I was waiting for my trailers to be loaded one day …and as per usual we have to wait outside the customers premises just to prove on our log books that we weren’t actually doing anything transport related… This older bloke came over for chat and said that he always wanted to drive trucks and in fact had a few days as a drivers offsider when he was younger… Back in the good old days roping and tarps as they call them… He was working for a bloke up on the central coast Woy Woy Charmhaven area and was doing the first drop of the day… The driver was in the office getting things sorted out and he was up on top pulling the tarp back after doing the ropes… next thing he new he was lying flat out on the ground with a mouth full of blood and broken teeth and bunch blokes standing over him wondering if he was still alive… 2 weeks in hospital with a broken leg, collarbone and face the size of a space hopper…
I haven’t fallen of the back of a lorry… a few years ago when I was on timber… 2 am, snowing I slipped of the loader tracks when I was looking for the key ( converted Cat 40 ton excavator with a live head grab ) slid about 3 meters down the banking into a muddy half filled ditch. lurched forwards and splatted my head on the drive wheels of the truck… then bounced back and off balanced falling completely back into the ditch… I was actually wearing a hard hat at the time… I tried to climb out of the ditch which is about a meter deep but it was to slippy and steep so I had to drudge along it for about 70 meters or so until I managed to grab an old tree stump and pull myself out… When I was getting back near the loader some one from the bush crew turned up and told me there was no F ing way I was getting back into his loader looking like that. and he would load the truck for me… He took a bit of a run and tried to jump the ditch but miss judged the landing and fell back into the same spot I had made earlier… then insisted I give him a hand to get out…
We then " borrowed" some one else’s ute and drove back to the depot for a shower and change… There was quite a bit of bad language involved in this story which I chose edit out…
Jeff…
I was loading a mixed load of steel ( round, flat, plate etc,) at that haulage yard on the roundabout on the A41 at West Brom, ( can’t recall their name at the moment). Anyway, it was ■■■■■■■ down and I was on the trailer chaining down using the old fashioned stretchers, dwangs, warwicks, whatever your local name for them was. Now we all knew not to use a pipe as an extension to tighten the chain, but we all did it anyway, 
the inevitable happened 
my feet slipped on the wet steel, and obviously so did the pipe. I went arse over ■■■ over the side of the trailer, but luckily landed on the floor like a cat 
only for the pipe to come down on the back of my head 
. It was a hospital job and 5 stitches in the back of my napper. Also as they had to shave the area to stitch the wound I got an early preview of the way my hairline is now . Regards Kev.
kevmac47:
I was loading a mixed load of steel ( round, flat, plate etc,) at that haulage yard on the roundabout on the A41 at West Brom, ( can’t recall their name at the moment). Anyway, it was ■■■■■■■ down and I was on the trailer chaining down using the old fashioned stretchers, dwangs, warwicks, whatever your local name for them was. Now we all knew not to use a pipe as an extension to tighten the chain, but we all did it anyway, the inevitable happened my feet slipped on the wet steel, and obviously so did the pipe. I went arse over ■■■ over the side of the trailer, but luckily landed on the floor like a cat only for the pipe to come down on the back of my head . It was a hospital job and 5 stitches in the back of my napper. Also as they had to shave the area to stitch the wound I got an early preview of the way my hairline is now . Regards Kev.
Not sure that you have understood “Fell of the back of a lorry” title Kev,lol,lol!
David
5thwheel:
kevmac47:
I was loading a mixed load of steel ( round, flat, plate etc,) at that haulage yard on the roundabout on the A41 at West Brom, ( can’t recall their name at the moment). Anyway, it was ■■■■■■■ down and I was on the trailer chaining down using the old fashioned stretchers, dwangs, warwicks, whatever your local name for them was. Now we all knew not to use a pipe as an extension to tighten the chain, but we all did it anyway, the inevitable happened my feet slipped on the wet steel, and obviously so did the pipe. I went arse over ■■■ over the side of the trailer, but luckily landed on the floor like a cat only for the pipe to come down on the back of my head . It was a hospital job and 5 stitches in the back of my napper. Also as they had to shave the area to stitch the wound I got an early preview of the way my hairline is now . Regards Kev.
