Crazy/Stupid things you have seen
- Thread starter Will67
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pistolpete
Member
Back a couple years ago I was headed up to a buddies place, and truned off one highway and merging onto another I see a car with something odd on the roof, but in the rearview mirror I can't tell what it is at all. They finally catch up to us and its a early 90's honda civic, with the head of a dead moose strapped to the roof, tongue hanging out and flapping in the wind.
Going back a few years before that was driving down a major highway following a construction truck with a ladder rack and a couple 30-40ft extension ladders on it. As I got closer I could see that the one ladder wasn't tied down very well, came out from a section of road with bush on both sides, the wind caught the front of the ladder, and flung it right off the truck. Lucky for me it caught enough air and I didnt hammer on the brakes, as I drove under it flying through the air and landed on the ground behind me.
Going back a few years before that was driving down a major highway following a construction truck with a ladder rack and a couple 30-40ft extension ladders on it. As I got closer I could see that the one ladder wasn't tied down very well, came out from a section of road with bush on both sides, the wind caught the front of the ladder, and flung it right off the truck. Lucky for me it caught enough air and I didnt hammer on the brakes, as I drove under it flying through the air and landed on the ground behind me.
rwhite692
Well-known member
Years ago I was at my local NAPA and there was this guy in front of me, really crusty old black dude with an attitude at the parts counter who was having a hard time explaining what he needed to the Napa guy. (and getting irritated that the Napa guy couldn't read his mind)
Napa Guy: "What can I get for you, sir"?
Crusty: "Need a Belt it makin' noise like it need a belt"
Napa Guy: "Do you mean a serpentine belt"?
Crusty: "Serpawhat? It jus got one belt"
Napa Guy: "What's the vehicle"?
Crusty: "Pontiac"
Napa Guy: "Year?"
Crusty: "I don know, it like 10 years ol..."
Napa Guy: "Well, what model is it?"
Crusty: "It my wife's car. Its a GOOLEE."
Napa Guy: "A GOOLEE?"
Crusty: "Dats what it say on the side"
Napa Guy: "Do you have the car here with you, sir?"
Crusty: "Yeah"
So they go outside and in ten seconds come back in.
Napa Guy says as he's typing into the computer:
"Okaaay....Serpentine belt for an 88 Pontiac 6000LE...."
Napa Guy: "What can I get for you, sir"?
Crusty: "Need a Belt it makin' noise like it need a belt"
Napa Guy: "Do you mean a serpentine belt"?
Crusty: "Serpawhat? It jus got one belt"
Napa Guy: "What's the vehicle"?
Crusty: "Pontiac"
Napa Guy: "Year?"
Crusty: "I don know, it like 10 years ol..."
Napa Guy: "Well, what model is it?"
Crusty: "It my wife's car. Its a GOOLEE."
Napa Guy: "A GOOLEE?"
Crusty: "Dats what it say on the side"
Napa Guy: "Do you have the car here with you, sir?"
Crusty: "Yeah"
So they go outside and in ten seconds come back in.
Napa Guy says as he's typing into the computer:
"Okaaay....Serpentine belt for an 88 Pontiac 6000LE...."
ultimatesooner
Well-known member
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- Dec 10, 2009
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worked at a Marina for a few years in my late teens, early 20s so I saw a lot of dumb stuff
several cars dumped in the lake on the boat ramp - one guy had his two labs tied to the bumper and didn't set the parking break so his jeep pulled the dogs in. He had to dive down and untie them and they clawed him up pretty bad trying to get to the surface
boats were always coming in too fast and hitting the dock, one guy tried to stop a boat with his feet while sitting on the front - his leg snapped in half about 4 feet away from me
several cars dumped in the lake on the boat ramp - one guy had his two labs tied to the bumper and didn't set the parking break so his jeep pulled the dogs in. He had to dive down and untie them and they clawed him up pretty bad trying to get to the surface
boats were always coming in too fast and hitting the dock, one guy tried to stop a boat with his feet while sitting on the front - his leg snapped in half about 4 feet away from me
Heavy Metal Doctor
Well-known member
I just had a similar converstaion with a customer who is a "pro" tech / mechanic:
Him: I need the bolts that came out of the sprocket I took apart on my machine.
Me: How about the ones that came out of it???
Him: I need new ones and I don't know what they are. Don't you keep them in stock??
Me: No, when we need new ones we just use bolts from shop-stock or go to the hardware store and get some. Maybe you could match up what you need that way?? (knowing he works for one of the largest shops in the area with a huge stock room with everything in the world a tech could need)
Him: we'll I dunno how long they is.
Me:You could measure them???
