Don't Be THIS GUY

[Tulecreeper]

You get what you pay for, our city police are required to have a Bachelors Degree and pass a rigorous psych eval., they don't hire cowboys. We have one of the best mid size dept's in the nation too. A good young friend of mine was hired as a dispatch operator for the city only after undergoing a rigorous process and then had to work under a trainer for a year.

Although Plano, TX requires more qualifications than most police departments, you can be hired with a Bachelor's Degree - OR - Three (3) years of active military service with sixty (60) college hours - OR - Two (2) years of police officer experience (Patrol) with (60) college hours. As far as I know, psych evals are required by every agency. And every department that I have worked for, all 3 of them, required 1 year training under a Field Training Officer (FTO). After my 5th year I also became an FTO.

 

[Onyrlef]

Although Plano, TX requires more qualifications than most police departments, you can be hired with a Bachelor's Degree - OR - Three (3) years of active military service with sixty (60) college hours - OR - Two (2) years of police officer experience (Patrol) with (60) college hours. As far as I know, psych evals are required by every agency. And every department that I have worked for, all 3 of them, required 1 year training under a Field Training Officer (FTO). After my 5th year I also became an FTO.

And so that’s good, right?

 

[Ray-IN]

Even a 1T dually has problems. Broken Ram 3500 Dually Shows a Camper Can Still Overload a Big Truck

 

[Chef Duane]

And so that’s good, right?

Gee I hope so. I live in Plano!!

 

[CharlesinGA]

And he has 2-feet sticking out past the rear end of the bed.

Actually, that F150 has a 5 ft 5 inch bed. The camper is designed for an 8 ft bed. Its a model 10-2 which means it is designed to stick out from a 8 ft long bed by 26 inches. End result is it actually extends beyond the back of the bed (not the tailgate) of the F150 by 57 inches (4ft 9 in) plus the bumper, which I don't think it included in the 10-2 number.

It would take very little for that camper to have slid right out of the bed of the truck. Gust of wind between the camper and cab roof to lift it and away it goes. I'll bet that aluminum bed is destroyed. Many Super Duty owners are reporting collapsed bed mounting brackets and such when they carry campers that the truck can legit carry.

Charles

 

[Tulecreeper]

And so that’s good, right?

That's very good. I was just pointing out that a Bachelor's degree isn't absolutely necessary. I don't know the qualifications now, but the first Sheriff's Office I went to work for (Butte Co, CA) you only needed a high school diploma. At the time (mid-80's) that was the case with most departments other than really big cities like SF, NY, or Miami, and even they didn't require more than 60 college credits in Criminal Justice. You didn't need the actual Associate's, just the credits, and sometimes they waived those if you scored really high on the entrance exams, oral, and psych eval.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Actually, that F150 has a 5 ft 5 inch bed. The camper is designed for an 8 ft bed. Its a model 10-2 which means it is designed to stick out from a 8 ft long bed by 26 inches. End result is it actually extends beyond the back of the bed (not the tailgate) of the F150 by 57 inches (4ft 9 in) plus the bumper, which I don't think it included in the 10-2 number.

It would take very little for that camper to have slid right out of the bed of the truck. Gust of wind between the camper and cab roof to lift it and away it goes. I'll bet that aluminum bed is destroyed. Many Super Duty owners are reporting collapsed bed mounting brackets and such when they carry campers that the truck can legit carry.

Charles

Yes, I understand. I'm referring to the 2-foot portion of the camper directly behind the taillight that is supposed to be fully forward inside the bed. Hence, the camper is 2-feet too long for the bed. I'm also quite sure he is way over payload. If I were a cop, I'd make him park it as an unsecured load.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Typically none of those regs will apply to private vehicles - they are specifically for commercial trucks. But there are often vague regulations such as "unsafe operation" that might be applied if the LEO is sufficiently upset. But preventing the vehicle from continuing on as-is can be a lot of hassle for the officer as well as the driver, so may be reluctant to do it.

If I were the local Smokey, I'd cite him for an unsecured/improperly secured load and make him park it. After that, it's up to the driver to figure out how to fix the problem. After 72 hours, if the truck and camper were still there, I'd have it towed and impounded. I've been down this road before as the citing officer, it's not that difficult.

 

[whiteva]

If I had that call, when in uniform, depending on the attitude of the folks/driver I would have called the tow company for a courtesy (free) lift to get him off the road to a place for them to fix the problem IE proper vehicle rated for the load. If they copped an attitude, then off to the impound lot along with the opportunity to increase the township coffers.

Amazing how many times a spouse/ friend would cause more problems during the situation.