Not sure that you have understood “Fell of the back of a lorry” title Kev,lol,lol!
David
I don’t think I’m the only one Dave, but apart from the odd bag of spuds that the best thing I can think of that fell off my motor. Ps I’m modest also. Regards Kev.
Is this on or off topic?
I’d got 22t of coal singles (theyre about the size of a walnut ) for a mental home Watford way. The trailer had barn doors but unusually only one catch to hold both doors. Short bar in to lever handle back ,pull the pin out then lever out hop back at the same time n then chain doors back ,tip. This load pulled lever out no hop back, tripped over me own feet. 2ton of extremely wet singles n me under it, the boiler man had to dig me out, after he’d spent 10mins laughing. I was soaked to the skin n blacker than the hogs of hell!
kevmac47:
coomsey:
Is this on or off topic?
I’d got 22t of coal singles (theyre about the size of a walnut ) for a mental home Watford way. The trailer had barn doors but unusually only one catch to hold both doors. Short bar in to lever handle back ,pull the pin out then lever out hop back at the same time n then chain doors back ,tip. This load pulled lever out no hop back, tripped over me own feet. 2ton of extremely wet singles n me under it, the boiler man had to dig me out, after he’d spent 10mins laughing. I was soaked to the skin n blacker than the hogs of hell!
Well it certainly fell off the back so it must be on topic Regards Kev.
Selby with a load of maize, my first time same soddin trailer. Backs over hopper n opened doors, white out n me white from top to toe. All hell let loose, nobody had mentioned opened the grain flap, stalled the belt out. Never did that again!!
coomsey:
kevmac47:
coomsey:
Is this on or off topic?
I’d got 22t of coal singles (theyre about the size of a walnut ) for a mental home Watford way. The trailer had barn doors but unusually only one catch to hold both doors. Short bar in to lever handle back ,pull the pin out then lever out hop back at the same time n then chain doors back ,tip. This load pulled lever out no hop back, tripped over me own feet. 2ton of extremely wet singles n me under it, the boiler man had to dig me out, after he’d spent 10mins laughing. I was soaked to the skin n blacker than the hogs of hell!
Well it certainly fell off the back so it must be on topic Regards Kev.
Selby with a load of maize, my first time same soddin trailer. Backs over hopper n opened doors, white out n me white from top to toe. All hell let loose, nobody had mentioned opened the grain flap, stalled the belt out. Never did that again!!
I say before anyone else does Coomsey, did you enjoy a career with the Black and White Minstrels after that■■? 
Yes I do understand the meaning of “Fell of the back of a lorry” but I couldn’t resist telling the tale …I also got knocked of the top of a lorry by a crane and got broken skull ( days before hard hats and safety elf’s ) but that’s another story…
I was running spuds out of northern Aberdeenshire to Wisbech …bags of King Edwards if I remember. The farmer asked about the tare of the truck then insisted of getting his calculator out and loading me to the max… I wasn’t really sure what the actual tare was and only guestamated it…however the farmer was a bit odd and insisted I took the weight that he calculated… If I remember right it was 21 pallets and 9 extra bags… There’s 2 fairly good routes into Wisbech from the A 1 so I thought I’d be alright going in by the A 17 Newark on Trent and along by the airfield ( Where the weigh bridge is ) Well the bridge was open and I got pulled … "Just pull up over there driver "says the white coat your a bit over… I should have gone down to Grantham… after all the fuss I discovered I was only 70 kg over on the drive …2 older blokes and a young guy that had just graduated from the Wane Kerr university with a degree in clip board-oligy … I was a bit peeved about getting pulled for such a piddly amount so I went back to the truck pulled back the sheet and put 3 bags of spuds onto the ground just in front of the blokes car then insisted that they re weigh me… Never heard any more about it…
Jeff…
kevmac47:
coomsey:
kevmac47:
coomsey:
Is this on or off topic?
I’d got 22t of coal singles (theyre about the size of a walnut ) for a mental home Watford way. The trailer had barn doors but unusually only one catch to hold both doors. Short bar in to lever handle back ,pull the pin out then lever out hop back at the same time n then chain doors back ,tip. This load pulled lever out no hop back, tripped over me own feet. 2ton of extremely wet singles n me under it, the boiler man had to dig me out, after he’d spent 10mins laughing. I was soaked to the skin n blacker than the hogs of hell!
Well it certainly fell off the back so it must be on topic Regards Kev.
Selby with a load of maize, my first time same soddin trailer. Backs over hopper n opened doors, white out n me white from top to toe. All hell let loose, nobody had mentioned opened the grain flap, stalled the belt out. Never did that again!!
I say before anyone else does Coomsey, did you enjoy a career with the Black and White Minstrels after that■■?
All I can say is Mammy was calling me from way down Alabama way!
lol like many others the answer is “I did” , on nights ( for an O/O whos driver was on holiday)unloaded a load of pulp timber and “just pop” along to load bags of fertilizer and make sure they are tarped as the buyer was picky …ok says I . arrived and told you just made it we shut in 15mins so reversed in forklifts like insects buzzing about , ok driver your loaded heres the paperwork get out and tarp in carpark .fair enough was about 2am and starting to drizzle FFS.,the old tarp was set for using on the job so no prob rolling out ,but the ropes were spliced everywhere and about halfway down the load the rope ran out twas cut so up I went on the load to splice another round of rope in and the kin carpark lights were turned off. Just great I thought until I slid and went backwards of the top ,grabed the rope twas wet, cold greasy and it saved me but when I started to dolley up my hands were sticking to the rope ,so round to the front in front o the headlights I had pealed the skin back on both my palms!..so into the cab take my socks of /put on my hands and back to roping up ,by the time I finished I was near in tears the cold /wet .ahhhh but that was nothing compaired with the pain when I warmed up driving north for 4hrs… phoned the gaffer up at about 6am and told him the outfit would be parked on the high st still loaded as I was going to the hospital and the bugger told me I was lazy and should work through the pain… put it this way that was enough o flat decks for me and only pulled another one in 30yrs and that’s all I can legally say about what fell of back of the lorry.jimmy.
JIMBO47:
lol like many others the answer is “I did” , on nights ( for an O/O whos driver was on holiday)unloaded a load of pulp timber and “just pop” along to load bags of fertilizer and make sure they are tarped as the buyer was picky …ok says I . arrived and told you just made it we shut in 15mins so reversed in forklifts like insects buzzing about , ok driver your loaded heres the paperwork get out and tarp in carpark .fair enough was about 2am and starting to drizzle FFS.,the old tarp was set for using on the job so no prob rolling out ,but the ropes were spliced everywhere and about halfway down the load the rope ran out twas cut so up I went on the load to splice another round of rope in and the kin carpark lights were turned off. Just great I thought until I slid and went backwards of the top ,grabed the rope twas wet, cold greasy and it saved me but when I started to dolley up my hands were sticking to the rope ,so round to the front in front o the headlights I had pealed the skin back on both my palms!..so into the cab take my socks of /put on my hands and back to roping up ,by the time I finished I was near in tears the cold /wet .ahhhh but that was nothing compaired with the pain when I warmed up driving north for 4hrs… phoned the gaffer up at about 6am and told him the outfit would be parked on the high st still loaded as I was going to the hospital and the bugger told me I was lazy and should work through the pain… put it this way that was enough o flat decks for me and only pulled another one in 30yrs and that’s all I can legally say about what fell of back of the lorry.jimmy.
Tippers rule Jimmy, nice to hear from you, cheers coomsey
