I finally had to lift a porta potty that was stuck in the mud on a site in Tampa

We were setting up for a big pour on this commercial job last Tuesday, and the ground was a total mess from rain. The delivery driver just dropped a brand new, full porta potty right in the soft spot by the gate. I'm talking sunk up to the base, totally stuck. My foreman looks at me and goes, 'Think you can get that out with the 80-ton?' I had to rig it up with slings around the top, real careful like. The whole thing started to tilt as it came up, and I swear you could hear the liquid sloshing inside from the cab. Got it clear and set it down on solid ground, but the crew gave me a standing ovation and a new nickname I won't repeat here. Anyone else ever had to move something with a crane that really, really shouldn't be moved with a crane?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancy47525d ago

Honestly, that sounds like a huge liability risk. Using slings on a plastic tank full of... stuff... is asking for a major spill or a structural failure. We would have called the rental company to bring a pump truck and a forklift, no question.

felix_lane9925d agoMost Upvoted

Come on, it's not that crazy. People move plastic tanks like that all the time if you know what you're doing. Way cheaper than calling in a whole pump truck crew for a simple job.

theajackson24d ago

Nancy's point about a major spill is fair, but come on, is it really that big of a deal? It's a sealed plastic tank, not a glass jar. If the slings are rated and you lift it slow, the risk is pretty low. Calling a pump truck for one unit feels like overkill and a huge time waste. Sometimes you just gotta get the job done with the tools on site.