Not really funny but I'm laughing so hard, I can't see to type!

Moral of the story: (1) Check weight of car (2) Check weight of truck (3) Check truck owner's manuel to find out said truck's lifting capacity. If (1) is more than (2), don't try it, moron!

Karen, you forgot to add the water weight...lolol...I noticed 1st truck does not have out-riggers...

So....might it have worked if the first operator had waited and let the van drain? Or if the second ditto with the first truck? Any bets?

The first crane was never going to work without outriggers. The second crane should have been father away from the edge ( there was room) and then extended the outriggers further out. Also the crane arm itself should have been less horizontal and more vertical. It is all about leverage.

Back in the 80's we were setting large HVAC units on top of a new building with the use of a helicopter. One unit was too heavy and we brought in a huge crane from out of town. He set up the unit in the mud ( it was pouring rain ) and began to lift the unit. My partner and I were just walking up to the unit to spin it around to match up with the platform it would sit on. The unit was still about 5 feet above our heads when the crane began to settle in the mud and the operator released the cable and the load to save the crane. It dropped right in front of our eyes within a few feet of us. The operator told us afterwards he had to make a decision of letting the crane fall on our heads or the HVAC unit. My opinion, the operator failed to consider the conditions he was settling the crane up in (mud) and was totally at fault. I never trusted another crane operator after thet. We have had numerous crane accidents within a few miles of this town, it happens way too often! gj

Below is a picture of HVAC units being lifted by a helicopter which by the way is no more safer than the cranes I don't trust!!!

I thought these people were supposed to be pros and know what they're doing. wow.... how incredible was this? and you'd think they would have changed how they did things from the first mishap ... now who are we gonna call to get everything out of the water?!? LOL

Well, Bow, you call the emom and the Newbie! I watched a guy digging a hole to test underground water table...hoe was on edge of sandy ground...with water below...hole big enuf to swallow back hoe and operator...guy had riggers on hoe but not in front where he needed them...I went home!

Must of been a foreign country where they don't know better. Really pretty dumb when you think about it. Common sense would tell you not to put the truck too close to the edge in the first place.