[Scout]

So far, nothing like the NY story.


Cleveland, I was delivering 6500 pound coils of copper rod to a wire maker. I was warned, and shown pics of the dock. Always up for a challenge I took the load. Once I arrived, I found out just how hard it would be. I had to pull into a narrow alley and then back into the dock. It was a tight fit, it took 30 minutes to get in and when I was done I was jackknifed up against the building on the other side of the alley. Maybe another 30 minutes later I was empty. I had to pull forward the same way I got in, back out onto the street, the blindside back onto a side street so I could get turned around. That took another 40 minutes.



Early in my driving career I had a load of insulation. My second stop required a blindside back off the street and down a curvy drive to a parking lot, (construction) all the while 4 wheelers are driving around me trying to get out.

[silvan]

None of mine top that NYC story, but I have three memorable ones.

First, it was my very first solo trip. I had driven the same route with a trainer, but driving for yourself is a world of difference. That was the night I learned to READ SIGNS. Directions said to take 29 south, so I came upon 29 south, and got off. Went about a block before I realized I wasn't in Kansas. Nothing looked right. (Because I was on 29 business.) So I decided to turn around by going around the block.

Turn right. Turn right. Turn right. Cul-de-sac. :dung:

So I had to blindside out of this residential neighborhood with parked cars everywhere at 2:00 in the morning, at a point in my career when I could still only barely hit a dock straight, let alone blindside out of a tight mess like that. I must have climbed out of that truck a thousand times that night.


Next story. Bad directions in the Hillbilly made no sense, so I pulled into a Burger King or something and called the guy. Turn here, follow this road to the end, turn right, yadda blah.

So I followed the road to the end of the yellow lines, but it wasn't actually the end of the road. It went through. So I wasn't sure what to do, and I went through too, onto the part with no lines. Made it around about five hairpin curves when some guy in a house comes running at me pinwheeling his arms frantically.

"DRIVER! STOPPPP!!! You're trying to get to [thusandsuch] aren't you? That guy can't give directions. The last guy made it around that next turn there, and it took three cranes to get his truck out of the ravine. Back up."

So I had to back a couple three miles of twisty kiss your ass country road with fourwheelers flying all around me, but nothing like that NYC misadventure I don't imagine.

Third one, directions said to take highway such and thus. Check. Turn left on Someroad at a McDonald's and a supermarket (Giant maybe?). McDonald's, check. Supermarket, check. Left, check. Now turn left on 7th street.

So I'm going up there, and the streets all have names, not numbers, but this is PA, so who the hell knows. In two blocks, I might be in three different towns. So I keep going, looking for 7th street. Nope. Nope. Nope.

I come to a very hard choice. The road dead ends ahead, but the turn to the right or the left is insanely tight, with a telephone pole on either corner, and cars parked up either side of the street right to the edge of the intersection. I look up ahead, and spy a cul-de-sac. Cool. I had a 45' trailer and single-axle cabover, and I could turn around in a car-sized cul-de-sac when pressed.

So I eased off the pavement and up the little cobblestone street to the cul-de-sac. But it wasn't a cul-de-sac, it was a damn gravel loop through a CEMETERY!

Uh oh. :shock:

So I put it in reverse to back back down the hill and through that intersection. Went back a few feet. POINK! POINK! KA-PLOINK! THUNK!

Various cables dangling in the road. I got under them going up because of the slope of my air shield, but then my air shield tore them off on the way backwards. Everything will be OK as long as I don't announce my presence to all the neighbors who were just watching TV, and who are now listening to static. (But on the bright side, they can't call the cops either. )

So I continued backing back, and I could see tons of cross traffic on all the side streets, so I decided to try that turn from hell. I forget what all I did on that turn, but after some ridiculous effort, I managed to get around that horrible corner without trading paint. I think I did scrape a telephone pole or two, but I didn't knock anything over, or do any noticeable damage to the trailer.

Worked my way back to that big parking lot, and went in to call the boss to tell him what just happened.

"Was the street posted no trucks?"

"No. But I bet it will be tomorrow!"

"Get the hell out of there. Those lines were supposed to be 15' off the ground, and they weren't. Roll."

So I'm walking back to my truck from the pay phone (cell phone was years away), and this little old Yankee man in a pickup drives up to me.

"Hey. You tore down my @#%@#% cable TV."

"Yes sir. I sure did. I just got off the phone with the police. I reported the incident, and I'm going to wait here for law enforcement to arrive, and levy any applicable fines. Have a great day sir, and I apologize for any inconvenience."

He drove off. My customer got there with their sixwheeler to pick up their one lousy piece. I unloaded that, and got the hell out of dodge.

I never did find that store. Every time I had to go there, I made them meet me in that parking lot. They bitched about it, but they always did it.

[Shawnee]

I can't top that NYC story, I would have sat there and cried if that was me. I know how those people are in NYC, But it is good to know that no matter where you go there are some good people out there.

