The things I've seen me do...

[CM1995]

As the title suggests, I welcome everyone to tell those embarrassing tales of goof-ups, bone-headed mistakes, mis-haps and the downright embarrassing things you've done in your career. This got started over in my thread and Oxbow had the great idea to make the topic it's own thread, so here it is.

OK I'll start -

I was checking the oil and air filter on a Bobcat 863. I walked around to the front to check the fuel level, upon noticing it needed fuel and since the fuel tank is on the opposite side of where I pulled it up besides my pickup, I had the great notion to crank it up and spin it around...

Yep, totally forgot about the heavy steel rear door in the open and locked position. I then had a nice concave dent in the right rear quarter panel of the bed complete with orange accents.:bash

I know there are some good ones so if it's been long enough since it happened to laugh about it, share.

 

[Impact]

Worked late one night and was in a hurry to get home. Locked up and headed for my truck when I realized I'd forgotten something. Set my favorite spun aluminum insulated coffee mug on the back bumper of my new 3/4 ton chevy truck. Unlocked the office and got whatever it was I'd forgotren. Jumped in my truck, and as I was backing out, hit the button on the big commercial garge door remote. The door w/ o a safety reverse. The big wide heavy door. Just as my truck cleated the door I ran over something, so I threw it in drive and quickly pulled forward just as the door was a foot higher than the hood of my truck. Did I mention it was a new truck. Crinkled the door, the hood of my truck and ruined my favorite cooffee mug all at once.

 

[grandpa]

Was digging a footer in for a fireplace along an existing house. Only way in was perpendicular to the house. Oh so very careful not to break the house footing. Got a bucket full, (Bet you can see this coming), carefully coming up out of the hole and crunch.. the stick thru the eave.... sh*t.

 

[spitzair]

I did one similar to you CM1995... Had the Bobcat 732 in the shop one day and doing routine checking... Opened up the back door and went about my business... I got in the machine and went to back it out of the shop... My dad had an old Lincoln buzz box welder sitting right beside the door, it's usual spot... So I go to back out of the shop and forgot to close the door on the bobcat. Only when there was a loud boom, a flash and then instant darkness in the shop did I realize what had happened... I managed to get the welder more or less straightened out and the wires inside fixed up and it works again... To this day I don't think my dad knows how bad it actually was... He did see some dents in the welder but didn't take it any further...

 

[Oxbow]

CM, I cheated and copied what I had posted on your thread, and pasted here. Since I am confessing, I'd hate for anyone to miss out!

It was a nice sunny day, and I had just done a full service on a Liebherr excavator (don't remember the number, but about an 85,000 pound machine). We were working on a canal for a hydro-electric plant, and I had parked my 1985 3500 GMC crew cab pickup well out of the way, up on the canal bank. I walked the excavator down into the canal, which was about 20' deep, and was working on getting the last 2 feet of basalt excavated from the bottom of the canal. Another fellow was running a 46A, cleaning up and working the material towards me, and I was pulling the rock that was still to high out. I was working close to one side of the canal and needed to move backwards, and wanted to see what I was walking on. I was too close to the bank to swing away from it without hitting the counterweight, so I raised the boom all the way up, stick out, to swing over the canal bank. I could just barely see over the bank, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a glint of shining chrome coming from the left front wheel of my pickup, right before the bucket struck the windshield above the steering column. As soon as I saw what was about to happen, I instinctively gave it full left swing and up on the boom in an attempt to miss it, but in doing so the right track slipped off of a rock, allowing the track to settle about 6" at the most, but this ended up in letting the bucket drop probably two feet at least, which produced a double-whammy effect on the poor old pickup, which resulted in pushing the steering column down until the steering wheel was touching the seat. It also struck hard enough to blow the bead off of the left front tire.

After changing the tire, I did manage to drive it home, but had to strattle the steering wheel to do so.

The bright side of the story is: had I not done that I would not have purchased my very first brand new diesel pickup, a 95 F-350 crew cab powerstroke, which I drove until it had 325,000 thousand miles on it. It was still good when I traded it in, and I often wish I had kept it around.

Still, I believe I wished I hadn't seen me (or anyone else for that matter) do that.

 

[digger242j]

Since pickup truck abuse (either to or by), seems to be a recurring theme so far...