Him: I don't have 'em, I lost 'em. Don't you have them in stock???
Me: Oh, yeah I could match them up if I had a machine / parts here I'd just measure the sproket and collar..... New bolts come with the sprocket and shaft lock collar.
Him: Well, we just gotta order dat, then.
Me: Wait - you have the sprcoket and collar, right?....
Him: Yeah, but I need new bolts.....
You see how this is going.....and people wonder what all the bad comments about "parts changers" is about
........I finally ended up talking to his boss who I reminded that they have a hardware selection bigger than the local ACE store.......Boyd
Well-known member
Boyd
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ZRX61
Well-known member
Driving down the road one day in ther truck & I see a beater Chevy van with an entire shower stall on the roof. I get up next to him & notice there are NO ropes etc holding the damn thing on... then I see 2 hands poking out the sunroof. We're about 1/2 mile past a HD store..
I look up ahead & see the red light...
I look over at the other guy in the truck & say "I'm just gonna drop back a bit here & watch what happens at this light...
WHOOOOSH! CRASH!!! Shower stall exploded all over the middle of the intersection....
I look up ahead & see the red light...
I look over at the other guy in the truck & say "I'm just gonna drop back a bit here & watch what happens at this light...
WHOOOOSH! CRASH!!! Shower stall exploded all over the middle of the intersection....
rwhite692
Well-known member
That is great. I would love to hear the conversation that led up to that.
"Ah sure wish them hedges weren't sa damn high..."
"Hey! I gots an Idear!"....
"Ah sure wish them hedges weren't sa damn high..."
"Hey! I gots an Idear!"....
green.bubbly
Well-known member
Just Goolge "overloaded car" and you will be shocked.
IndyGarage
Well-known member
I carried a shower stall home on top of my s10 blazer one time - tied it down and went real slow - no problems.
My worst story was in high school - back in the days of the returnable glass pop bottle. Our store started selling this new brand of pop called "pop shop" that was cheap and sold like hotcakes. It came in cases of 24 bottles and you could mix and match about a dozen flavors. I hated that stuff, I worked in the stockroom and we had truckloads of bottles sitting around. One night we were trying to clean things up so we could get out of there, and there was one last skid of those empty bottles that had to go on the truck - probably 7 feet high skid of bottles. However there was only enough room for our skid mover to push it into the truck forward, not pull it in backward like we normally did. Looked like we were going to have to load it by hand - when we decided to push it up in there. Bad move - can you imagine what smashing 750 glass bottles all at once sounds like? - and how long it takes to clean the broken glass up? - about 3 hours....
My worst story was in high school - back in the days of the returnable glass pop bottle. Our store started selling this new brand of pop called "pop shop" that was cheap and sold like hotcakes. It came in cases of 24 bottles and you could mix and match about a dozen flavors. I hated that stuff, I worked in the stockroom and we had truckloads of bottles sitting around. One night we were trying to clean things up so we could get out of there, and there was one last skid of those empty bottles that had to go on the truck - probably 7 feet high skid of bottles. However there was only enough room for our skid mover to push it into the truck forward, not pull it in backward like we normally did. Looked like we were going to have to load it by hand - when we decided to push it up in there. Bad move - can you imagine what smashing 750 glass bottles all at once sounds like? - and how long it takes to clean the broken glass up? - about 3 hours....
nfuriate
Active member
While working at Tractor Supply Co, I loaded a customer's purchase after he claimed to have "done it this way before." After removing the steering wheel and seat, I/we successfully loaded a 46" deck riding mower into the back of a 2 door Jeep Cherokee. Fit just like the Jeep had been made to haul mowers.
I hate telling on myself, but I have pulled some real bonehead jobs in my time. The latest? Yesterday I was putting studs up in my garage so I could put siding on the inside walls. Once in a while I have to notch out the studs to fit over the bolts that hold the frame of the garage together. So, after telling myself a couple of times that it wasn't a good idea to hold the stud in my right hand and drill on the end of the stud with my left hand in the direction of my right hand, the drill slipped off of the end of the stud and the 5/8" spade bit ran down the stud and into the webbing of my right hand and made a couple of revolutions before it shut itself off. The webbing on my hand has the skin hanging there from being ripped to pieces and there is five or six huge holes where the bit chewed up my hand. So much for listening to yourself when you try to talk some sense into you own head.
rvr6000
Well-known member
My Dad is a retired plumber.....I remember him telling me about a job he got called out to one time for a guy who didn't have any hot water. The customer was telling Dad how he had recently done some handy plumbing work of his own. It didn't take Dad long to see the guy had hooked his water heater into the sprinkler system.
