%$&*@ Untarped rock haulers - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

rrgrassi · #1 04-26-2007, 10:29 AM

Well, I'm ready to shoot the next rock hauler running heavy, with the tarp not used...one of them caused the demise of the passenger side euro head light lens.

It is againt the law in Texas to run untarped when loaded, but do the cops pull them over? No, they would rather issue speeding tickets. Now I have to find who to file a complaint with...

Jim B. · #2 04-26-2007, 10:38 AM

That happened to me a long time ago in an Oldsmobile I had, but the windshield caught the rock. I drove along side the truck and noted the name of the truck and the company, but when I called them they blew it off.

I suppose it is a matter of proof, hard to get them to admit fault when there was no contact between the two vehicles, and so you should be glad of that at least.

TX76513 · #3 04-26-2007, 10:42 AM

Worse in MS - they are not regulated like they are in TX. Rock, dirt, etc considered AG product and just run regular plates.

babymog · #4 04-26-2007, 10:50 AM

To make a short story long, ...

In '86 I bought my quattro, asked my Father to carry a pair of UR quattro lights back from Germany, impossible to find now, ... didn't want them to get cracked so, ...

I bought several thicknesses of static-cling vinyl (clear), cut to size, and stuck them on my headlamps. Figured that since the whole front cover was a bra, these I called Pasties. Anyway, a nice piece of clear static-cling vinyl worked especially well because when I wanted the pure optic clarity of an un-covered lense (fast driving at night) I could pull the covers off and run without.

They endured many miles, many excursions over 125mph, at least 10,000miles at that speed, worked great.

Now (20+ years later) some of the Beverly Hills type of car catalog sell a stick-on version, should've patented it I guess. The short version is that these things work to deflect and disperse the shock of smaller rocks that might otherwise pit or crack your lense, worth the money. Unfortunately the self-stick kind that they sell is a one-application version so you can't remove them for proper light output, but still better than a rock (especially in the winter around here).

#5 04-26-2007, 10:55 AM

Yup, I've had that happen too, I just replace the silly light. At least it cheaper than having a dent in the body or a hole in the grill and radiator.

Whiskeydan · #6 04-26-2007, 11:04 AM

I hear ya'.

Sometimes I think TXI (big rock hauler co here) must be paying someone with off.
I travel the same 30 mile path of hwy everyday and have never seen a DPS unit on this same route the rock haulers use. Yet, a mile or two off of it I see 'em on the FM roads all the time. Hmm...

Called in many times to complain about untarped loads, 80+mph passes on the right... never any results. Always the same story, "we just don't have enough resources..."

I just try to stay away from them but its difficult when they blast past you.

rrgrassi · #7 04-26-2007, 11:14 AM

Yes, it is crazy. Well at least the lens if $50. Cheaper than a windshield. Not enough resources my tail end. When you 4 parked and running radar with in 5 miles, that is plenty of resources.

Whiskeydan · #8 04-26-2007, 11:27 AM

I've seen the same DPS officer sit on a 6 mile stretch of farm to market road that maybe gets a dozen cars a day down. Pulled me over for no seatbelt once. I was eating a bag of chips in a metalic looking bag holding them in my left hand near where the buckle would be had it NOT been buckled. After following me 2 miles He claimed he saw the buckle there and wrote me the citation. JP sided with him.
What really sucks is I find out later that drivers of trucks with farm tags are not required to wear seatbelts. I was on my way to feed the cows that day.

slojoexxx · #9 04-26-2007, 12:15 PM

They passed a law here in Kansas, that if you get hit by rocks it's your fault for following to close. Allot of the truck have signs on the reading, "Stay back 500 feet" ya right tell me who does that in most kinds of traffic??? and yes it is the law they have to be tarped, but the problem is now the rocks on the little 6" to 8" lip the below the dump gate that now is a great place to hold rock and dump them while going down the Hiway... Nice.. Thanks Guys Thanks..

sublettm · #10 04-26-2007, 01:31 PM

The front end of my car has sustained quite a bit of damage lately from the never ending contruction on I-10 here in Houston. I have had to replace a headlight, the headlight surround, and i refuse to replace my cracked windshield until they are done. I have numerous chips and cracks in my windshield from these trucks.

rrgrassi · #11 04-26-2007, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slojoexxx

They passed a law here in Kansas, that if you get hit by rocks it's your fault for following to close. Allot of the truck have signs on the reading, "Stay back 500 feet" ya right tell me who does that in most kinds of traffic??? and yes it is the law they have to be tarped, but the problem is now the rocks on the little 6" to 8" lip the below the dump gate that now is a great place to hold rock and dump them while going down the Hiway... Nice.. Thanks Guys Thanks..

So 500 feet is like what? the 5 second rule? A rock bouncing while you come up on it still does damage.

If you go around them, legally you are not behind them, so then who is responsible? Either way, we get screwed.

TX76513 · #12 04-26-2007, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sublettm

The front end of my car has sustained quite a bit of damage lately from the never ending contruction on I-10 here in Houston. I have had to replace a headlight, the headlight surround, and i refuse to replace my cracked windshield until they are done. I have numerous chips and cracks in my windshield from these trucks.

I have seen those signs all around the country. Here is how that works in the real world. A truck, car, bus that picks up a rock from the roadway and it strikes your car - it's your baby, if you have comprehensive on your insurance. BUT if the rock (debris) comes from the body, frame, cargo area of the vehicle then that vehicle is responsible for damage. Now proving it is another problem.

MBeige · #13 04-27-2007, 06:09 AM

I try not to follow them, or at least have a car in between you and that truck, to absorb any debris. I know, my Bosch E-code light on the right side died this way. The bulb was OK, but had a nasty hole. Replaced with a pair of Hella units, now I know the Bosch ones jut out farther than the Hella ones and look, well, odd.

The other Bosch lens is in storage, in case another rock gets lucky. Do those X-pel lens protectors really work? I was looking at some convex covers that work similar to the sealed beams, only you install them on the US DOT spec lights with the E-codes.

t walgamuth · #14 04-27-2007, 06:18 AM

i once was coming around a corner and from the other direction a truck hauling p fill and the tailgate was leaking spewed the gravel which i could in no way avoid driving into because of the corner. just couldnt see it coming. so i followed the trail of p gravel back to the gravel pit and asked what truck just left. they him hawed around and finally gave me the info. which i turned over to my insurance company. i lost both headlights, chipped the paint all across the front of the hood and roof and sustained about a dozen chips in the windshield.

my 74 saab.

i was hot!

i dont think the truck company ever paid up.

my insurance paid.

tom w

rrgrassi · #15 04-27-2007, 11:09 AM

And they wonder why there is road rage...