Heavy, heavy metal

MissouriBullet · Mar 31, 2011

This would have been comical if I hadn't been so angry. Our metal vendor decided to ship us our last truckload of alloy (45,000 lbs.) on 9 pallets weighing 2.5 tons each. Our fine little forklift, the Toshiba, is a wonderful machine but it is only rated for a maximum of 3,300 lbs.

We couldn't get our pallet jacks under the pallets and they were loaded sideways, two across, on the flatbed trailer anyhow, so we couldn't get them off the back of the truck the way we normally do. And they were too heavy to pull to the side for unloading with chains, so we had to jam lifters under the pallets and jerk them to the edge of the bed that way. 5,000 lbs. of dead weight sitting on a pallet provides a lot of inertia.

Once the pallets were off the flatbed, 2 or 3 guys had to hang off the back of the forklift to keep me from nosediving, which worked in almost every instance.

Not a fun morning.

For your amusement, here is some footage of our gravity-defying experience.

Brad

Remo223 · Mar 31, 2011

Been there done that.

Your counterweight needs to eat more.

MissouriBullet · Mar 31, 2011

Well, he can't after his heart attack last year. He had to lost 40 lbs., and did. I envy him that dedication ;-)

Remo223 · Mar 31, 2011

Yikes, he looks way too young for a heart attack.

I've overloaded a forktruck so much the only way to get the load off the truck(even with two guys hanging on the back) is to drive the truck out from under it and set the pallet down FAST.

hhrgprez · Mar 31, 2011

crazy

Picture this: I'm 16, they take the forks off and turn them upside down on the lift, to get an extra couple of feet height. Then a rickity old basket is slid onto the forks. I get in the basket, and they run me up 4 stages to the top of the reach in the cart. the 2 biggest guys they can find in the plant sit on the back of the lift to add counter weight!!! I then open and climb a 6 ft ladder to reach the last distance to install lighting fixtures. The temp outside is 96, and on the ceiling 122 degrees!!! I come down after each 10 minutes, stand at the outside door and end up with pneumonia!!

Quoheleth · Mar 31, 2011

Simple test:

Start of job: ten fingers, ten toes per man.
End of job: ten fingers, ten toes per man.

Success.

What is it today with doofuses? Had that problem, too, except it was regarding when someone was going to show up. An hour late by them made me an hour late all day long.

Q

Remo223 · Mar 31, 2011

hhrgprez said:
Picture this: I'm 16, they take the forks off and turn them upside down on the lift, to get an extra couple of feet height. Then a rickity old basket is slid onto the forks. I get in the basket, and they run me up 4 stages to the top of the reach in the cart. the 2 biggest guys they can find in the plant sit on the back of the lift to add counter weight!!! I then open and climb a 6 ft ladder to reach the last distance to install lighting fixtures. The temp outside is 96, and on the ceiling 122 degrees!!! I come down after each 10 minutes, stand at the outside door and end up with pneumonia!!

I've done that!

I thought I was the only crazy one.

Except I didn't have a basket, didn't put the forks on upsidedown, didn't have any counterweight, and had an extension ladder instead of a step ladder. Also, I didn't have any help. I drove the forklift and laid an extension ladder on a pallet and lifted it up as high as it would go. Then I CLIMBED up the mast of the fork lift and got onto the pallet and put up the extension ladder. then went up the ladder and changed lightbulb.

Oh, I forgot about the part where I couldn't reach and had to throw on a stack of 15 pallets to get the height up a little higher.

FTG-05 · Mar 31, 2011

What kind of alloy, DU, Osmium, Unobtainium, Neutronium, what?

My company (a very small aerospace and defense contractor) uses DU in their commercial airplanes.

MissouriBullet · Mar 31, 2011

sNsBpB
2/6/92

We use it for casting bullets.

45taurus · Mar 31, 2011

sNsBpB
2/6/92

We use it for casting bullets.

Haha!

Jeff H · Mar 31, 2011

We use it for casting bullets.

ROFL.

dickttx · Mar 31, 2011

Watch those front tires!!!
I've rolled them off my little JD 4400 several times by picking up too much in my loader.

Robert Palermo /Penn Bullets · Mar 31, 2011

Trying to break the law of physics? or break the forklift?

Its too bad the laws of physics dictated that lead made such a good bullet material. I had put my vote in for balsa wood but nobody ever listens to me.

Fanky · Mar 31, 2011

Reminds me of a few occasions setting beams for bridge cranes. It gets really sketchy when the beams are heavy enough that you have to lift it with two forklifts. I've also used stacks of pallets to get a little more height out of a lift, but only when OSHA isn't looking

armoredman · Mar 31, 2011

I drove explosive fork truck in the Navy 20+ years ago - been there, done that.

Glad to see it went OK in the end.

Seedtick · Mar 31, 2011

Once the pallets were off the flatbed, 2 or 3 guys had to hang off the back of the forklift to keep me from nosediving, which worked in almost every instance.

Dang! I shoulda been there.

Finally, a job I am qualified to do.

Counter weight.

Seedtick

TooManyToys · Apr 1, 2011

Oh my!, ...if those front tires could talk, what would they be saying?

grubbylabs · Apr 1, 2011

Yup I ride the back of a bob cat from time to time. The best was when my father in law had to call is son for help after he dropped a round bale feeder and it landed around the bob cat so that he was stuck in the feeder.

Bush Pilot · Apr 1, 2011

Casting bullets? That would never have crossed my mind coming from a company called "Missouri Bullet Company".

MissouriBullet · Apr 1, 2011

I know. It's just too obscure for words, isn't it?

J_McLeod · Apr 1, 2011

Thanks for sharing.

klcmschlesinger · Apr 1, 2011

Near Miss

That would qualify as a Safety "near miss" as we call it. Fill it out as an accident that could have happen (fork truck broke and killed driver and too light counter weight) and the company gives you a $25 gift card.

Heavy, heavy metal

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