Interesting people and loading strategies II

Since writing I had someone come get the rest of the pipe. When he called he said he was going to build a rack for his truck like mine before he came over. I told him how I made mine. He sounded like he knew what he was doing. When he showed up I almost couldn't believe my eyes. He used 3/4" x 1.25" wood for uprights. One cross piece was 3/4 x 3.5 (1x4) and the other cross piece was much smaller and looked to have been split off something--not cut. A mismatch of bent over nails and screws held it together. After loading 1/2 the pipe it almost broke. I suggested cutting to 10 foot lengths but he didn't want to. He'd driven over an hour so another trip wasn't an option. I finally decided and convinced him that as he had an 8 foot bed he could put them in the bed and over the tailgate and let them stick way out. He had 3 straps. 2 he used to bundle the pipe into a circle. Next as his Dodge didn't have any tiedown IN the bed we needed to find a way to secure the pipe in bottom of the bed at the front. We snapped apart the "rack" and used the 1X4 cut to length to fit under his bedrails on both sides and slid back to hold the front of the bundle down but it was far from secure. The bed had a gooseneck receiver in the floor and I asked where he attached safety chains when using it but he didn't know anything about the hitch--came on the truck and he never used it. I finally felt ok for him to leave when I managed to pry some part of that gooseneck receiver up a bit (like a locking lever or something, it was 1/4" thick 2.5" wide). It had a hole in the end. The strap went into that hole around the pipe and to the middle stake pocket on the side and pulled tight. He then used bailing twine to tie the bundle at the back of the bed to the back stake pocket. I must have helped him for an hour. But now I felt it at least would not fall completely free of the truck in transit. Nice guy just didn't think things through.

I'm going to have to change my policies on helping folks load. Not sure what to do. I think I'll try a suggesting they bring 4 to 6 RATCHETING straps and tell them they are responsible for loading and tie-down themselves at the point I give people directions to my house. I'm wasting way too much of my time helping unprepared people load.

Where is all this "fun" going on???? IT sounds like your getting your fair share of idiots. LOL

The big box stores around here won't help you strap down. Something about liability.

I'm sure "idiots" are common all over the world. I'd prefer not to brand them idiots as I'm sure we all have a little idiot in us--but I know what you mean. I'm in NC, home of everything on the way out. Furniture production, Tobacco/Cigarets, Textiles, Good jobs. We also have a lot of chicken and hog farms--not sure how they're doing.

Shall I post about the preacher, wife, 6 kids, minivan and a child's play house?

How about the ladies with kids loading bikes?

If your worried about what happens in an accident they'll make your skin crawl. No accident worries?--they are just amusing.

Not being afraid to admit some idiocy in myself I posted some time back about me, my father, a Ford 601 and a 2" ball--err make that a 2 5/16 ball.

Back a few years ago, I went to work for Homo Depo. Woman came in with her teenaged son, and got a fairly good stack of lumber. They went to tie it on their car, laid the wood on the roof, and proceeded to 'tie' it down with saran wrap- right thru the open windows, and over the load. Then, when the portly old broad tried to get into the car, she discovered that the windows had a full frame around them and she had just wrapped the doors closed. It was hilarious watching her trying to do a Bo Duke trying to get into the car......

If only we could film stuff like this.

A friend sent these to me a while back: