Oops! uh-oh! and general bloopers

[CHKNFKR]

I'm sure there's already a thread for this that i just didn't look hard enough for but since i didn't find it, here it is!

First off let me introduce myself, the name is Dustin. I'm a 63BH8, wheeled vehicle mechanic and recovery specialist. I'm currently stationed in Iraq where the level of stupidity is simply asinine.

the first oops was on my part: I was working on a water pump on a Cummins Big Cam III, a job that you wouldn't think to disconnect the batteries before diving in. as it happens, the wrench i was using slipped out of my hand, one end caught the 24V post on the alternator, the other caught the aluminum oil return line off the bottom of the turbo... when the sparks stopped flying i saw that i hadn't merely blasted a hole in the line, i blasted it clean through. now with the line in two pieces and a solid inch between the two i decided i ought to disconnect the batteries. all in all it only cost me about a half hour of labor but the guys still wont stop giving me shit about it.

now for one of many reasons i hate truck drivers: I'm out on mission at the tail end of the convoy with the wrecker as usual. we're about 50 miles from our destination when a truck up ahead blows a steer tire. I head up to offer my assistance, the wrecker makes a hell of a jack and saves anyone from having to crawl under the truck in body armor. our gun bunnies pull up and tell us not to change the tire, its already off the ground just tow it. not a problem, they drop the legs on the trailer and i pull up to let a bobtail slide in. smooth sailing up to this point. they hook up and we start rolling, about the time they get up to 30 all hell breaks loose; the truck pulls out from under the trailer destroying the landing gear, both air lines, and the IV cable. this one cost the convoy two hours and the truck driver was grounded.

Dustin

 

[Hopman]

Ouch!!!!

The worst oops I've had was the time I stopped on the shoulder , which gave way, and the truck ended up with with the wrong side on the ground. Co-driver wanted to kill me (literally!) I was somewhere in Washington State, outside of Wilbur, I belive. The good news is that we were both okay (the co-driver & myself), and riding in the car in front of us were a husband and wife with medicle knowledge (RN & EMT, respectivly.)

The bad news is that my long-haul career was cut short too early.

A close second comes from a friend who's son (about 23 years old) has killed 5 transmissions in five DIFFERENT cars in four years! The kid can't drive worth sqat! Think's he's Mario Andretti or something.

 

[CHKNFKR]

Thankfully the trailer didnt roll, it actually started to teeter a little bit, one landing leg gave before the other and the load shifted. had she gone over i dont think we'd have been able to get it back on its wheels in a "tactical" time frame. odds are we'd have left a gun bunny and called a crane.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Oh I've had my share of mishaps....

None involving military vehicles though, lol

 

[Ranger44]

Proves people don't leave stupidity at home.....lol

Good to finally see ya posting something on here Dustin.

 

[CHKNFKR]

I've lurked long enough. that and it gives me a place to rant about the stupid things truck drivers do here. honestly, how hard is it to tug test after backing under a load?

 

[Hopman]

BTW Dustin, THANK YOU for your service. Hat's off and to you & your fellow soliders!!!

 

[CHKNFKR]

and thank you for your support!

 

[Hopman]

If you can say, whereabouts are you serving? The Sandbox or in Afghanland?

 

[CHKNFKR]

Iraq

 

[CHKNFKR]

C'mon guys share your stories, whether it was something you did or something you were a witness to and had to clean up after lets here your stories!!

 

[User Name missing]

Does cutting off the wrong radiator hose at the firewall count? Fortunately, because of having to replace said line, I find another serious problem before it left me stranded on the side of the road.

 

[CHKNFKR]

when doing brakes on deuces, 5 tons, HEMTTs, and the like i have a bad habit of using the drums as chairs... I've lost count of how many times I've thrown the tires back on, torqued the lugs down to specs, reached down to move my chair and realized one very important piece is missing.

 

[jaymegriffiths]

how bout changin the oil 3 times in one day? first time poured in new oil but forgot drain plug, second time i filled it i soon discovered the oil seal stayed with the truck and the second 40 dollars of oil went on the driveway, however the third gallon and a bit were successfully poured in and stayed lol!

 

[Nater]

I think the worse uh-oh happend when I was stationed in the states. My unit was always tasked out to be the "Taxi drivers" of the base. Whether it be Engineer officer basic, ANOC, BNOC. Well, this particular tasking was for EOBC and we had a soldier in our squad (not me) that loved trying to make new LTs hurl when riding in the back of a M113. He had already made one LT hurl mac and cheese (side of the track was a nice color of cool aid, and mac and cheese ) So he decided to power slide the final turn going to the range. Well, he managed to jump track, broke 3 road arms, 2 road wheels, bent another 3 road wheels, and managed to twist the the track into a pretzel...Needless to say, the new LTs didn't puke, but almost crapped their pants....

Same unit, different driver, same range (Shape charge, and crater charge range). Lt's had the troop hatch open, and it was a 90+ out. We decided to to try to cool off the LTs in the back by driving thru some of the puddles on the range. (most were only about 2 feet deep, nothing a track can't get thru) Well, the track on the left side of me found one that he couldn't get thru. it was a 13 ft deep hole that was filled with water....It took to M88s and a ACE (Armored Combat Earthmover) to get that thing out of the hole...Still got the picture of it somewhere in the house.