Wonder what that gas bill was like.
Wonder what that gas bill was like.
ForceFed70
Well-known member
Was at the local hardware store last year picking up some Alan blocks. Alan blocks were on special so I wasn't the only one picking up blocks.
I'm at the block compound waiting to get loaded up. I was a little nervous as I wanted a whole pallet + 11 blocks. It was a lot of weight, even for the 1-ton truck I was driving.
So I'm watching them load up the guy ahead of me and hear them talking/arguing about something. The employee didn't want to put the pallet worth of blocks into the back of this guy's 1/2T truck. The employee tells the customer "That's at least 2500lbs worth of weight there". The customer insists it will be all right and that he's hauled heavy loads like this before. So they load him up and the back bumper of this truck is nearly dragging on the ground. Customer made it about 50' across the parking lot until he got to the 1st speed bump. Then SNAP SNAP as both rear leaf springs let go.
Employee shakes his head as he get's in the forklift to unload him and says to me "That's the 2nd time today!".
I put the same weight into my 1T truck and it was still over-loaded.
I'm at the block compound waiting to get loaded up. I was a little nervous as I wanted a whole pallet + 11 blocks. It was a lot of weight, even for the 1-ton truck I was driving.
So I'm watching them load up the guy ahead of me and hear them talking/arguing about something. The employee didn't want to put the pallet worth of blocks into the back of this guy's 1/2T truck. The employee tells the customer "That's at least 2500lbs worth of weight there". The customer insists it will be all right and that he's hauled heavy loads like this before. So they load him up and the back bumper of this truck is nearly dragging on the ground. Customer made it about 50' across the parking lot until he got to the 1st speed bump. Then SNAP SNAP as both rear leaf springs let go.
Employee shakes his head as he get's in the forklift to unload him and says to me "That's the 2nd time today!".
I put the same weight into my 1T truck and it was still over-loaded.
jake00
Well-known member
7echo
Well-known member
I was following a truck towing a boat, maybe 16', walk thru windshield. Boat comes off ball and slowly veers to the left, down a ditch and into the woods right between 2 big pine trees. Truck keeps on going. I pull over to help and wait almost 30 minutes for the truck to return.
I was checking out tools one day(college shop) and a girl wants a nail gun. She comes back and says it isn't working. I say let me have a look at what you are doing. We go over to the project and she puts the gun on the wood and pulls the trigger, nothing. I plug in the air hose and she says, 'oh'.
I was checking out tools one day(college shop) and a girl wants a nail gun. She comes back and says it isn't working. I say let me have a look at what you are doing. We go over to the project and she puts the gun on the wood and pulls the trigger, nothing. I plug in the air hose and she says, 'oh'.
James E
Well-known member
I worked for a local Coca Cola distributor many years ago. On several occasions I saw guys pull out of the depot into the busy street, take the turn hard and lose palletloads of product into the street. The trucks all have side-loading doors and they'd forget to lock them after they checked their loads. It happened at least once every couple of months.
The wildest thing was watching someone drop 2-liter bottles of Dr. Pepper. Those things shoot off in every direction like missiles.
The wildest thing was watching someone drop 2-liter bottles of Dr. Pepper. Those things shoot off in every direction like missiles.
Ray-CA
Well-known member
How about the truck driver that forgot to properly latch the cage doors on a full set of double trailer fully loaded with turkeys heading for the processing plant. Yep, hundreds of live turkeys all over the freeway. Not all of them made it off the freeway....
Ray
Ray
ZRX61
Well-known member
I've had 3700lb in the bed of my F350. Hit the bottom of the Grapevine on a 5 one day going about 70.. by the time I got to the top it was showing 95mph on the speedo... Airbags under the back & a 460CobraJet in the front, pedal wasn't even all the way down
jrmylmach1
Well-known member
Well, craziest thing I have had in my work was part of an engine cowling came off due to metal fatigue. We were flying OKC to CVG passing through 12000 feet when we had a loud bang and the oil pressure went to zero. I figured the engine had let go so I called for the engine shutdown procedures. Called ATC and diverted to Tulsa. Landed, taxied into the gate and shutdown the other engine. Opened the cabin door and immediately one of the ground crew says, "Hey, I think you lost something." Of course I'm like WTF?!?!?! Walk to the back of the plane and saw half of the cowling just hanging there. All in all it was a fun experience though.
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Dragster Racer
Well-known member
Dragster Racer
Well-known member
Definately Baily!
seagravedriver
Well-known member
I work for a fire dept. We responded to call of a Motor Vehicle Accident, (MVA). Turns out that two ladies had a short bed F150 loaded with waaay over a yard of topsoil....wet topsoil. Took off down the street and they said "the faster we went, the worse it got. We thought we could drive out of it."