I worked a little late one evening, and the buyer of the new home we were working on had stopped by to check things out. I was finished, and getting ready to leave. I was parked head in, and wanted to back out and cut to the right to go down the road. Started up, turned and looked to the right, saw nothing in the way, (that part's important), cranked the steering wheel over, and backed up.

Crunched the left quarter panel of his shiny little convertible. Mercedes convertible.

The top was down, and when I looked, the only part taller than my windows, the convertible's windshield, was hidden by my toolbox. And, yeah, I'd walked right past it on my way to the truck. :Banghead

 

[CM1995]

Another pickup story.

I had just bought this 2006 F350 crew Lariat and it was just a couple of months old. We were working on a 78 acre site and loggers had clear cut about 1/2 of it and I went out to see how things were going. The landing area was on top of a hill with a nice access road we'd built to get to it.

It started raining lightly as me and my partner were discussing the job and planning the schedule. Then it started to rain harder and I thought we should be getting off the hill because this silty clay gets slick when it's wet - too late.

So I take off down the access road in 4x4 high and then realize it's slick, real slick. Hit the brakes and it just slides with the antilock hopelessly trying to find something to bite into with no avail. Now at the bottom of the access road it turns to the right sharply with a 4' high bank or so on the upper side of the road and a 5' drop off on the other with stumps, tops and other logging slash..

Two things went through my mind in a split second - 1) just let it go and call the policy man but that airbag hurts.:Banghead 2) Try to stay on the road and pull this out. At this point I was skidding down the road rather quickly.

To this day I really don't know how I pulled it off. When the truck came rest, I had managed to slide the back end of the truck off the road towards the drop off side enough to stop the momentum and plant the front right corner into the dirt bank on the uphill side. Only tore up a headlight, bumper and the skirt that goes underneath the bumper - luckily no body damage. Slapped a Ranch Hand on that baby and drove until it was totaled by a VW Beetle. Yeah that story is on HEF too.

 

[willie59]

At our former location the shop doors were 14 wide 16 high roll up doors. I was working on a Bobcat, loader arms up, safety prop in place. After I finished repairs, pushed the button to raise the door and bring out the Bobcat. It was a really really windy day outside, very blustery, one of those days when you open a shop door it blows everything in the shop that isn't welded or nailed down. Under those circumstances I raised the door to where it was plenty high enough for a Bobcat to clear, but not fully opened to 16 feet. Jumped in the Bobcat, started it up, raised arms slightly to release safety prop, jumped out of the machine, removed safety prop, stowed it, all the steps one does to lower the arms after repairs, then jumped back in. Backed the Bobcat out and something felt wrong, at that point I wasn't sure what I just felt, but I know I felt something. Looked out of the front glass of the machine to see about 5 feet of that roll up door curtain yanked out of the tracks by yours truly because I failed to lower the loader arms, a for real "Oh $hit" moment. And yes, it was a regular work day which insured everyone was at work to see my handywork. And me, being a commercial door installer in a former life, got the job of getting it back in the tracks on that windy day and fixing the damage to the door.

 

[FSERVICE]

I had a "blonde moment" a while back, working at a site shop. picked up after a long day there. the owner was out unloading a truck with their forklift. for some unknown reason parked it 2' away from my back bumper & came around to bat the bull before I left.. about a hour later I got in truck to leave, he went inside to do something. I put truck into reverse gave it fuel let out on the clutch & CRUNCH!! he came out I had that OH S%^T look.... he was laughing it didn't hurt anything but a little paint.. but now I always walk around the truck before I move it!!

 

[DoyleX]

Built a new storage shed that fall. First job of the spring getting loaded up for monday. Crawling the mini up the skid trailer and get to the tipping point. Stopped and thought, why hasn't it come down yet??? Gave er a bit more then I hear crunching from above and saw the toothpicks falling down.

Then there's the time with a loaded dumpruck in a forward direction and a concrete light base.

 

[wornout wrench]

Working on a 1967 TD25.

Radiator was dirty so I unbolted the radiator door and washed it out.

Went to move the machine off the pad I was on so just pushed the door closed. I DIDN'T BOLT IT SHUT

Jumped into the seat, flashed it up, lifted the blade up off the ground and started moving.
When I came off the pad, the machine tipped forward and the blade was going to dig in to the ground so up I go on the blade.
Wheel the dozer around to the front of the shop, drop the blade shut down and hop off.

