[TheForge] bridge

[Ries Niemi]

Ok, Jerry, I am sure you are right that there IS equipment that can do it.
the next question is, how much does it cost to have such a slideback?
How much does it cost to keep one running.
I am assuming the ones you are talking about were paid for by the Great State of Alaska, which, since Alaska gets back something like a buck and a half for every tax dollar they send in, means paid for by us, down here in the lower 48.

I would figure that a rig like that is 30 to 50 grand, used, more like a yard and a half to 200 grand, new. insurance, which, I guess you could argue bridge stealers dont pay for, has gotta be another ten to twenty grand a year. Keeping a rig like that on the road aint cheap- oil changes and ordinary maintanence, occasional tires- it costs the average independent trucker a LOT of money to keep a much simpler, cheaper rig on the road. 

So my question would be- why would somebody who is obviously making enough money to own and maintain a rig like that risk stealing a bridge, something thats pretty easily traceable? 
We are not talking meth heads in 1970's K cars here- we are talking investment, skills, and knowledge, to even know what kind of rig to use, and how to use it.

Which points to a level of corruption and lax law enforcement that we sure dont have around here- where I live, you couldnt drive a rig like that on public roads without current tabs, logbooks, medical tests for the driver, and, yes, insurance. You would get nabbed by the WSP in their truck enforcement division suburbans in about a day. 

And where I live, you get paid by check, in the mail, for any scrap over 25 bucks, and you gotta present picture ID to do that, and most places take photos of your rig as well, including license plates. My local recycler would be calling the cops before your rig came to a stop on the scale if they didnt know you and you had a bridge on the back. 

I guess PA has slipped into Mad Max country these days, cause that kind of stuff really wouldnt fly around here...

ries



On Oct 11, 2011, at 2:07 PM, Jerry Frost wrote:

> The shop had a slideback that'd haul an overgrossed semi or two loaded 
> connexes. Sure the semis had to be darned low height wise but the slideback 
> would handle 200,000lbs and was a 30 wheeler. The Heavy duty shop wrecker 
> started life as a tank retriever and could pull a loaded double a couple 
> hundred feet up a snow covered embankment, a single, sideways. We didn't do 
> doubles minimize damage to the stuck truck but the wrecker was plenty stout 
> enough to pull the average lowboy trailer in half.
> 
> Have I been involved in these operations? On a few occasions, yes. In 
> winter, the worse the road conditions the more important it was we were out 
> there and it wasn't too unusual for us to have a truck off the raod. A 
> loaded bellyblade sander grosses out at around 75-80,000lbs. and the new 20 
> yard sanders grossed out at 120,000lbs.+ Sometimes the operator just got off 
> the road, sometimes we got run into a ditch to avoid an out of control or 
> idiot citizen motorist. It happened to all of us one time or another. 
> Depending on the shift or who was available at heavy duty, they may send 
> someone out or we may get a call to hussle over and grab the wrecker and 
> pull our own out. So yeah, I agree it takes a GOOD operator to safely and 
> successfully do this stuff but that was us. Top of the line operators. Ever 
> watch Ice Road Truckers? Every last one of us or you were a shop sweeper. 
> Forget Hugh or Dave, Rick may be salvageable in the right shop. Lisa has 
> what it takes as does Alex.
> 
> Maybe my perspective is skewed but yeah, high grading a 100,000lb. 50' 
> bridge is a hobby job or practical joke.
> 
> Jer
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ries Niemi" <ries at riesniemi.com>
> To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 9:23 PM
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] bridge
> 
> 
>> Well, that depends on what it weighs.
>> I have built 40' bridges (pedestrian) that only weigh 5000lbs, but that is 
>> an aluminum bridge.
>> A 50' bridge that will carry cars can easily weigh 100,000 lbs or more- 
>> making it double the weight a full 40' semi will carry, and requiring a 
>> pretty decent sized wrecker, too.
>> 
>> ries
>> 
> 
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Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist
www.riesniemi.com