Truckers need to be prepared for everything, but let’s be real: Realistically, what can you do when your truck full of live tigers jackknifes?
Specialized freight can require months of planning, creative solutions, and sometimes sharing your cockpit with kittens. In the world of the bizarre, even giant potatoes sometimes need a lift.
Here are five of the strangest loads ever moved.
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An 8,000 Pound Potato
Listen, we’ve all been the potato on the couch that refuses to move. But when four tons of spuds are grounded, it takes an entire “Tater Team” to move them. And yes, that’s really their formal name.
For fourteen years, a 28-foot fiberglass-and-steel potato has made the national rounds on a flatbed. The load itself has no cargo value and serves only as a moving display for those moved by really, really large vegetables.
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A Nuke. Seriously.
If you’ve ever been nervous moving a load, just imagine moving a nuke through a crowded intersection.
Six times a year, a convoy of up to 20 vehicles moves nuclear warheads 900 miles through England. Public records show that breakdowns and brake faults have happened several times.
In the event something goes terribly wrong, a decontamination unit trails the load… just in case.
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8 Live Tigers… That Crashed
It sounds like the plot of a movie, but tragically, it’s true: On a Michigan highway, a load carrying eight endangered tigers jackknifed and toppled. Miraculously, none were injured, the trailer protecting them from harm.
When police were notified, they were only tipped off to “animals” being involved in the accident. The presence of tigers was a complete surprise to responding officers.
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40 Kittens
What’s the only thing harder than herding cats? Shipping kittens.
A seasoned trucker took on the adorable load, knowing that the details—and the clean-up—would be messy. Regardless, a box of 40 kittens was successfully delivered to happy owners.
The owner reports that when the cat was finally out of the bag, or trailer, he was relieved.
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The Space Shuttle Endeavor
Perhaps one of the greatest feats in all of trucking, the Space Shuttle Endeavor move represented one of the most nuanced OTR shipments in history.
The spaceship was 122 feet long, 78 feet wide, 58 feet high, and weighed 175,000 pounds.
To accommodate the 12-mile route through California’s public roads, more than 400 trees were removed, 100 traffic signals were taken down, 2,700 steel plates were installed to protect underground infrastructure, and new ramps were constructed.
For the second time, the shuttle defied gravity and made its home in the California Science Center.
Moving potato mountains requires outstanding grip. If you need trailer tires at a discount for that space shuttle move, we have you covered
Click here to get the best Michelin trailer tires through England Carrier Services.
Trucking has seen its share of bizarre workdays. For those truckers who are willing to move beyond the ordinary, we tip our hats to you and look forward to dozens more potatoes, tigers, and spaceships to come.
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