Bumper scrape

MC4YOU2

Wherever I see Trump, it smells like he's Putin.
I wasn't talking about driving down the street and hitting a pothole. I'm talking about how most gouges are caused by delivery trucks...trying to turn off the road to go up or down an incline that's too steep (usually on the longer wheelbase trucks). The times I've scraped it has been attempting to drive into or back out of a longass driveway when I was new to the route area.

The only time I ever scraped a driveway was when I was trying to back into a steep driveway to deliver several 70+ lb pieces of pottery barn. I told the homeowner and they said not to worry about it and that it happens all the time. I still told my on-car though.

Over the years I've figured out pretty much where I can and can't back in my P1100. If you have a steep incline to back into you can really minimize the potential by positioning the truck like an L to one side (drivers side preferred of course) of the driveway approach, and as close to the curbside as possible, then cranking the front wheels to one side all the way. This gives you max clearance on the rear bumper, just repeat the turn coming out again and watch for sprinkler heads and other things you might back over from that side.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
There are steep driveways on my route with 15+ years of gouges caused by my bumper or, more commonly, my trailer hitch.

If you crawled under my truck I would be willing to bet the underside of the bumper and hitch are bevelled from being ground off on the concrete.

Its not an accident. Hitting a stationary object is different from bottoming out.
 
My vehicle is less than a year old and it looks like it's been in a firefight in an Afghany village. New drivers these days just don't care about the image like us old timers. Every time I come back from vacation I see a new scrape, scratch, dent. But our accidents #s have never been better. Go figure...
 

Re-Raise

Well-Known Member
My vehicle is less than a year old and it looks like it's been in a firefight in an Afghany village. New drivers these days just don't care about the image like us old timers. Every time I come back from vacation I see a new scrape, scratch, dent. But our accidents #s have never been better. Go figure...
"Rubbin is Racin"
 

1989

Well-Known Member
The attitude I've seen down here is if it costs money from an outside service (wrecker) They will try and charge you with an accident. I got stuck once making a U-turn on a desolate road. Ended up taking my meal to cover the time and a customer pulled me out with his pickup.
An accident requires damage. Either damage to the package car or damage to property by said package car. If you are trying to turn around and get stuck in the mud because the grass was too soft. It's an accident only if the homeowner/city wants it repaired. Not because a tow truck pulled you out.
 

Rainman

Its all good.
An accident requires damage. Either damage to the package car or damage to property by said package car. If you are trying to turn around and get stuck in the mud because the grass was too soft. It's an accident only if the homeowner/city wants it repaired. Not because a tow truck pulled you out.
Not where I am. You get charged even if the homeowner doesn't complain, as long as a tow truck is called. I've seen it happen too many times.


Kmart sux. So does Walmart. And Orion.
 

Fedex Guy

Well-Known Member
Scraped the underside of a back bumper? Unless it was pristine and brand new I'd have no recollection of any bumper scrape on the underside of a bumper , Senator.

Geez what next, worrying about tire wear?

Never would have said anything about that.


Just to be clear, I don't work for FedEx. Crazy I know.
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
Not where I am. You get charged even if the homeowner doesn't complain, as long as a tow truck is called. I've seen it happen too many times.
My first winter out in the country I was trying to get everything delivered in the snow and got stuck, had to call a tow truck to get me out. My manager told me the next time he had to pay for a tow I would be charged with an accident. After that conversation every time it snowed I brought half the route back, and I never got stuck again.
 

3 done 3 to go

In control of own destiny
Looks like the metro backed into the dock. To me. How could anyone tell you different. You may not have seen it on you pre trip?
 

Re-Raise

Well-Known Member
My first winter out in the country I was trying to get everything delivered in the snow and got stuck, had to call a tow truck to get me out. My manager told me the next time he had to pay for a tow I would be charged with an accident. After that conversation every time it snowed I brought half the route back, and I never got stuck again.
We had a guy a couple of years ago get pulled out 3 times by a tow truck in the same day.

That record still stands as our benchmark.
 

TooTechie

Geek in Brown
My vehicle is less than a year old and it looks like it's been in a firefight in an Afghany village. New drivers these days just don't care about the image like us old timers. Every time I come back from vacation I see a new scrape, scratch, dent. But our accidents #s have never been better. Go figure...
90% of the damage to the trucks I've driven have been caused between the time the driver parked it and the time they get into it the following morning. Some by car wash guys who back up by sound (crunch) and some by the preload trying to move trucks closer to each other or backing a truck back in after moving it to put incompatibles up onto the belt.
 

Packmule

Well-Known Member
Back bumpers are intended to bump up against docks all day long. A scrape on the street means only that the trucks we drive were never intended by the designers to be in the kinds of places UPS routinely expects us to go. Give us higher clearance 4x4 or get over the baby scrapes.
 

Rainman

Its all good.
We had a guy a couple of years ago get pulled out 3 times by a tow truck in the same day.

That record still stands as our benchmark.
A number of years ago, one of our country drivers got sent out in the snow. Got stuck on his first stop. Three hours later got pulled out. management insisted he keep going. Got stuck at the second stop. Another 2-3 hours got going again. Management told him to keep going. Got stuck at the third stop, management finally told him he could come back. 9 hours on the clock, 3 packages delivered. As far as I know no one in our building has touched that record.


Kmart sux. So does Walmart. And Orion.
 
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