They rolled it down a ditch, no injuries. Truck was totaled.
They rolled it down a ditch, no injuries. Truck was totaled.
I was following a 1/2 ton pickup out of town one evening. twisty road. The PU had a large fridge up against the cab but no straps/ropes securing it. So being the safe people they were they were doing 15-20mph. Once out of town the road straightened out so they speed up to ~40mph. Suddenly a big boom that I heard in my rig and looked up to see that the fridge had blown over in the bed of the pickup. I could see the female passenger giving the male driver the what for. He just speeded up to the 55mph and went on his way.
lg
no neat sig line
lg
no neat sig line
PAToyota
Well-known member
Actually had to buy that episode off iTunes just so I could watch it every Thanksgiving.
And yes, Bailey Quarters... Mmmmmm...
LawnDart79
Well-known member
I miss WKRP...loved that show.
Oh, so now you are going to bring up stupid truck drivers, huh? Let me tell you, I ran an overhead crane in a steel mill and I can't tell you how many times I saw a truck lose a load of steel. Sometimes before they even got out of the door. You wouldn't believe how many times over the years I saw a 40,000 lb coil laying in the parking lot or on the expressway because the driver didn't think he needed to chain down his load. And it wasn't unusual to see one of those aluminum trailers twisted over and the coil of steel laying on the ground with all of the truck's tires still on the ground. So, let me offer you guys some advice, don't EVER drive along side a tractor trailer rig out on the expressway. They swerve- and that load can end up right in your lap! No joking. I always try to get by and truck out on the highway. ESPECIALLY if it is a steel hailing rig. Good luck.....j willis
I drive one of the smallest cars on the road, and I'd rather run with trucks than with passenger vehicles any day--but I'd probably feel differently if I'd seen some of the things you've seen. That said, I once saw a tire on a semi trailer come apart and take out the windshield on a car.
JB740i
Well-known member
I can't imagine how this didn't show up all over the ceiling inside. But I bet there was some insulation value along with the mold. Maybe the next green revolution will include hot compost bins in the attic...
Zeke
Well-known member
I've got forms set and a concrete truck scheduled. He shows up, turns around and backs up to the pour. The site is muddy because of rain. He sets the brake, jumps out and goes to the controls at the side of the truck. He spins up the load to add water to the mix. I hadn't been paying attention to all this because I was in conversation with the various laborers and finishers.
That's when I looked up and saw the concrete truck's drum wailing away under our temporary power lines. The lines were laying on the drum and the roughness of the drum from old dried cement was sanding its way through the insulation on the service drop.
So, here is this driver standing in mud and water, yanking away at the levers just about to become a lightening rod.
I stopped everything.
Almost, but no cigar.
That's when I looked up and saw the concrete truck's drum wailing away under our temporary power lines. The lines were laying on the drum and the roughness of the drum from old dried cement was sanding its way through the insulation on the service drop.
So, here is this driver standing in mud and water, yanking away at the levers just about to become a lightening rod.
I stopped everything.
Almost, but no cigar.
You're right, Les said the line.
Bailey, however...
O.K. I'm slow.... but good.
Yes, Bailey for sure.
But then for me it was always Mary Ann over Ginger.
Gladiator GarageWorks
Active member
This is a great thread to read if you want to escape and have a good laugh and learn what not to do. I can't believe that some of these stories are true, but then again, I've seen some pretty crazy things too 
I once saw a family member burn a hole through a wall in their house while trying to solder and fix a leaky pipe that ran through a dummy wall between the laundry room and bathroom. He didn't realize that the dry wall was burning until he smelled it "cooking". Thankfully, he didn't burned down the house or cause any more damage.
I once saw a family member burn a hole through a wall in their house while trying to solder and fix a leaky pipe that ran through a dummy wall between the laundry room and bathroom. He didn't realize that the dry wall was burning until he smelled it "cooking". Thankfully, he didn't burned down the house or cause any more damage.
Graymills - Craig
Well-known member
On the highway between DC and Annapolis, I was behind a pickup truck. The guy had 2" PVC pipes that were too long for the bed, so he had them sticking out over the cab; the thing looked like some sort of giant straw dispenser.
Now that *would* have worked, but he was holding them down with daisy-chained bungy cords.
Yeah. Bungy cords.
Going about 60, the cords broke, and the tubes gracefully flipped out of the truck, like straws in the wind. There was no way I'd stop before hitting the mess. I remembered seeing one bounce in front of me and come right at the driver's seat. Half expecting to get speared and die, I watched in amazement as the aero effects of the car guided it right over the cabin in what seemed like slow motion.
Now that *would* have worked, but he was holding them down with daisy-chained bungy cords.
Yeah. Bungy cords.
Going about 60, the cords broke, and the tubes gracefully flipped out of the truck, like straws in the wind. There was no way I'd stop before hitting the mess. I remembered seeing one bounce in front of me and come right at the driver's seat. Half expecting to get speared and die, I watched in amazement as the aero effects of the car guided it right over the cabin in what seemed like slow motion.
Graymills - Craig
Well-known member
Heh.
I was interviewed on NBC Nightly News this year about small business' reaction to the State of the Union address. I actually made a reference to this with regards to some of the proposals: like the turkey drop, the proposals probably seem reasonable to the person who came up with the ideas, but they'll just leave a big mess to clean up. I had the interviewer crying.
I've seen, and done, a few crazy and stupid things in my time, so I'll share a few funny ones:
1). An overloaded car story. Back in college in the 90's a roommate had a 68 volvo with ski racks that were circa 1970, you know those ones that had suction cups on the bottom and little hooks to go under the rain gutter on the car? Anyways, we got 2 free couches from a girlfriends folks, so figured we could put them both on the roof racks, one on top of the other, to get them to our place. Bad idea. We tied them down real good, used lots of thin yellow nylon rope, so there was no chance of the couches coming off the ski racks. As we found on the highway, our threshold was about 50mph before the rain gutters gave way, racks and couches cart wheeling down the road. Fortunately nobody ran into them and was injured.
2). A crazy car story. A few years out of college I was renting a room in a house with a bunch of young electricians. One guy drove a really old beater honda civic. So old and so beater it didn't have any door windows and the passenger door didn't open, so you crawled in like the Duke boys. The interesting part was, he'd wired the car up to start with a domestic light switch, no key required. Funniest thing, looking where you think you should see a key and instead seeing a light switch.
3). A backwards boat story. Years ago we had a family cottage on an island in Georgian Bay. We used to keep one of the boats on the island for the winter; the rock was pretty flat into the water, so we used it like a boat ramp, rolling the trailer into the water, pull the boat onto the trailer, and then use a come-along to pull the trailer up on shore. Lots of work and not a great system, so Dad finally decided to store the boat at the marina on the mainland like normal folks do. Problem was, we had to get the trailer to the mainland. So, instead of renting a barge we decided to use the smaller steel utility boat and put the trailer on top of it to transport it to the mainland. It was a ****** getting the trailer on top of the boat, and awkward as hell piloting it to shore, sitting in between the struts of this trailer. So, you can just imagine the looks on the other boaters faces as we putted by with the trailer on top of the boat in the middle of the lake. What the hell are these guys doing? They've got it all backwards!
1). An overloaded car story. Back in college in the 90's a roommate had a 68 volvo with ski racks that were circa 1970, you know those ones that had suction cups on the bottom and little hooks to go under the rain gutter on the car? Anyways, we got 2 free couches from a girlfriends folks, so figured we could put them both on the roof racks, one on top of the other, to get them to our place. Bad idea. We tied them down real good, used lots of thin yellow nylon rope, so there was no chance of the couches coming off the ski racks. As we found on the highway, our threshold was about 50mph before the rain gutters gave way, racks and couches cart wheeling down the road. Fortunately nobody ran into them and was injured.
2). A crazy car story. A few years out of college I was renting a room in a house with a bunch of young electricians. One guy drove a really old beater honda civic. So old and so beater it didn't have any door windows and the passenger door didn't open, so you crawled in like the Duke boys. The interesting part was, he'd wired the car up to start with a domestic light switch, no key required. Funniest thing, looking where you think you should see a key and instead seeing a light switch.
3). A backwards boat story. Years ago we had a family cottage on an island in Georgian Bay. We used to keep one of the boats on the island for the winter; the rock was pretty flat into the water, so we used it like a boat ramp, rolling the trailer into the water, pull the boat onto the trailer, and then use a come-along to pull the trailer up on shore. Lots of work and not a great system, so Dad finally decided to store the boat at the marina on the mainland like normal folks do. Problem was, we had to get the trailer to the mainland. So, instead of renting a barge we decided to use the smaller steel utility boat and put the trailer on top of it to transport it to the mainland. It was a ****** getting the trailer on top of the boat, and awkward as hell piloting it to shore, sitting in between the struts of this trailer. So, you can just imagine the looks on the other boaters faces as we putted by with the trailer on top of the boat in the middle of the lake. What the hell are these guys doing? They've got it all backwards!