DFW truck jacking

[Jim O'Dell]

I'm sure some of you have seen the video of the 18 wheeler that was jacked north of Dallas and led cops on a 4 hour chase to far west Tarrant County (Fort Worth) at a blistering 20 to 30 mph. DPS shot the radiator and fuel tanks while it was moving. Where it stopped is about 1 mile due south of my house across some pasture land. I'm now dealing with the "NORMAL" people, I'm sure upstanding citizens, that are trying to find a way to get a closer look at the situation. I've seen at least 5 vehicles come down my street, only to get to the end, and turn around and roar back the other way, and I was only outside for 5 minutes. I don't know if they can't read, didn't take time to see it, or just thought is was another of the "government lies", but that Dead End sign is there for a reason.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :D
One guy flipped something out his window as he drove past...I was afraid it was a cig butt, but I couldn't find anything. All I need is a grass fire in the front yard, and as dry as it is, that's a distinct possibility. Helicopters are flying over the house. At least they quit broadcasting live on all the local tv stations. Only went on for 4 1/2 hours. You'd think we were in LA! Well, that's my excitement for the weekend. Might go out and watch the travelling sprinkler water the yard. Maybe I'll get to see some more of our outstanding citizens visiting our neighborhood. Jim.

[Robert Mickley]

Well i guess you aren't far enough out in no mans land after all.

I miss all the excitement :D

[Karl Laustrup]

Was it O.J. driving????

Karl

[Ken Garlock]

Jim, that chase, as you already know, was a total waste of TV air time. Some one at KDFW-TV should be summarily FIRED.:mad: I would much rather watch the normal programming of King of the Hill and the Simpsons than to hear some fool repeat the same stuff and watch the same chase for TWO hours.

Dallas police and the state police had the problem under control.
So who wants to watch that crap on TV for 2 hours?:confused: The station management must think the audience is awfully stupid. Yes, I have a channel selector and I used it, and I will most likely be using it more if this type of 'programming' garbage continues.

[Jim O'Dell]

Well i guess you aren't far enough out in no mans land after all.

I miss all the excitement :D

Far enough that it was where they decided to end the chase!:eek: :D
Actually we're only about 5 miles west of the loop that circles Fort Worth, so it's really not too far out.

Ken, I hear 'ya. There wasn't anything on I was too interested in anyway. Although I did have fun watching the travelling sprinkler. :rolleyes: Jim.

[Lee DeRaud]

There wasn't anything on I was too interested in anyway.I thought 'King of the Hill' was required viewing in those parts. :p

(My mom lives in Arlen...er, I mean Arlington. :D )

[Ned Bulken]

Glad that there wasn't a cigarette involved, but re air time....


TIVO saves a Bunch of airtime. I can watch 'the News' in about 15 minutes, when I bother to actually record it.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Jim, that chase, as you already know, was a total waste of TV air time. Some one at KDFW-TV should be summarily FIRED.:mad: ... Nah, they'll get hired for big bucks to be a news director in Los Angeles. Between useless footage of stuff like car chases, teasers for "coming up next on Eyewitless News", and blatant promotion of other network shows ("Up next: An in-depth 20-second interview with the stars from Lost.") it seems there is no news on the news anymore.

I recall one evening, not long after I moved to LA, where every commercial break on one channel included teasers for a mysterious barrel that had been found in a vacant lot somewhere in the LA area. When they actually got to the story (late in the newscast, of course) there was lots of sensational speculation about this mysterious 55 gallon drum, and the inch or two of strange orange liquid ("we're not sure Bob, but we think it's possibly toxic waste") in the bottom of the open barrel. I remember yelling at my TV: "It's RUSTY WATER, you nimrods!" (Except I wasn't using an SMC-friendly term like nimrods.)

Sad fact is many TV stations try to emulate the LA stations. Sorry to see the DFW stations are following suit.

- Vaughn

[douglas hyde]

Jim can I come over that sounds like fun watching the sprinkler DougHyde

[Marty Walsh]

Jim,

At the risk of hijacking your thread...

Are you talking about one of those sprinklers that looks like a mini-tractor and rides around straddling the hose? Denise came home with one of those right after we had the pond relined, since we have to seed a whole new lawn in that area. Only after reading the instructions INSIDE the box did she discover it can't be used on new lawns. I guess it needs grass to get traction...? We have other areas where it might be useful, but we haven't needed it with the rain lately.

So, is that the one you're talking about? How about pictures of it? Maybe a new thread, since I have some questions about them.

Thanks...
- Marty -

[Vaughn McMillan]

Jim,

At the risk of hijacking your thread...

