More an exhibition than a competition, as David Letterman used to say. What's the biggest machine that moves where you've been behind the wheel?
For me, not that big: on Grandpa's farm in NW Iowa when I was 8. He probably worked the pedals, but I definitely steered. It was in the grass, not among the crops. (This photo is same make, but not the same tractor; as close as I remember)
(Also, some moving trucks might have been bigger, but the tractor's more interesting)
(https://i.imgur.com/c96oLQN.jpg)
I drove a couple Mack Trucks around a race team automotive garage back in the 1990s. Essentially they were trying to teach me so I could eventually apply to get a CDL...which I didn't want to do when I turned 18. I did try armored cars for about a week in Arizona in between jobs in my career field which had a similar feel to the Mack Trucks I drove before.
In 2007, I drove a 22' Ryder van from Jackson, Mississippi to Los Angeles, via Amarillo and Albequerque.
26' box truck
A bulldozer.
Not a huge one, but it could move some dirt.
U-Haul moving van. I believe it was a 20-footer.
The driver of an 18-wheeler once asked me if I wanted to drive his rig in the Chicago suburbs. I worked the dock, he saw me walking back to work from lunch while he was on his way to make a delivery to us, and he gave me a ride to work (he was one of my regular drivers). He offered to let me drive, but I turned him down. I can't remember now if it was FedEx Freight or Roadway or Yellow (the latter two are now one company but weren't back then).
A 17ft. Ryder that I drove in 2009 when moving from Goldsboro, NC to Farmville, VA. I hated it. The transmission was fucked up and the engine drank diesel like a baby drinking milk from a bottle.
There was a bumpy ass bridge on I-95 near Emporia (I think it was the one over the Meherrin River) that literally threw me out of my seat with each bump. My poor grandma was riding with me and it didn't do her any favors, either.
30-foot U-Haul.
I drove a 20 foot U-Haul a couple times while moving my mother in law. I also worked a summer job on a golf course on the grounds maintenance crew for a few summers during college. I drove a 1-ton dump truck a few times. Also just while on the course I drove a couple different tractors, John Deere, don't remember the exact size or model. One was pulling the Bush Hog rough mower, and the other had a loader bucket, along with a Cat end loader. Unfortunately I didn't get to use the backhoe part of it.
(https://www.restonnow.com/files/2013/11/vdottruck.jpg)
A Thomas Saf-T-Liner HDX passenger bus.(About 40ft long) They're most commonly used as school buses, however I'm not a school bus driver. The ones I drive are customized for transit.
I think the largest I've operated is a 52-passenger streetcar
(Local trolley museum...)
Big rig in trucking school. Unfortunately, I couldn't pass the class.
A Penske rental truck from Brooklyn to Fairfax County in 2001 moving some furniture. Don't remember which size, but it was not the smallest size truck they offered.
26' box truck for stadium work
Back in 1994, I drove a Ford F350 utility truck with a bucket arm attachment. We were doing overhead sign structure inspections on a section of I-95 (128).
26' box truck.
In terms of regular operation, I used to drive a 15 passenger van around Tacoma and Seattle for work. I got quite good at navigating it in tight spaces
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1867350
I miss my babies.
Some sort of armored personnel carrier.
53' semi. I drove for Prime Inc. over-the-road for about 3 years total.
Once when I was a kid the captain of a paddlewheel steamboat (you know, the kind that used to be used as riverboats on the Mississippi and whatnot) let me play with the steering wheel for a bit. Does that count?
Largest (by footprint) that I've operated multiple times... 36x27ft...
(ok its a 2400lb plane :bigass: )
26-foot box truck from Penske.
(https://www.equipmentworld.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/04/John-Deere-944K-hybrid-wheel-loader4.jpg)
This big motherf...
I'm not winning any contest for the largest, since I never drove doubles or triples.
Second-largest was a 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V. I test-drove it and considered buying it, but single-digit MPG was a deal-breaker. It probably would have needed heavy investment in repairs, anyway.
Quote from: formulanone on July 05, 2019, 06:02:22 PM
26-foot box truck from Penske.
Me too, drove one 450 miles from Nashville to Columbia, loaded with most of my worldly possessions, and through a snowstorm along I-40 through Haywood Co., NC. When I got through that and pulled off at a rest area on the other side of Asheville, I literally kissed the ground!
When I was exhibiting audio goods (speakers, amplifiers, etc.) at CES in Las Vegas (from '98 to '03), I normally rented an extended van which was sufficient to move the equipment for our display room. In 2000, the agency was out of vans, so I had to rent a 26' bobtail (box truck) w/"tommylift" gate (some of the speakers were around 150 pounds each). Diesel, of course; getting it up the hill NE of Baker (CA) on I-15 was harrowing to say the least (and very slow! -- as was the return trip over Mountain Pass). But the worst thing about it was its utter lack of maneuverability, particularly in the loading area of the hotel where our display room was located. I also took out a taillight of a car in a local Safeway parking lot where I was picking up snacks -- nothing like an extra $300 to add to the normal and not insubstantial cost of displaying at the show! Fortunately, for the ensuing three shows before I stopped doing them I was able to return to the usual large vans. If I were ever to drive a bobtail again, the circumstances would have to have given me absolutely no choice in the matter; that's something I'll continue to avoid!
This...
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190706/82b1e435a7c104f4f836c2cc9e797e57.jpg)
VS988
For a couple of years in the 1970s, I drove a bean picker for Green Giant. I don't have the specs of the machine but it was huge.
From 1989 to 2009 I drove a 70' 18 wheeler. I rode thru 48 states.
Quote from: allniter89 on July 07, 2019, 04:47:09 PM
For a couple of years in the 1970s, I drove a bean picker for Green Giant. I don't have the specs of the machine but it was huge.
From 1989 to 2009 I drove a 70' 18 wheeler. I rode thru 48 states.
Bean harvesters are the
worst vehicle to encounter head-on while driving a narrow country lane..
On road, the largest Ryder truck they'll rent to the average person.
Off road, my uncle's corn harvester, similar to this one:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fyscsfarm.weebly.com%2Fuploads%2F2%2F7%2F8%2F0%2F27809427%2F981731.jpg&hash=f53d48cda70481dbbc4b3c229347bb8591af0bbe)
A Chevy traverse. Thats it. Lol
After helping my cousin move last weekend, mine is now a 26 foot F650 U Haul
A Ford F-350 with a dump attachment instead of the box. Mostly city driven but had to make some highway runs from SE Edmonton to the city dump.
1975 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine. I saw it being sold near me, and I asked about it. The owner tried to sell it to me, so I thought I'd try it out. My idea was (if I had actually bought it) to rent it out to movies and/or high school proms where I'd close the windows so the kids could fool around in the back. I couldn't handle it, and the owner saw that and we mutually agreed not to make a deal.
And just for fun, this is my 2323rd post on the AARoads Forum.
A Home Depot rental truck (with a Ford Transit van body). It was actually quite easy to handle despite my initial reservations about driving something so large.
Quote from: Bruce on February 09, 2020, 04:09:18 PM
A Home Depot rental truck (with a Ford Transit van body). It was actually quite easy to handle despite my initial reservations about driving something so large.
Somehow, I think I'd have an easier time with that than the '75 Cadillac Limo.
The large van of my dad's business.
Volkswagen Atlas because I just started to drive and that's my dad's car haha.
For me, it would be the contractor's Ford F-150 Supercab (only driving it a few blocks on-site). I was not a fan of trying to park it :-D. I much prefer my smaller GTI.