mobile_bob
Stainless
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2005
- Location
- tacoma washington
one of our customers who happens to be a drywall wholesaler has a fleet for boom trucks and pup trailers
we get a call down to the yard for a repair to the pintel hook
now bear in mind this is a full size twin axle pump that likely is loaded to 30k lbs most of its life.
the tounge is made of 5/16 wall rectangular tubing 3" x 8"
onto the front of which is welded a 3/4 thick plate that is 6"x 14"
with multiple holes so you can mount the pintel eye to set the ride
height for a specific truck.
this plate had seperated from the tounge, in the yard fully loaded as
they were starting to leave.
compound the problem with an illegal air brake system that requires the tank to be fully drained before the brakes set!!!
upon inspection the weld looked nice, very well laid, but with less than 25% of the weld area penetrating the 3/4 plate, and about the same on the tongue tube. the weld basically was just laying ontop.
we all have seen the newbie weld with his new mig, wherein the weld looks real nice but is laying on top of the metal, and when you bend it, it simply pops right off... that is basically all that was holding this thing!
god knows how long it held, we don't normally service the trailers
quite frankly i am surprised it was able to hold the tongue weight the first time it was set down on it. i am sure i could have knocked the damn thing off right after it was originally welded with a few carefully placed swats with a 16lb sledge hammer!!
i have been in this business for 35 years and this by far was the scariest thing i have ever seen bar none.
they want me to weld it back on, and quite frankly after seeing this i am scared to death to touch it!
when you see these things going down the highway, make haste to get as much distance between you and it as you can.
probably not the right section of the forum, because it is a welding matter, but
it is a safety matter i wanted all to be aware of.
evidently trailor manufactures don't have to employ certified welders?
there was concern over a welded motorcycle axle on another thread, it fails and a rider and passenger get killed. a trailer like this loaded with drywall going 65 or 70mph down the freeway would kill everyone in its path.
btw, the safety chains didn't have the dot required clasp's either.
and even if they did, anyone want to trust the guy who welded the tongue plate to weld the safety chains on?
bob g
we get a call down to the yard for a repair to the pintel hook
now bear in mind this is a full size twin axle pump that likely is loaded to 30k lbs most of its life.
the tounge is made of 5/16 wall rectangular tubing 3" x 8"
onto the front of which is welded a 3/4 thick plate that is 6"x 14"
with multiple holes so you can mount the pintel eye to set the ride
height for a specific truck.
this plate had seperated from the tounge, in the yard fully loaded as
they were starting to leave.
compound the problem with an illegal air brake system that requires the tank to be fully drained before the brakes set!!!
upon inspection the weld looked nice, very well laid, but with less than 25% of the weld area penetrating the 3/4 plate, and about the same on the tongue tube. the weld basically was just laying ontop.
we all have seen the newbie weld with his new mig, wherein the weld looks real nice but is laying on top of the metal, and when you bend it, it simply pops right off... that is basically all that was holding this thing!
god knows how long it held, we don't normally service the trailers
quite frankly i am surprised it was able to hold the tongue weight the first time it was set down on it. i am sure i could have knocked the damn thing off right after it was originally welded with a few carefully placed swats with a 16lb sledge hammer!!
i have been in this business for 35 years and this by far was the scariest thing i have ever seen bar none.
they want me to weld it back on, and quite frankly after seeing this i am scared to death to touch it!
when you see these things going down the highway, make haste to get as much distance between you and it as you can.
probably not the right section of the forum, because it is a welding matter, but
it is a safety matter i wanted all to be aware of.
evidently trailor manufactures don't have to employ certified welders?
there was concern over a welded motorcycle axle on another thread, it fails and a rider and passenger get killed. a trailer like this loaded with drywall going 65 or 70mph down the freeway would kill everyone in its path.
btw, the safety chains didn't have the dot required clasp's either.
and even if they did, anyone want to trust the guy who welded the tongue plate to weld the safety chains on?
bob g