Frogman
Dedicated LVC Member
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 6,987
- Reaction score
- 1
I helped out someone in a jam in the middle of nowhere today. They needed a jumpstart and didn't have jumper cables. The closest town was about 70 miles away.
I told them I have a set in the pick-up truck, but they are kinda janky as I've been meaning to buy another set.
So, I whipped out the jumper cables, hooked them up and we waited for a few minutes. In the meantime, I got to talking to one of the guys and I noticed a tow rope in the back of his pick-up truck. 2" x 20 feet. These guys work for a big Oil and Gas service company and use those ropes to pull their semis out when they get stuck. I commented on how it was a shame to let that rope get trashed in the back of his pick-up truck. He agreed, told me it was not his company truck. Apparently, his co. truck was in the shop.
Anyway, we get the engine going, and the guy asked for my number to give to his boss in case they needed to account why they were late. SO, I gave him one of my cards.
I get back into town, and I get a phone call from a local number that wasn't in my address book. I answered, and the guy on the other line identified himself as one of the guys I helped out today. He asked if I was in town. "As a matter of fact, I just rolled in and I'm at my shop", I said.
"Would you mind meeting me at (xyz), my boss has something he wants me to give you."
"Uhhh.. Ok...? I'll see you there in 10 minutes", I said. I figured a nice coffee mug or another such trinket they give out.
I get there, and the guy thanks me again for helping them out today. "No worries man", I said. "I couldn't just let you guys hang there like that". YOu'd have wasted 3 hours going back to town to get jumper cables then come all the way back here. (20 miles of the 70 miles were on a mud road).
"My boss knows you and he wanted me to give you these" he said as we're walking to the back of his pick-up truck.
"Your boss being?" I asked.
He told me the guy's name and sure as hell, I know who the guy is. We get to the back of his pick-up truck, and he pulls out this box.
Brand new.
I told the guy "Look man, I appreciate it, but it's not necessary. Have your boss buy me lunch some day if he wants to pay for my time."
"Yeah, he said to call him, he is buying lunch", he tells me. "But on top of that, he also wanted me to bring one of these out for you".
He reaches into the bed of his truck and pulls out a sack. "WTF?", I thought.
"I mentioned to my boss how you told me you've pulled your share of people out of the ditch with the rope you have on your bumper and how you're waiting for the day when it will snap trying to pull someone out that's stuck a little more than usual. So he told me to grab one of them".
So, here's the old tow rope:
After spending a half hour trying to figure how I'm going to get the new rope on the bumper and not fall off, I came up with this:
New rope. 2" x 20'. 98,000 lb break rating. Or was it 96,000... I'm too lazy to walk all the way to the other side of the shop. Either way. My bumper will rip off before the rope will break. Kind of defeats the idea of making the rope weaker than the bumper so it snaps before the bumper pulls off, but I'm well aware of what that bumper can pull and I won't go over it.
What's the moral of the story?
Well, it's simple. I'm not ALWAYS and ass in real life. I only turn into one when I deal with idiots.
Edit: It's 92,000 lbs. Delta Rigging and Tooling Co.
I told them I have a set in the pick-up truck, but they are kinda janky as I've been meaning to buy another set.
So, I whipped out the jumper cables, hooked them up and we waited for a few minutes. In the meantime, I got to talking to one of the guys and I noticed a tow rope in the back of his pick-up truck. 2" x 20 feet. These guys work for a big Oil and Gas service company and use those ropes to pull their semis out when they get stuck. I commented on how it was a shame to let that rope get trashed in the back of his pick-up truck. He agreed, told me it was not his company truck. Apparently, his co. truck was in the shop.
Anyway, we get the engine going, and the guy asked for my number to give to his boss in case they needed to account why they were late. SO, I gave him one of my cards.
I get back into town, and I get a phone call from a local number that wasn't in my address book. I answered, and the guy on the other line identified himself as one of the guys I helped out today. He asked if I was in town. "As a matter of fact, I just rolled in and I'm at my shop", I said.
"Would you mind meeting me at (xyz), my boss has something he wants me to give you."
"Uhhh.. Ok...? I'll see you there in 10 minutes", I said. I figured a nice coffee mug or another such trinket they give out.
I get there, and the guy thanks me again for helping them out today. "No worries man", I said. "I couldn't just let you guys hang there like that". YOu'd have wasted 3 hours going back to town to get jumper cables then come all the way back here. (20 miles of the 70 miles were on a mud road).
"My boss knows you and he wanted me to give you these" he said as we're walking to the back of his pick-up truck.
"Your boss being?" I asked.
He told me the guy's name and sure as hell, I know who the guy is. We get to the back of his pick-up truck, and he pulls out this box.
Brand new.
I told the guy "Look man, I appreciate it, but it's not necessary. Have your boss buy me lunch some day if he wants to pay for my time."
"Yeah, he said to call him, he is buying lunch", he tells me. "But on top of that, he also wanted me to bring one of these out for you".
He reaches into the bed of his truck and pulls out a sack. "WTF?", I thought.
"I mentioned to my boss how you told me you've pulled your share of people out of the ditch with the rope you have on your bumper and how you're waiting for the day when it will snap trying to pull someone out that's stuck a little more than usual. So he told me to grab one of them".
So, here's the old tow rope:
After spending a half hour trying to figure how I'm going to get the new rope on the bumper and not fall off, I came up with this:
New rope. 2" x 20'. 98,000 lb break rating. Or was it 96,000... I'm too lazy to walk all the way to the other side of the shop. Either way. My bumper will rip off before the rope will break. Kind of defeats the idea of making the rope weaker than the bumper so it snaps before the bumper pulls off, but I'm well aware of what that bumper can pull and I won't go over it.
What's the moral of the story?
Well, it's simple. I'm not ALWAYS and ass in real life. I only turn into one when I deal with idiots.
Edit: It's 92,000 lbs. Delta Rigging and Tooling Co.
Last edited:
