General Used Diesel Trucks Question

[fonefiddy]

You do know that the CGVWR of our rigs is between 10.500-14,000 lbs? Depending on your rear axle. Yea, I know that is a little conservative, but still, your pushing your luck. Both power wise and with a truck that has notoriously poor braking capabilities.

[ditch witch]

Hired Gun,
You mention, "...I also have never been in a car wreck, as I know how to drive very defensively. " I recommend you continue driving VERY defensively, 'cause if you're ever in a wreck you'll probably be facing liability suits for being overweight. And pray you don't hit anything of value, 'cause the only thing that will save you is if all law schools are closed down for about 10 years!!!

[Hired Gun]

As an Insurance Agent I could tell you a thing or two about liability. Start out with 1,000,000 bodily injury liability limits with a 5,000,000 umbrella policy to back it up like I do and I don't believe I will have much to lose beyond that. Insurance companies don't like to pay out that much money and you ought to see the defense they can mount when they are looking at losing a million bucks. Even with all that I drive very carefully. I carry that much as I have been in a serious racing accident that left me paralyzed and when we travel I usually have my whole team plus my family aboard. If I ever get in a wreck I know that financially they will all be taken care of plus at 16,000 pounds I could cause a lot of mayhem on the freeway if it ever got away from me. That said I have logged near 100,000 miles loaded up and down I-5 from Seattle to Southern California including Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Montana. Many break downs and a couple close calls but have never traded paint with another vehicle. I also have special equipment to help with all the weight. Believe me I have my bases covered. The 22,000 was a fluke that just needed to be done because it was a cash talks BS walks kind of deal on the plywood. I had to take it all in one trip. I saved over $4,000 bucks on that deal. I even was even passed by two different highway patrol vehicles on the highway and city cops saw me in both towns and they just waved. I thought I was busted for sure.

Do you want to talk about life or disability insurance sometime?

[ditch witch]

Hired Gun,
You're talking money. You have a 5 M umbrella policy. You saved 4K on a cash wood sale. And on a fluke you move a 22K rig down the highway overloaded. Vehicle accidents are like death, chances are... we'll all have at least one! The 5M policy will protect you and your family from financial ruin, how about the damage you do to others? Because you have a large ins. co. backing you does that free you from using public roadways with responsibility?

[Hired Gun]

I know the odds. My clients have accidents nearly every day. I also have some in their 90’s that have also never been in a wreck. I got spinal cord injured in a motorcycle racing accident. General liability or bodily injury liability coverage excludes your own family members. That is the amount of liability I carry for every one else not in my family. I have Blue Cross health insurance to cover my family and me. When I got paralyzed in 1993, my hospital bill was over $100,000 plus ongoing expenses. I'm going on my 3rd power chair at $16,000 a pop. I know what accidents can do. As an Agent and a statistic I know the odds.

With my clean driving record the 1,000,/1,000,/500 limits I carry only cost $20 per car more a month over 100/300/50 limits that most people carry. The 5 million umbrella policy that covers my house and vehicles is only $350 a year. I know most people on the road insured by other Agents are grossly underinsured so rather than trying to squeeze blood out of a turnip; I carry the max so that the underinsured/uninsured limits protect me for when someone else is at fault. Saves a lot of trouble.

My 1-ton van is equipped with the best carbon metallic brakes money can buy with racing fluid in the lines to protect from boiling. I learned that in the heat of Nevada. It also has load range E tires that are rated at 3500 per tire with 95 percent tread. (I trade them off at 70%), 1 ton full floater rear end with synthetic fluid and 4.10 gears and air bags for extra support. The weight on my rear axle was only 7,100 pounds before I sucked up the weight distribution bars on the easy lift. I run grade 8 safety chains with forged hooks and a 12,000 pound hitch attached with 6 - ½”grade 8 bolts and hardened washers torqued to 75 pounds. . I am rated to tow 12,000 set up like this and only had 11,900 on the trailer axles. I had about 3,000 on the tongue. I crossed public scales with it so I knew what I weighed at the risk of being parked for being overweight. Would you have even stopped?

