Home Depot, did this really happen?

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Terry

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A home Store Customer

This picture is real - not doctored in any way - and was taken by a Transportation Supervisor for a company that delivers building materials for 84 Lumber. When he saw it in the parking lot of IHOP, he went to buy a camera to take pictures.

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The car is still running, as can be witnessed by the exhaust.

The driver finally came back after the police were called, and was found crouched behind the rear of the car, attempting to cut the twine around the load! Luckily, the police stopped him and had the load removed .

The materials were loaded at Home Depot. Their store manager said they made the customer sign a waiver.

While the plywood and 2X4's are fairly obvious, what you can't see is the back seat, which contains ( are you ready for this?) 10 bags of concrete @ 80 lbs. each.

They estimated the load weight at 3000 lbs. Both back tires exploded, the wheels bent and the rear shocks were driven through the floorboard.

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Ian Gills

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A Toyota Corolla would have pulled that without any problems.

Well, it would have had problems, but it would not have broken.

The Big Box stores will load anything onto anything.

Even when I hired one of their trucks I had to ask and ask again whether the drywall I was going to haul would be too heavy.
 

Cass

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These are sometimes the same people that buy and flip homes....

can you imagine what the remodel work would have looked like...

destroyed a car to save a $100.00 truck rental fee...
 

Ian Gills

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I don't think it's that simple Cass.

The reality is you have to get to the store real early to get the rental trucks. Part of me thinks these guys got there too late and thought they'd try the car instead. Very bad planning.
 

Cass

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It is pretty simple...

#1 anyone whos judgement is that far off should never be allowed to touch a tool...

#2 you schedule the purchase to coinside with the ability to reserve one of their trucks, rent another truck, or transport the items a few at a time until you have everything at the job...

it is as simple as that....

I don't think it's that simple Cass.

The reality is you have to get to the store real early to get the rental trucks. Part of me thinks these guys got there too late and thought they'd try the car instead. Very bad planning.
 

Ian Gills

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I still think it's quite complicated. That car would have been running fine until it hit the pesky speed bump.
 

Cookie

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A Toyota Corolla would have pulled that without any problems.

Well, it would have had problems, but it would not have broken.

The Big Box stores will load anything onto anything.

Even when I hired one of their trucks I had to ask and ask again whether the drywall I was going to haul would be too heavy.

My PT Cruiser would had to it was a mighty little car.
 

Ian Gills

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No Cookie is not joking.

I have seen the big box stores use those PT Cruisers to make entire deliveries of plywood and drywall. You can easily pull a 53 foot semi with one of those.

That's what the PT stands for Part Time Cruiser. The rest of the time they're haulin'!
 

hj

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loads

I was at an HD one time and a Nissan pickup went by with a load of concrete blocks on it. The front wheels were coming off the pavement every few feet.
 

Cookie

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I was caught in a flood once with the PT and it kept going while the other cars didn't. Water rolling down off the sides of the roads slamming into it didn't push it. So, it is also, part time boat. And, it never leaked inside. I saw cars in the front of me going under and completely submerged. It was bad. It sits on a Neon frame but, it can haul, like no one business, and it can drive through water, it is a mighty little car.
 

Gary Swart

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My local HD has a large sign posted at the lumber and building materials door advising customers of weight limitations for their vehicles. I think there is a company policy in effect that prohibits employees from overloading customers vehicles. Of course, what they might do on their own is something else. And, this isn't something unique about HD, I've seen pickups with so much dirt piled in the back the front end is bouncing and the back tires are darn near flat!
 

Ian Gills

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I want an F150 lightning.

I'd use it to pick up the odd sheet of 8x4 drywall.

The problem with the stock F150 is it struggles to make highway speed when loaded.

I have heard the F150 lightning with a 5.4 L supercharged Triton V8 can just about reach 55mph if you put your foot to the floor. Which is good, for an F150.

One of the problems with the F150 Lightning though is that you only get 450 ft·lbf of torque @ 3,250 rpm. This means that there sometimes isn't enough pull to get her moving on a steep hill, even with nothing in the back. She'll just sit there and stall out.

For hilly areas, and first-time drivers, I always recommend the Ford GT which finds it a little easier to climb slopes, at least without stalling, with 500 foot-pounds force (680 N·m) of torque.

The GT uses a Lysholm twin screw-type supercharger which is really good for fuel economy in these periods of high gas prices. A Ford GT is also able to reach highway speeds, even with the AC on.
 
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Leejosepho

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A boss once sent me in an F-150, 6-cylinder, 3-speed manual to tow a large dump truck back to the yard. The dump truck had delivered its load of asphalt and would not come out of low gear ... and the boss told me to have the driver stand on the clutch for the duration of the tow ... and my arguments against that plan were ignored.

The F-150 did get the big truck rolling, and we eventually got to 25 mph in second gear ... then the clutch release on the dump truck let go and we both returned to creeping speed in the blink of an eye.
 
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