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One night at a
09-16-2006 10:44:19
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It was a night pull, we all knew it was going to rain eventually, we all was settling grudges on the tracks that night, pride was on the line, and who was going home with enough prize money to feed one person at McDonalds. We never finished, the storm had snuck up on us and started down pouring. Pullers scattered, madly throwing weights back on to get loaded up and headed abck to the homestead. Myself included, I also had many weights to handle, and the ramps was slick, I had cut tires on my puller, and wet ramps and cut tires,,, My trailer at the time, had a short beaver tail, with a high deck, which was about 37 inches off the ground. Now 37 inches dont seem that tall or high off the ground does it? I got about 3/4 the way up the ramps and the left tire slipped and down back I started sliding off the ramps sideways, with a narrow front tractor. It happened so fast, But somehow I managed to get it back in to nuetral, when the tractor landed, I was sitting across my ramps, one tire sitting on the ground, one still high on the ramps barely hanging off, but still was about 30 inches off the ground. I landed on the left tire on my chest, which so happened to be the direction the tractor would have rolled if I had not got it out of gear. I was 17 or 18 at the time,,, To this day, I am still very nervous to still load a tractor on that trailer. It plays over and over in my mind sometimes,,, for the longest time, it kept me awake, sometimes still does. I have not loaded a tractor in the rain again I can tell you that much!! Loading and unloading tractors is a very dangerous job,, all of us who have had a bad trip off a trailer, and lived to tell the tale, its always in the back of your mind. Lately, I have been working with my nephews on how to safely load and unload tractors,, and maybe its sinking in, But never again, do I want to see my fathers face expression when I slipped and fell off the trailer. I cant say I was lucky,, even to this day. Something looked after me that night, and I got the chance to say,, Dad, Im alright. Be safe out there, its a risky business.
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