact. . Looks like natures way of adding chlorine to the gene pool.

 

[DJones]

Wow what a ride.

 

[The King Machine]

I watchedthisvideo earlier elsewhere. The first thing I noticed was the rear of the trailer partially off the road. More than likely the tractor pulling the load cut the curve too short pulling te right rears off the road and starting them downhill. This made it impossible to back up with te heavy load. Whoever made the decision to take the steel tracks over the steel deck with it on a slight incline really was the fault in this situation.

Shark bait has it right. The trailer is immobilized. There is even a tire and rim sitting on the ground. Unloading it from the back of the trailer was not an option, most likely because of the soft shoulder of the road and cliff. I see desperation and recklessness in attempt to save the dozer and trailer from certain doom.
This is a tough situation with limited options. That dozer is so heavy, using another vehicle to winch it off the trailer may have ended up dragging them both over. Either way the outcome is sad and avoidable.

 

[swbradley1]

My guess is he was dead the first time the dozer snapped one way or the other.

 

[swbradley1]

That dozer is so heavy, using another vehicle to winch it off the trailer may have ended up dragging them both over. Either way the outcome is sad and avoidable.

Avoidable yes, and you would not have lost anything if they had been anchored properly or used the proper sized equipment for recovery.

They probably didn't want to take the time or money to recover it correctly.

 

[dilligaf13]

Now they don't have to worry about recovering the equipment, just recovering the body....

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Let us ALL, ALWAYS remember....




GRAVITY - IT'S THE LAW !

 

[m715mike]

I spent the first minute and a half wondering what USAFSS-ColdWarrior meant by "(Graphic Content)"....

I then spent another minute and a half with my eyes wide open and mouth gaping...


That was sad. Before attempting a job (vehicle recovery, changing a flat on the side of the road, etc.) assess your surrounds, identify potential hazards, and plan accordingly!

 

[teletech]

What an unfortunate situation. We all make mistakes sometimes, I hope his weren't fatal.

Traction is key here. I learned about metal on metal the hard way forklifting a milling machine up an incline many years ago in a way I'm not going to forget (luckily it was just the mill that needed repair)! never expect traction from metal on metal, even some sand might have saved this but really a heavy rubber strip (I'm thinking scrap conveyor belt) would have been ideal. Nylon webbing (think heavy cargo strap) in a pinch or throw down some plywood, just anything to get some bite. If you can't find traction then expect it to slide and plan accordingly, load binders or a winch gradually released would have worked. If you are transporting armor, you can save yourself a lot of heartache putting derailers on your trailer so it can't slide to the side, just screw off some 6x6 inside the tracks or weld some rails along the outside.

Still, it's another sobering reminder that big vehicles don't care who they hurt so be careful out there.

 

[turnkey]

Looks like he did what he wanted to do....Its unloaded now...whats the big fuss.???

 

[lindsey97]

1. Trailer not parked LEVEL and properly secured.
2. Wrong end of trailer to drive off of.
3. Uneducated or inexperienced operator or truck driver, unable to cope with the situation at hand and placed in a hard position by someone else.

Nothing funny about this situation, someone died in this situation, needlessly.

It appears that the trailer was high centered in whatever dip/creek/gully in the road. Truck driver should have never gone there. I appears that the haul tractor was then unhitched from the trailer, as you can see in the video, right before the tumble the left trailer tires are off the ground, which caused the weight transfer of the dozer to the right towards the gully.

My solution would have been to have backed the dozer off the trailer sideways and uphill in relation to the gully, no matter the damage or pucker factor caused by driving off the left edge of the trailer. The dozer did not have rippers so this could have been easily accomplished. Truck driver should have his ass kicked for putting them in that position.

Truly sad.

 

[61sleepercab]

Stupid tricks with metal tracks are timeless. 70 years ago a Cat skinner decided to put on a show for my young Dad one fall day by going to spin around a dozer on a dime. Well the ground was frozen and the dozer made a **** of a sled going sideways till it caught an edge and stopped.
Bare steel and bare rock equals greased glass for a dozer. Add spilled oil or diesel fuel to the surface and you can't stand up on the deck or ground. A layer of wood or plywood does wonders for traction on a dozer running on bare steel deck. The film operator had no business trying to climb the 5th wheel end of a trailer. What did he think was going to happen if he got the dozer on top of the trailer tongue????