Are you talking about one of those sprinklers that looks like a mini-tractor and rides around straddling the hose? Denise came home with one of those right after we had the pond relined, since we have to seed a whole new lawn in that area. Only after reading the instructions INSIDE the box did she discover it can't be used on new lawns. I guess it needs grass to get traction...? We have other areas where it might be useful, but we haven't needed it with the rain lately.

So, is that the one you're talking about? How about pictures of it? Maybe a new thread, since I have some questions about them.

Thanks...
- Marty -
Here...I'll help the threadjack. I have one of the tractor-style sprinklers. I don't use it on our current lawns (we've got full sprinklers at this house), but I sure liked it at my last house. I was even planning to paint flames on the side of mine, but never got around to it. The gearing in them is pretty impressive. Mine will drag 50' to 75' of hose with no problems. If the hose gets hung up, the tractor will dig a hole in the ground with the drive wheels. I haven't tried it yet, but I'd suspect it could climb the hillside in our back yard. (It's steep enough that it's difficult to walk down, even traversing the hill.) I can see that the steel lugged drive wheels might be a bit rough on freshly planted dirt, but you might be able to adapt a wider tread that would fit over the metal wheels to give a wider footprint. You might be able to use a big rubber pipe coupler (like you'd see on a no-hub fitting) if the diameter ended up being right.

HTH -

- Vaughn

[Marty Walsh]

Here...I'll help the threadjack. I have one of the tractor-style sprinklers. I don't use it on our current lawns (we've got full sprinklers at this house), but I sure liked it at my last house. I was even planning to paint flames on the side of mine, but never got around to it. The gearing in them is pretty impressive. Mine will drag 50' to 75' of hose with no problems. If the hose gets hung up, the tractor will dig a hole in the ground with the drive wheels. I haven't tried it yet, but I'd suspect it could climb the hillside in our back yard. (It's steep enough that it's difficult to walk down, even traversing the hill.) I can see that the steel lugged drive wheels might be a bit rough on freshly planted dirt, but you might be able to adapt a wider tread that would fit over the metal wheels to give a wider footprint. You might be able to use a big rubber pipe coupler (like you'd see on a no-hub fitting) if the diameter ended up being right.

HTH -

- Vaughn

Vaughn,

Thanks for the update.

As I said, we haven't tried the thing yet, but I can see where those hefty rear wheels could do some damage to freshly planted dirt...especially once it got wet/muddy.

Your idea about adding rubber to the metal wheels is an interesting one that I might follow up on. My real concern is just how strong it is. We have quite a bit of grass we're working with. There's currently a 100' hose feeding a Wye which has two additional 100' hoses hung off it, each terminating in a sprinkler. For the tractor thingie to be effective, it would have to be able to drag around 200' or more of hose. What do you think the chances are of that? :confused: If it did work, it would certainly be easier than having to run the sprinklers for a while, shut them down, move them and run them again....

By the way, right after Denise brought this thing home, we noticed that Lowes brought in a special edition version...in full John Deere colors right down to the emblems. Although, I think a nice flame job would certainly be cooler...;)

Thanks again...
- Marty -

[Jim O'Dell]

Marty, sorry I didn't see your question til now. You're right about the instructions, not supposed to use on anything but established grass. They say not to let it run over paved driveways or side walks. If it bumps into something (tree, landscaping, etc) it can tear the gearing up. I had to replace mine a few weeks back. But the whole drive section is only 13.00, pluse you have to move the rear wheels over. My wheels are plastic. No, it won't pull 200' of hose!!:D :D Mine has trouble with 75 if it gets into anything loose. Jim.

trouble as in spelling trouble!!

[Marty Walsh]

Marty, sorry I didn't see your question til now. You're right about the instructions, not supposed to use on anything but established grass. They say not to let it run over paved driveways or side walks. If it bumps into something (tree, landscaping, etc) it can tear the gearing up. I had to replace mine a few weeks back. But the whole drive section is only 13.00, pluse you have to move the rear wheels over. My wheels are plastic. No, it won't pull 200' of hose!!:D :D Mine has trouable with 75 if it gets into anything loose. Jim.

Jim,

Thanks for backing up Vaughn's response. It would have been nicer if they said on the OUTSIDE of the box that it had to work on an established lawn. I didn't think it would do too well with 200' of hose...let alone 300' if we tried to water a little further...:o

All is not lost though since we have plenty of other places where the in-ground system doesn't cover and this thing should work.

Now back to thinking about the custom paint/flame job...:rolleyes:

- Marty -

[Vaughn McMillan]

...For the tractor thingie to be effective, it would have to be able to drag around 200' or more of hose. What do you think the chances are of that? :confused: ...
Based on the torque I've seen mine demonstrate, I think if it could get sufficient traction, it could drag that much hose, but that's only a guess. What type of soil do you have? Clay? Sand?

- Vaughn