Now the bad part.

On this dozer, the hydraulic tank was the radiator hard nose.
When the dozer tipped forward, the door that some unthinking twerp had left unbolted swung forward. When I went up on the blade it hit the door and bent it all out of shape but it also ripped one of the hinges out out the hard nose that as I mentioned was the hydraulic tank.

Hydraulic oil puking out of it everywhere.

OH CRAP

Took a bit, but I got it fixed.

The hardest part was the explanation to the boss

 

[Steve Frazier]

I was doing some work here at home with the wheelbarrow and violated my own rule of not parking tools around the truck. I can't remember why but I parked the wheelbarrow right in front of the truck. Got busy with something else and then went to go somewhere in the truck when I hear "CRUNCH!!" Got out to look and the wheelbarrow that was parked too close to see was now protruding from the truck grill. It went right between the slats in the grill and didn't damage it but the wheelbarrow handle punched through the A/C condenser and intercooler. That one cost me a few bucks!

 

[RonG]

This is not profound but my dad always said that the man who does not make mistakes is
not doing anything.I have had my share but am trying to pick a good one before I post it.I might not be able to match the ones already posted though.Ron G

 

[Shimmy1]

Was digging a footer in for a fireplace along an existing house. Only way in was perpendicular to the house. Oh so very careful not to break the house footing. Got a bucket full, (Bet you can see this coming), carefully coming up out of the hole and crunch.. the stick thru the eave.... sh*t.

Been there, done that.

 

[kshansen]

This wasn't me really! But one of the guys at the shop had finished cleaning and pressure testing the radiator out of an old IH truck we used as a water truck. He gave it a nice paint job with black paint, looked real nice! As we were in a hurry to install it he took a torch and keeping a "safe distance away" encouraged the paint to dry a little faster.

You know where this is heading right?

Well when we pulled it back out due to some odd reason it was leaking he got to practice soldering skills. This time did not worry about how fast the paint dried!

 

[digger242j]

Statistical analysis:

Heavy Equipment Forums Statistics

Threads: 51,768 Posts: 574,394 Members: 48,763

Number of members who've posted to this thread: 13 out of 48763

That's roughly 0.000287 %

Number of active staff members of HEF: 4

Number of active staff members of HEF who've posted to this thread : 4

That's roughly 100%.

(One of them posted twice.) :tong

I can't imagine what conclusion that might lead to.... :beatsme

 

[lantraxco]

Those that can, do, those that can't staff HEF? (Kidding) :tong

 

[CM1995]

Statistical analysis:



Number of members who've posted to this thread: 13 out of 48763

That's roughly 0.000287 %

Number of active staff members of HEF: 4

Number of active staff members of HEF who've posted to this thread : 4

That's roughly 100%.

(One of them posted twice.) :tong

I can't imagine what conclusion that might lead to.... :beatsme

Not to mention one staff member started the thread..:tong

 

[JNB]

Wow, how did I miss this thread? Here's a pickup oops that I'm reminded of every day since I still have the truck. A few years ago when things were pretty slow, I picked up a hay cutter, rake and square baler. I actually got busier than I wanted to be, which led to the oops. With rain in the forecast and after finishing baling about 11:00 one night, I pulled up to the truck...and for some reason decided to pull the and baler under the trees. The tractor quit moving, so I gave her more juice and drug the baler down the side of my truck. I was pretty pissed, so I caved in the small dent in the rear quarter panel with my fist. I have more, but trying to post on my phone is rediculous. Not like I have a temper or anything.

 

[2grit]

One Friday, the boss sent me to dig the footers for an addition to a house. I'm sure he didn't like the look I gave him when he told me the homeowner would be my laborer. I stressed to the homeowner the importance of hand digging when we got close to the underground utilities feeding the house. He kept getting lazy and I had to keep reminding him to pay attention. It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and we were digging close to the utilities when all of a sudden he freaks out. I pulled out the electric, phone and cable with one tug. Nothing I could do to fix it. Called the boss and headed over the hill about 430 on a Friday afternoon and the guy went all weekend without utilities. That was the last time I was asked to work with a homeowner/laborer