Soooo yea.... I almost died today

[101lifts2]

Before going to engineering school, I was a tech for 3 years. I used to do most of the used vehicle inspections and put up many big trucks like that on the little side post lifts designed for small imports. Shit would make me nervous just standing under those big ass trucks. I've also had the legs slip out a few times, but I usually rock the vehicle just off the ground to make sure shit didn't slip out.

You mean you cannot pull the heads off with the engine in the frame and the body on? Seems like pulling the entire cab off is overkill (steering shaft, A/C lines, wire harnesses etc. etc.) and leads to many more issues. But hey...

[Cutty72]

Lucky man... glad you are ok. Never knew what you actually did before, besides ride a lot that is.
PM coming your way.

[thirdgenlxi]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

I'm glad that you're okay but I'm also curious about what your boss had to say... I mean you even said yourself that you've done this "a million" times so blaming the accident on the equipment might not cut it.

Oh but I can! I have indeed done this job damn near a million times without incident, meaning that chances are, I know what the hell I'm doing. I'm not new to working on these trucks... I've been working on them exclusively for the past several years, so I've put "a few" of them up on the lift. I'm very picky about how I have the lift set, and will not put it up in the air until I'm completely satisfied with how the feet are sitting on the frame. I've spent 30+ minutes before just getting a rack set to where I'm happy with it before putting it up in the air. But see here's the thing.... I've only been at this place for a couple months. The majority of the times I've done this job it was at my old dealer, where we actually had adequate equipment for picking up these trucks. This dealer does not. These are 9000 lb lifts, the truck weighs nearly 11,000 lbs. That's a problem!! The lifts at my old shop were 18,000 lb lifts, and I never once had a single problem with those lifting these trucks (even bigger than this one... F-550's with a service body or crane). I don't like using these lifts, but I have no choice.... I have to use what I have and that's the only lift I have to use. There are also locking mechanisms on the lift arms so that when you raise it up off the ground it locks the arms to keep them from being able to be moved. These locks do not work on my lift. So yea... I won't take responsibility for the truck falling by any of my wrong doing. I had it set properly, but the arm slipped out from under the frame because the truck was simply too heavy for that style of lift. I didn't want to use the lift in the first place, so now my boss at least has a little better understanding as to why.

My boss didn't say jack to me as far as blame, he knows we're not using the proper equipment for these trucks... he was more worried about me being OK than anything else. We were talking about it today and he said he didn't care at all what happened to the truck cuz insurance will cover it, as long as I was OK. He also knows that I could make one phone call to OSHA, who could totally wreak havoc on the place (it's an oooollllld rundown shop with tons of safely hazards, plus lifts that don't work right, and using too small of lifts for the trucks). We're getting a brand spankin new dealership and shop in a couple of months with all new and proper equipment to use, so that's the only reason they're not really putting any $$ into this shop for much of anything. I will not use these lifts anymore unless I'm lifting a car or something else small. I either get on a creeper and work on the floor or put it on the drive on rack

Anyways, quick update... sorry to take so long to respond, I was trying to find a pic of the truck and today my boss sent me a text with the pic he took on his phone. The damage really didn't seem bad, a dent in the bottom of the drivers front door, drivers running board bent up, passenger side bottom of truck bed bent in a little bit from lift arm hitting it, tiny dent in passenger front door, cracked the front grille, broke the parking brake mechanism, pulled RF wheel speed sensor wiring out of connector, then a couple scratches and whatnot. Truck went to the body shop right after I got done with it and they did an awesome job.... fixed it all up, repaint, and then buffed the whole truck (black) and detailed it.... looked fantastic! Detailed the interior too, gave it back to the customer and he went down the road, got on the highway and said it started shaking all over the place. He took it in to an alignment place, and now word has it that the frame is bent or tweaked from being twisted when it fell. It's been sitting in our shop the last couple of days now, my boss is trying to figure out how to get him a new truck/fix the frame/whatever they're gonna do. Fun fun fun.....

Here's the truck in all it's glory right after it fell. The lift is still at the height the entire truck was at when it fell. I was standing UNDER it on the drivers side between the front and rear doors... I was putting the running board back on. Oh yea it was running this whole time too, lol. I'm very very lucky indeed!!

[Amber Lamps]

Well you didn't mention that before mister detail leaver outer.... I'm glad you're okay and your boss isn't trying to put the blame on you. Just fucking with you but you realize that if you knew that the lift was inferior for this job, you shouldn't do it. Besides, you are now saying that you have an alternative way to do this job so.....

hey my boss wanted me to carry a 100 lb spring up a 36' ladder that is only rated for 250 lbs... I weigh 250 lbs by my self. I made him get a lift, I'm OSHA 30 rated and won't compromise my safety for someone else's pocket.

[tommymac]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

Well you didn't mention that before mister detail leaver outer.... I'm glad you're okay and your boss isn't trying to put the blame on you. Just fucking with you but you realize that if you knew that the lift was inferior for this job, you shouldn't do it. Besides, you are now saying that you have an alternative way to do this job so.....

hey my boss wanted me to carry a 100 lb spring up a 36' ladder that is only rated for 250 lbs... I weigh 250 lbs by my self. I made him get a lift, I'm OSHA 30 rated and won't compromise my safety for someone else's pocket.

Ohh big bad osha 30 hr, I only have the osha 10hr thats required for anyone whos on the 2 jobsites we cover but have been learning more about the different certifications.

Tom

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by tommymac

Ohh big bad osha 30 hr, I only have the osha 10hr thats required for anyone whos on the 2 jobsites we cover but have been learning more about the different certifications.

Tom

That's right bow down motherfucker!!!!

[Kerry_129]

Holy crap - glad you didn't get pancaked!

My very first thought, reading what you described & before seeing your followup, was "Damn, I bet it twisted the frame like a pretzel". Hard to believe it wouldn't have occurred to someone that checking the alignment/frame would be the first order of business, waaaay before worrying about repainting dings.
I'm curious whether your boss told the truck's owner what exactly happened, or if they just cleaned it up and handed it back.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Kerry_129

Holy crap - glad you didn't get pancaked!

My very first thought, reading what you described & before seeing your followup, was "Damn, I bet it twisted the frame like a pretzel". Hard to believe it wouldn't have occurred to someone that checking the alignment/frame would be the first order of business, waaaay before worrying about repainting dings.
I'm curious whether your boss told the truck's owner what exactly happened, or if they just cleaned it up and handed it back.

Yea I wondered that too but didn't ask because that would also implicate Jared... I would have also checked the alignment along with "A" arms, struts, suspension components, etc. That's the shit that'll get you sued if the customer goes out and gets killed because something was cracked/bent and he has a massive crash while hauling a huge trailer with a backhoe on it.

[MissHell]

Wow! Glad you are okay.

[Sixxxxer]

Its crazy how the Cab comes off the Frame liek that...Kinda cool actually.

Def glad your Ok...That was a Damn close call.