Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2004
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Coming to work this morning I was passing a local business that builds big generator systems. Most are configured as cargo containers around 8X8X20 feet. A few are super container size, 10X10X30. these are just placed on the trailer bed of a tractor trailer rig and head out onto the divided four lane in front of the factory.
Today, when I came to the plant, the police stopped my car as well as the cars from the other direction. There was the biggest truck and trailer system I ever saw sitting on the side road from the plant. I did not have my camera or I definitely would have taken lots of photos, as I was right at the intersection. I will describe it as best I can in words.
there was a lead truck with signs and lights, the rig, and a following truck with signs and lights. The cab on the rig was about 12' tall and very wide. It had 14 wheels. On the receiver was a strange rig. It was a flat bed unit with twelve forward wheels and eight rear wheels and was about 30 feet long (five sets tandem - basically all wheels). It was so tightly fitted to the tractor that it made the tractor look like it had 34 wheels. On it was another receiver hitch. Attached to that was a really low I-beam trailer bed with no wheels. It was at most 4-6" above the road bed. On it was a HUGH generator box that was about 12X10X40' . The back of the bed was attached to the receiver of a second 20 wheel trailer rig similar to the front one. The entire tractor/trailers train was maybe 130' and had 54 wheels. That must have been a really heavy generator.
The truck needed to turn left across the median. It was clear that the rig was twice as long as the intersection was wide. The truck slowly crept out straight across the intersection and when it got almost to the far curb, it turned its front wheels completely left. They turned much farther than any wheels I ever saw....virtually 90 degrees. He nudged forward a bit, which moved the front of the truck directly left, and started to jackknife the rig. Once jackknifed to 90 degrees, he stopped...... and two men got out of the lead/follow trucks. They walked up to the front/rear trailers and took a "remote" on a long cable out of a box on each trailer. The cab then started inching forward. The front guy used his remote to turn the rear two sets of wheels on the front trailer so the generator continued to travel forward while the tractor turned left. The back guy maneuvered the rear trailer by its front sets of wheels to move sideways toward the right. They "walked" the whole assembly like a crazy caterpillar around the intersection until it was sitting straight on the other side of the highway. Once all was aligned straight again, they put away the remotes, got back in the trucks, and the whole thing started moving down the highway headed for the interstate at maybe 5mph. Whole operation took maybe 5 minutes.
Today, when I came to the plant, the police stopped my car as well as the cars from the other direction. There was the biggest truck and trailer system I ever saw sitting on the side road from the plant. I did not have my camera or I definitely would have taken lots of photos, as I was right at the intersection. I will describe it as best I can in words.
there was a lead truck with signs and lights, the rig, and a following truck with signs and lights. The cab on the rig was about 12' tall and very wide. It had 14 wheels. On the receiver was a strange rig. It was a flat bed unit with twelve forward wheels and eight rear wheels and was about 30 feet long (five sets tandem - basically all wheels). It was so tightly fitted to the tractor that it made the tractor look like it had 34 wheels. On it was another receiver hitch. Attached to that was a really low I-beam trailer bed with no wheels. It was at most 4-6" above the road bed. On it was a HUGH generator box that was about 12X10X40' . The back of the bed was attached to the receiver of a second 20 wheel trailer rig similar to the front one. The entire tractor/trailers train was maybe 130' and had 54 wheels. That must have been a really heavy generator.
The truck needed to turn left across the median. It was clear that the rig was twice as long as the intersection was wide. The truck slowly crept out straight across the intersection and when it got almost to the far curb, it turned its front wheels completely left. They turned much farther than any wheels I ever saw....virtually 90 degrees. He nudged forward a bit, which moved the front of the truck directly left, and started to jackknife the rig. Once jackknifed to 90 degrees, he stopped...... and two men got out of the lead/follow trucks. They walked up to the front/rear trailers and took a "remote" on a long cable out of a box on each trailer. The cab then started inching forward. The front guy used his remote to turn the rear two sets of wheels on the front trailer so the generator continued to travel forward while the tractor turned left. The back guy maneuvered the rear trailer by its front sets of wheels to move sideways toward the right. They "walked" the whole assembly like a crazy caterpillar around the intersection until it was sitting straight on the other side of the highway. Once all was aligned straight again, they put away the remotes, got back in the trucks, and the whole thing started moving down the highway headed for the interstate at maybe 5mph. Whole operation took maybe 5 minutes.