The first time I ever went to Chicago, I was trying to get to this place to pick up a load and I called the company to get the directions. I was on my way there when I realized that the street that I was supossed to turn on was at such an angle that I could not make the turn. No problem I thought, I'll just go around the block. Big mistake.

I came up on a low bridge, I turned down another street, another low bridge. Every street I turned down I hit a low bridge, finally I came to yet another bridge, I was stuck, it was a busy street, cars were honking, I couldn't back up or do anything. I tried to flag down a cop, no luck.

A man who happened to be outside in his yard saw what was going on and came over with his two teenaged boys. He offered to help me back out of there, he and the boys stopped the traffic so I could back up and back down a side street to turn around. When I finally got turned around he motioned for me to pull over to the side. He asked me where I was going and I told him. He said he would take me there, he and the boys went to the house and got there car and I followed them.

Everytime we came to a street to turn down the boys would get out and run down to make sure I was able to fit down the street, several times the boys got out of the car to hold back the traffic so I could get down the street, even though cars were honking at them. Finally after a couple of hours I made it to the place to pick up my load, I was so grateful, I couldn't thank these people enough, I offered to give the boys some money for their time but they wouldn't take it. It is good to know that there are good people out there who is willing to take the time to help out a lost driver.

[silvan]

Originally Posted by Shawnee

No problem I thought, I'll just go around the block. Big mistake.

Yup. One thing I've learned over the years is to park the truck and go scout things out on foot. People think I'm nuts when I walk around the nice square block, or walk allllll the way around some strip mall to find 20 acres of room back there, but it has paid huge dividends over the years.

It is good to know that there are good people out there who is willing to take the time to help out a lost driver.

Nice story!

[flood]

my first trip out solo to NJ (little town down by I295) had sat-com directions called reciver and got the same directions word for word so off i go and the directions were great couldn't have been better, at each turn thay would say trun left or right with the street name and at the turn was a truck route sign, great
UNTIL i come to this turn and the directions say veer left...? it's a 5 way corner and their is the truck route sign great then i see the sign "road closed" :dung: not only is it closed their is NO ROAD... :shock: like no blacktop dirt dug about 2ft deep. so now what the he$$ do i do :?: all the other roads have NO TRUCK signs. looks like i will have to pull thru back down one and cut a hard left and drive back out to get to a phone (didn't have a cell at the time)
just as i start i see the detour sign "veer right" will ok if thats the detour so off i go as soon as i get down this street i know something is way wrong... little houses little street cars parked people cutting grass stop and just stare up as i go by this is just the wrong place to be so i'm going to go around the block to get the he$$ out of dodge.
i make the first left and as i'm going i see the shadow of wires wiggling (pole on left side to houses on right. :shock: make the next right and the next right just as i come to the last right i need to make to get out i see the main road about 6 blocks ahead so i go straight well i get 200 ft up the road and this guy stops his pu and ask if i'm looking for XYZ company i told him i was (realy nice guy) he tells me if i back up to the corner and make a left go to the stop sign turn right the driveway will be the first on the left...... great and he tells me he will go beck and stop traffic so i can backup (way great) so i do,
thanked him and just as i start to turn left up slids the COP :dung: :dung: :dung:
i get out and he looks at me and asked "did you just ripout some ones phone line..." :mrgreen: so i being honest said "not that i know of" (i realy didn't see no wires fall) and as we are looking at my trailer and the little green bushes ware my lites should be (did i mention all the branches sliding up over the cab..) this guy run's up yelling about how i just ripped his cable off his house :dung: so i in my most professional voice said sir if i did i'm very sorry you'll need to call your cable company and have then come out and fix it
just then the cop looks at me and said you know this is not a truck route..? so ever so nice i said yes officer i know that BUT the truck route is closed and the deture sign pointed up here as soon as i get in here i could see this was someplace that i should not be so i was just trying to turn around and get out... and as to the wires even though this is not a truck route the wires still need to clear my truck after all a moving company truck can come in here and thay are just as high as i am.
he looks at me and asked if i knew ware i was going and i told he that this nice gentlemen told he how to get to the reciver. he asked if i could get out without tearing anything out so i looked down the street and said sure so he tells me to get the HE## out of their and when i leave don't come back this way when you leave just turn right and go to the main road
the truck route that was closed made a big U around the neighborhood..

i'll never forget looking up at the trailer and seening the bushes ware my lites should be

[Mtc_Is_Hell]

I've had my share of experience's but I do have gps and a cell phone...

Just tuesday I was enjoying my fun filled trip thru chicago. Every second thinking how I can't wait to get the hell out of here. I was going down Diversey street in route to 90/94 west bound... Turn left on california street and the overpass is posted 13 feet... Most would go ahead and proceed and comfirm clearance, but this ticked me off. So I called chicago police got to talking to the right people. Let them know the situation, they offered to send a squad car out for assistance, but told me while its marked 13 feet its really closer to 14 feet. Told me to go slow and check for clearance, I had to have been there 15 mins and not one truck went thru..

Question is why don't they post exact heights?