The trailer was built 15 years ago by me and is rated to 18,000 pounds. I used to build them for a living before I got hurt. It is built with 6" channel iron with 3 - 6,000-pound axles under it. (The guy I built it for has moved a 14,000 pound Cat on it.) All that and I still did not exceed 45 miles per hour though it felt very safe and the tires all looked fine. It was a smart looking level load. It really was deceptive but slowing down or on the hills it didn't act like the spring pup it does with #16,000 on. I just kept a huge safety margin in front of me and observed my usual rule of going no faster than I wanted to crash. I rolled up to most stops without hardly even using the brakes. It was an advanced move that I would never recommend to anyone. I had all day to move it and used a couple hours to cover 30 miles including picking up the load and securing it. It was a legal load.

Not only am I responsible I am an example of responsibility. I even got my Pit Bull certified as a therapy dog in order to get the policy. They couldn’t even get her to show her teeth no matter what they did. As a general rule we usually don’t even insure homeowners with pit bulls. I have a concealed weapons permit and carry daily, am a Red Cross Lifeguard, was formerly a waterfront safety director at a large summer camp while in Boy Scouts, My first job out of High School was Head Lifeguard for our county parks. I was head of the Safety Committee for a large plywood manufacturing company and the lead Millwright in charge of implementing the safety program. I had crane and forklift operator cards when I was a Longshoreman so I know a bit about handling and securing large loads. (They expired after I got hurt.) I’m currently in process of becoming a Hunters Safety Instructor. So I guess you could say I’m even certified as responsible. What are your qualifications to judge me?

FYI: irresponsible people cannot get these limits at any cost.

And while I'm at it. I still hate my 7.3 idi. It was kind of cool at first but the noise and expense to keep it up turned me off after awhile. I'm really much happier with the 460

[ditch witch]

In your haste to tell us how good you are at everything you must have overlooked something! Reread my post, did I pass any judgement on you? Looks to me like I was asking questions and made a few statements.

Glad you're happy with your 460. I've got 2 Caterpillar crawlers, 4 (each) wheel tractors, 1 PU -- all diesel. I use them all the time and I wouldn't trade even across for the same models in gas. I just don't have trouble with them. Oh, I've got 3 gasoline propelled vehicles. Not much trouble with them either. Must be the luck of the draw?

[Hired Gun]

You posted:
"Vehicle accidents are like death, chances are... we'll all have at least one!"

This sounds like you really think everyone gets in one. Lots of people go through life and never have an accident. I can show you people that have never even turned in a windshield.

"The 5M policy will protect you and your family from financial ruin, how about the damage you do to others?"

"Because you have a large ins. co. backing you does that free you from using public roadways with responsibility?"

--------------These last two crossed the line.---------
They are not just some statements and a couple curiosity questions.

Your post was insinuating much. I sounded to me more like you thought I made bad judgments and just hooked onto any old load and floored it all they way home while tossing beer cans out the window and yelling Yeee Hawww all the way with no regard for the safety of other drivers under the guise that I can be as dumb as I want cause I got the whopper policy to protect me.

I can read and I see you said nothing like this but this is how it came across. That’s the bad thing about type written documents. You can’t see or here the inflection or gestures of the author to see how it is intended.

If you don’t want answers don’t ask questions. I answered yours in full. Now, I’m callin’ you out. What’s your credentials? What have you done to insure the safety and well being of the people you share the road with? Are you ticket and accident free?

In your haste to bash me you failed to read my entire post. How about answers to my questions. As snotty as this sounds it is intended to be a respectful request with a grin as I write it to see if you can read my mind.

[fonefiddy]

Quote,

"I sounded to me more like you thought I made bad judgments and just hooked onto any old load and floored it all they way home while tossing beer cans out the window and yelling Yeee Hawww all the way with no regard for the safety of other drivers under the guise that I can be as dumb as I want cause I got the whopper policy to protect me. "

Now that's funny!!!

I musta read your sig wrong, I realize now that you have an E350. I thought you were in a 250.

It sounds to me like you've got most of the bases covered. And to top it off, you drive much more responsibly than most peeps out there.

I get nervous because, it's like the streets of San Francisco around here. I see craaaazy stuff going down these 8-15%grades in town! You won't catch me pulling the stunts some peeps try and get away with around here.